2023
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News
Bisan Owda’s frequent video and livestream reports from the Gaza Strip vividly document the Palestinian civilian experience under Israeli siege following Hamas’ attack on October 7. The young journalist, activist, and filmmaker, who is in her 20s, chronicles her family’s plight as they flee the bombardment of their home in Beit Hanoun for the supposed safe zone of Al-Shifa Hospital. Reporting from her makeshift tent outside the medical center, she shows what survival looks like for her and the masses around her, reporting through tears and horror when Israeli forces strike an ambulance nearby. Despite a lack of clean water and the increasing scarcity of food, she draws on her indomitable spirit to keep the world informed. Bisan has gained an international audience and her reportage has been picked up by legacy outlets such as ABC News, CBS News, and the BBC. In collaboration with AJ+, Bisan’s series of films portraying the realities in Gaza have garnered more than 40 million views across various platforms, each dispatch opening with a variation of her signature line: “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m still alive.” For showing bravery and persistence in the midst of imminent danger, and for carrying a heavy journalistic burden as the entire world looks on, It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive is honored with a Peabody Award.
