Editor-in-chief of charter97.org Natallia Radzina met Malek Khadhraoui at the 4M international forum in France. The Tunisian journalist said he knew the situation on Belarus, because Tunisians had studied the experience of Belarus, Ukraine and Serbia before the revolution. Moreover, the website Nawaat, which, Khadhraoui says, was “a part of the revolution”, was launched on the example of Belarus’s oldest website charter97.org. Malek Khadhraoui created his website abroad, but now the staff works in Tunisia.
- Mr. Khadhraoui, tell me about your project and about your website.
Now it is a collaborative information website, launched in 2004 by a group of activists living abroad, some of them were in exile, others lived in other countries. It is a very large collaborative community of activists in Tunisia, of people involved in politics, unions, activists on the ground. Step by step it is evolving into a citizen media in Tunisia. And now we are mixing professional journalists, activists, specialists, a lot of bloggers and a large community of people collaborating with this citizen media platform.
- How did you work during the revolution in Tunisia?
During the revolution, as I told you, the directors and managers of the website were abroad. We reported on what was happening locally, in small towns. The revolution started in Sidi Bouzid, it is a really small town in central Tunisia. Nobody, probably, heard of Sidi Bouzid before the start of this event. And we were may be the first media covering what was happening from the first day, from 17th December. The first video that we published on the uprising was in the afternoon on 17th December just after Bouazizi burnt himself. So very fast we became probably the main source of information for Tunisians, and also for major media that were trying to understand what was happening and covering what was happening in Tunisia.
It was may be 10 or 15 days after the start that big media started really focusing on what was happening in Tunisia. They wanted to cover the events and did not have any correspondent there so they chose our website and other collaborative websites to get the information. They were completely lost in what was happening because they did not cover it from the beginning and it was the first example of the importance of this kind of media – very grassroots, very near to the ground, unlike major or traditional media.
- And you told me that you created your website by the example of сharter97.org.
We, Tunisians, were very inspired by what happened in Eastern European countries like Serbia, Belarus and the Ukraine. And we followed exactly the dynamics that pushed for the change that happened in these countries. And later we saw the return of the situation, but we focused on the kind of initiatives as charter97.org that was like an example for how a media can play a role of an informer but at the same time push for a real change, push for the values that we share with all activists around the world – democracy, human rights and the fight against censorship. So charter97.org was certainly an example for a media like Nawaat, because you had experience and you experienced the things that we were going through. It is a huge work that you are doing and a very inspiring experience for us.
- And what are your plans now? How do you want to continue your work in Tunisia after the revolution?
Now the situation is changing. Even if we are facing the return, in a way, of an autocratic regime, we still have space to work in good conditions, but we see that things are changing very fast and we need to be very careful with what may be the next step of the government on shutting down independent media. They are starting to attack us in regards to our integrity, our funding, our supposed links with foreign services.
I think that you are used to this kind of attacks. The point is that we are activists and we are not afraid to face this kind of pressure. We are now in Tunisia, so we are no longer based abroad, and the team is ready to fight from the inside not to let the regime become like the previous one and the one before it.
Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau
- Mr. Khadhraoui, tell me about your project and about your website.
Now it is a collaborative information website, launched in 2004 by a group of activists living abroad, some of them were in exile, others lived in other countries. It is a very large collaborative community of activists in Tunisia, of people involved in politics, unions, activists on the ground. Step by step it is evolving into a citizen media in Tunisia. And now we are mixing professional journalists, activists, specialists, a lot of bloggers and a large community of people collaborating with this citizen media platform.
- How did you work during the revolution in Tunisia?
During the revolution, as I told you, the directors and managers of the website were abroad. We reported on what was happening locally, in small towns. The revolution started in Sidi Bouzid, it is a really small town in central Tunisia. Nobody, probably, heard of Sidi Bouzid before the start of this event. And we were may be the first media covering what was happening from the first day, from 17th December. The first video that we published on the uprising was in the afternoon on 17th December just after Bouazizi burnt himself. So very fast we became probably the main source of information for Tunisians, and also for major media that were trying to understand what was happening and covering what was happening in Tunisia.
It was may be 10 or 15 days after the start that big media started really focusing on what was happening in Tunisia. They wanted to cover the events and did not have any correspondent there so they chose our website and other collaborative websites to get the information. They were completely lost in what was happening because they did not cover it from the beginning and it was the first example of the importance of this kind of media – very grassroots, very near to the ground, unlike major or traditional media.
- And you told me that you created your website by the example of сharter97.org.
We, Tunisians, were very inspired by what happened in Eastern European countries like Serbia, Belarus and the Ukraine. And we followed exactly the dynamics that pushed for the change that happened in these countries. And later we saw the return of the situation, but we focused on the kind of initiatives as charter97.org that was like an example for how a media can play a role of an informer but at the same time push for a real change, push for the values that we share with all activists around the world – democracy, human rights and the fight against censorship. So charter97.org was certainly an example for a media like Nawaat, because you had experience and you experienced the things that we were going through. It is a huge work that you are doing and a very inspiring experience for us.
- And what are your plans now? How do you want to continue your work in Tunisia after the revolution?
Now the situation is changing. Even if we are facing the return, in a way, of an autocratic regime, we still have space to work in good conditions, but we see that things are changing very fast and we need to be very careful with what may be the next step of the government on shutting down independent media. They are starting to attack us in regards to our integrity, our funding, our supposed links with foreign services.
I think that you are used to this kind of attacks. The point is that we are activists and we are not afraid to face this kind of pressure. We are now in Tunisia, so we are no longer based abroad, and the team is ready to fight from the inside not to let the regime become like the previous one and the one before it.
Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau
Спасибо, очень интересная заметка.
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