(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Neutrality has no place in the coverage of humanitarian stories, according to Abu Dhabi TV anchor Ahmed Al Yamahi.
As an example, he cited the footage of the death of Mohammad Al Durrah who was shot dead while hugging his father in Gaza in 2000 - which was taken by France 2 freelancer Talal Abu Rahma during heavy rioting. The footage shows the pair crouching behind a concrete cylinder and crying in his father's arms, and then slumping across his father's legs following a burst of gunfire. Al Yamahi noted that the footage narrates the human angle of the story by showing his father's suffering at witnessing his son being shot dead by Israeli troops. Such journalists, he noted, play an enormous role in changing the situation of many people who are suffering, by narrating stories from "the bottom of their heart", rather than on a hard news angle. Speaking of his own experiences, Al Yamahi noted that he recently interviewed a woman whose daughter was forcibly taken by Daesh. Standing just 70 kilometres from Daesh positions, she tearfully told him that people blame her for losing her daughter to the militant group. He noted that the heartbreaking story lets the woman narrate the story without any interference. It will be broadcast during the month of Ramadan. "Journalist must deliver human interest stories as it's to be natural and spontaneous," he said. Afkar Abdullah