For GRAZIA’s first episode on season two of Preserving Palestine, I invited Lina Abu Akleh to join me as we discuss the aftershock since the murder of her aunt, Shireen Abu Akleh, the martyred Palestinian journalist and veteran correspondent. This episode was recorded in November 2022 and the air-date was delayed to coincide with the release of season two of Preserving Palestine, and International Women’s Day.
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There are several dates that are ingrained in every Palestinian’s mind and heart. May 15 1948, being the day of the Nakba, is the most difficult to forget. June 1967 is another, as Palestinians bared witness to an “Endless Six-Day War.” Last year, on May 11th 2022, another tragedy took place that will forever be remembered as the day that Palestine lost one of the nation’s most resilient, liberating and iconic figures: Shireen Abu Akleh.
Shireen was a Palestinian-American journalist and veteran correspondent at Al Jazeera, and was known for her fearlessness while reporting on the front-lines in Palestine. Her face is instantly distinguishable to every Palestinian, which is why it was a heartfelt and tragic loss the day that Shireen was shot in cold-blood and murdered by the IDF while covering and reporting on a raid in Jenin, Palestine. She was clearly wearing a vest and helmet that marked her as press, but that unfortunately did not save Shireen’s life. In fact, it may have been the very reason behind her murder, so that Palestinians would lose yet another icon of liberation, and to halt the brave and truthful reporting she never once compromised. Ever since her death, Shireen’s entire family, including her courageous and determined niece, Lina Abu Akleh, have been vehemently determined to bring justice to the martyred journalist.
“Shireen was very fun. She had a very unique sense of humour and so many people agree,” Lina Abu Akleh, Shireen’s niece tells me. Although my conversation with Lina was four months ago, I still distinctly remember the smile on her face as she remembers her aunt. “Even after a very long day of work and witnessing a lot of violence and talking to a lot of Palestinians who have been experiencing or been struggling, she would just come back home and still have that smile on her face, she would still be ready to talk to us to share her experiences. She would always find the silver lining in every situation. This is something that I’ve always admired about her as she was a very optimistic person who looks forward to the future.” Lina continues, “she wasn’t just my aunt… We were like best friends.”
“She wasn’t just my aunt… We were like best friends.”
On May 11th 2022, Lina not only lost her aunt, but she lost her mentor and idol. “It’s crazy how she would have been the one always reporting on these unfortunate circumstances, unfortunate killings, and never thought that she would be the breaking news one day and I’d wake up and see Al Jazeera covering news about the shooting,” Lina expresses. It is a bitter moment to comprehend, that the very woman who has been eagerly reporting on unnecessary and painful losses, would one day become that very loss that the entire country of Palestine would so deeply grieve.
“[Shireen] never thought that she would be the breaking news one day.”
“It’s a moment that I don’t think I can ever forget,” Lina recalls the moment she found out that her aunt had been murdered. “Every time I remember it, I feel like it just happened yesterday. It was early morning around 6:45 am. I received a phone call from my father who was abroad. And he told me Shireen had been injured. I automatically jumped out of bed and I thought that I was dreaming. I started making phone calls. I called her colleagues at Al Jazeera, they told me that she was shot on her shoulder and that they’re trying to take her to a hospital. This was their way of reassuring me before the news came out because there was still no confirmation if she was killed or not. That kind of reassured me that she’s okay, and if it’s the shoulder, it’s not risky. It’s not life threatening. It was only few moments later, like two minutes afterwards, I called her colleague again and I asked her “is she okay?” And she was crying, she was screaming, I was in shock. I was like, “what’s happening? You need to tell me.” She said “Shireen has been martyred,” Lina continues. “I think in that moment, I was praying that I was in a nightmare and I was literally waiting to wake up from that nightmare but unfortunately that was the reality. I was in a state of shock, grief, anger, I was in denial for sure.”
“It’s a moment that I don’t think I can ever forget.”
Ever since that tragic day, Lina has traveled around the world, attending press conferences and speaking to organisations and public figures petitioning for accountability and justice and demanding independent investigations to take place. From Pope Francis to Secretary of State for the United States of America, Anthony Blinken, there is no person in a position of power that Lina has not met. And yet, even when global organisations such as the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International and several more have openly called for accountability, and after Lina was named under TIME100’s Next List in 2022, as well as one of BBC’s 100 Women list in 2022, the fight hasn’t stopped.
“It’s important to have hope, because it’s what pushes us towards this fight,” Lina passionately tells me. “At the end of the day, we’re not just doing this for Shireen. We’re also hoping that this will set a precedent and we won’t have to see other Palestinians or any Americans being killed, or any journalists, it’s really important that there are more mechanisms in place for the protection of journalists, especially female journalists in the front-lines.”
There is no doubt in my head, that Lina Abu Akleh is channeling her martyred aunt every second of every day. At the end of the day, #WeAreAllShireen are Lina’s very own words.
#WeAreAllShireen #JusticeForShireen
