Zineb Haddaji is a journalist from the East African nation of Djibouti. Like many journalists in the Horn of Africa, she has had to flee her nation to report independently about her country. Now a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Haddaji is learning how to become a content creator. The freelance writer’s goal is to establish a newsletter that reports on the geopolitics of East Africa for an international audience. She also hopes to produce short-form videos from abroad that weekly inform Djibouti citizens about events in their country.
The multimedia journalist spoke recently about journalism and the flow of information in her country with the Bush Institute’s Natalie Gonnella-Platts and Bill McKenzie. The video and text have been edited for length and clarity.
You wrote recently that “Independent journalism in Djibouti is not an accident of underdevelopment. It is the result of deliberate design. What is called journalism too often functions as a mouthpiece for the ruling elite.” What did you mean by that?
In my country, we don’t have another choice except being an independent journalist.
There are no freestanding media organizations. Djibouti is ranked 168 out of 180 nations in freedom of the press, according to Reporters Without Borders. Being independent is a way to survive and keep our people informed.
It also is a way to give the world an overview of what is going on in this small country, which hosts five foreign military bases. The biggest powers in the world – including the United States – are there.
Freedom House also ranks Djibouti very low in terms of freedom of information and the presence of independent journalism. Considering the state of things in your country, where do citizens get their information?
Basically, people consume the public media, which is the governmental media. Public television, public radio, and the public newspaper are under the government’s control. People also gather information through social media. TikTok is very popular in Djibouti.
People get information from exiled media, too. People who have been forced to leave the country do small video clips with caricatures and jokes about the situation. We cannot say these media outlets provide verified information that has been gathered professionally.
How do you and your peers get information about local stories in your country? What are some of the barriers you must maneuver?
First, as a local journalist, you should have a very beautiful relationship with the people in your community. If they trust you, they can share information.
The other way is to be connected to an international organization working in Djibouti. Unfortunately, some international organizations or UN agencies have more access to information than the citizens of Djibouti. The government shares with those places some statistics, some information.
Still, it’s hard to get verified information. The fact-checking process is tough because sometimes there is only one source.
In some cases, journalists and activists self-censor. They may be afraid for their safety and security. This is the kind of situation we work in.
How would you say people assess the information they’re getting from the government? Are they skeptical? Are they buying the information as gospel truth? How would you describe the situation?
The people don’t trust the government communication. They know the government is manipulating the information to make the government look like it always is doing its job well. We see only the people gathering around when a minister inaugurates a center or visits one. It’s kind of propaganda.
People don’t know what is going on with the budget, how much money is being spent, or the content of the contract with foreign military bases. We are missing good journalism.
We try to close with something about hope. What gives you hope and keeps you going in your critical work?
The new generation as well as Gen Z are so strong and present on social media. They try to criticize the government in a humorous way. They don’t trust information from government media. They instead get information online and look for opportunities to meet their audiences on social media platforms to give them accurate information.
So, what gives me hope is that young people are so smart. They don’t accept any longer this way of running the country. But they do need someone to take the lead and make change.
This gives me the optimism to continue what I am doing. Without trying, we cannot make change. My people deserve current, good journalism. They should be informed, and not only exposed to government propaganda.
