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Israel’s obscene crime is all the worse for having targeted one who, by all accounts, shone a light in the lives of all who knew her. She was on Al Jazeera’s Arabic service.
What a giant this woman was. Hearing the testimonies, reading the tributes, and seeing the reactions coming particularly from the Arab world, including the diasporas in different corners of the globe, I find it difficult to think of another journalist, one other journalist, in our lifetime who through her work meant so much, in so many ways, to so many.
She was of course a trailblazer, a pioneer that much is easy to gather. Synonymous with the story and mission of Al Jazeera itself. Particularly the younger generation of Arabs, describe her as “iconic”, and “inspirational”, they describe their “childhood echoing with the voice of Shireen Abu Akleh”. They anointed her “the Voice of Palestine”, and “the Daughter of Jerusalem.”
Of course, the journalists in particular absolutely adore her. We know the impact of Al Jazeera in the Arab world. It is the only news network, which dares to venture into independent reporting. She was a household name in the Arab World. She was its brightest star. You can imagine why almost every young journalist in the Arab world would idolize her.
One described standing in front of the mirror with a brush, repeating her ‘famous’ closing words to the camera: ‘Shireen Abu Akleh, AL Jazeera, Ramallah’, almost none of them can speak today without breaking down. Many of them also have their stories of how they learned from her, of her kindness and generosity. Alongside iconic, inspirational, brilliant, and trailblazing, some of the reports on her death described her as ‘beloved journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’. How many people get that?
Her funeral was the biggest in recent memory – the horde of attendees stretched for 40 kilometers. In the Arab world, they describe her as a ‘fixture’ in their homes, cafes, offices, and wherever else they may have gathered.
Without being there, Shireen was part of their conversations, their thoughts, their days, their nights. They prayed for her, without knowing her. You did not have to know her personally to mourn her. However, of course, they all knew her and she knew them.
Everyone in the streets of the Arab World would stop and salute her for her courage, determination, and unique way of telling the stories of Palestinians. Arabs cannot go to Palestine. Shireen took them there.
