Yalda Hakim is a BBC World News presenter and correspondent and is no stranger to reporting from conflict zones. Born in Afghanistan, she grew up in Sydney before moving to London, and here she tells Friday about unexploded mines, the Ebola virus and almost getting shot.
How did you get into this, Yalda?
I started my career in Australia. I was 19 and initially I taught myself how to use a camera but also worked with two of the country’s main public broadcasters. I got a traineeship for a programme called Dateline and I ended up becoming the host of it seven years later. Within that seven-year period my camera and I travelled to India, East Timor, Indonesia, Afghanistan and across Australia, where I did many stories on its indigenous communities.
How good a door-opener is it being from the BBC?
When I first joined the BBC, I travelled to Kabul and the correspondent who was based there said to me that every journalist in the country tells the military and government officials that they are the BBC because it’s such a recognised brand and they can get immediate access. He said he would turn up to a place only to be told “the BBC was here half an hour ago.” I think that shows the quality of the brand.
What are the logistics of it? How do you physically get into a warzone?
It’s a very complex process. The BBC has former military personnel who sometimes go and do a recce of the area, assess what militaries are operating out of there and consider how the local community feels about a western team coming in. Then, once we’re in, if there is a sense that something might have changed, these guys advise us about whether we should get out or stay. I believe that the local reporters who live in these environments are more brave than us – we leave these places but they have to stay.
Do BBC correspondents have a huge pot of sources and insiders to tap into?
Yes, absolutely. We also have a bureau in virtually every country across the globe and we have local teams – people who live and work in that environment and understand it better than anyone and they assist us in helping us assess the lay of the land. Equally, I’ve developed my own contacts who might tip us off about a story.
Do you feel a certain immunity as a member of the press when in a hostile area?
After spending a little bit of time in a place, you start to think, “Oh, it’s fine. It’s not as hostile as people say it is,” because actually in many of these places – even in conflict zones – people try and find normality; there’s a human spirit about it and people get on with their daily lives. So yes, you do start to feel a sense of immunity but of course we’re also aware of the number of journalists who get detained or imprisoned and killed every year across the world.
What was the most frightening thing that ever happened whilst at work?
While working in Libya during the Arab uprisings in Benghazi, I was doing a piece looking at the camera. There was a guy behind me trying to shoot his rifle – happy fire, in the air – but the gun was pointing towards me and he missed me by inches. The crowd around me thought he had hit me and there was a state of panic. I was the only one who was completely oblivious to what was happening!
Any other hairy moments?
Travelling across a minefield in southern Afghanistan after a US staff sergeant had massacred 16 Afghan civilians and I had exclusive access to that area. When we were crossing it, we were told by the Afghan police that they hadn’t actually cleared the area of mines. That was pretty scary.
Do journalists have any kind of competitive rivalry?
I think we’re all hungry; you have to have a fire in your belly. But ultimately I think the story is the most compelling element in all this, going out, hearing those voices, providing the platform.
Have you ever felt you’d done something that made a real difference?
We were in Yemen a few years ago on a story about people moving from sub-Saharan Africa through Yemen to get to Saudi Arabia for work, and we discovered that there were several hundred small torture chambers where people-smugglers were keeping migrant workers in order to extract money from their families. When we went in we were told that in one of the rooms a woman was being raped. We went back to the International Organization for Migration and reported it and they closed down the torture chamber and I believe that particular woman was rescued, along with many other people. Hopefully through our reporting and our team being there it made a slight difference.
What stories are you working on now?
I can’t disclose too much but I’m planning on travelling back to Iraq on a story in Basra. I really do love the people there and I’ve been covering the rise and fall of [Daesh]. I was smuggled in at the end of 2012 where I filmed a story on my mobile phone.
Finally, how often do you go to Dubai to hang out with your sister – and Virgin Radio Dubai presenter – Maz?
Often! I was there in December for Christmas and New Year. I usually ask for a transit via Dubai when working so I can spend a few days with her. She loves being there and I very much enjoy being there with her. Other than the occasional sisterly argument, we have lots of coffees, we go out for workouts, and she might take me out to a music concert or to the theatre. There’s never a dull moment in Dubai!
