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Bisan Owda (Template:Lang-ar; born 1997 or 1998) is a Palestinian journalist, activist, and filmmaker. She is best known for her social media videos documenting her experiences during the Israel–Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. She won a 2024 Peabody Award in the News category for her Al Jazeera Media Network show, It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive, and was nominated for the 2024 News and Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form.

Early life

Owda grew up in Beit Hanoun. She was interested in storytelling from a young age, as well as reading, basketball, and astronomy.

Career

Owda has worked with several organizations on various issues. As a member of UN Women's Youth Gender Innovation Agora Forum, she has worked on gender equality. She has worked with the European Union on climate change and is an EU Goodwill Ambassador. Owda also works for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Owda produces a show, Hakawatia, which is about Palestinian history and culture; it is aired by Roya TV. She also presented educational Palestinian Arabic videos for the YouTube channel Easy Languages.

During a May 2021 escalation in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Owda shared videos on Instagram with the goal of drawing international attention to conditions in Gaza.

Israel–Hamas war (2023- )

During the Israel–Hamas war, which began in October 2023, Owda garnered attention for her semi-regular video and livestream updates on social media documenting Palestinian civilians' experiences. She became known for opening her videos with some variation of the phrase, "I'm still alive". Her videos are mostly in English, though some are in Arabic. Her work has been shared by BBC News, Al Jazeera, ABC News, and Save the Children. In her videos, she has spoken about lack of water, food, shelter, and other resources; she has also spoken about Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drones, bombings, widespread illness, and feelings of hopelessness.

After the IDF told Gaza residents to evacuate from the North of Gaza in October 2023, Owda and her parents relocated from Beit Hanoun to Al-Shifa Hospital. Her family's home and her office in Rimal were both bombed, destroying all of Owda's filming equipment. From Al-Shifa Hospital, Owda documented the "increasingly critical situation" on social media. Owda witnessed the Al-Shifa ambulance airstrike on 3 November. She was displaced from Al-Shifa Hospital after it was sieged by the IDF in mid-November and reported that injured people were dying due to the lack of medical care.

By May 2024, Owda had accumulated 4.1 million followers. Additionally, she has been depicted in murals in the UK.

In May 2024, Owda won a Peabody Award in the News category for her Al Jazeera Media Network show, It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive. In a statement, the Peabody board of jurors wrote: "Reporting from her makeshift tent outside the medical center, she shows what survival looks like for her and the masses around her". The award was presented by Mo Amer, and Owda attended the ceremony via video. In her acceptance speech, Owda dedicated her award to people protesting in support of Palestine and called for: "an end to the genocide, a ceasefire, and a free Palestine".

In July 2024, It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive was nominated for the 45th News and Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form. Pro-Israel nonprofit Creative Community for Peace called for the nomination to be rescinded, alleging Owda was a member of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization, and publishing a open letter signed by 150 people involved in the entertainment industry, such as Haim Seban, Selma Blair and Debra Messing. The president of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Adam Sharp, announced Owda's nomination would not be rescinded, writing that "NATAS has been unable to corroborate these reports" of Owda’s alleged involvement and "found no grounds, to date, upon which to overturn the editorial judgment of the independent journalists who reviewed the material."

In August 2024, It's Bisan from Gaza won an Edward R. Murrow Award in the News Series category.

Awards and nominations

See also

• Motaz Azaiza
• Wael Al-Dahdouh
• Plestia Alaqad
• History of Palestinian journalism

References

1. ^ Jon, Donnison (15 October 2023). "One week in Gaza: 'There are no safe places here'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
2. Saab, Sheren Falah (29 November 2023). "'This Is Bisan. I'm Still Alive': The Gazans Reporting From the Ground on Social Media". Haaretz. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
3. ^ Paccalin, Claire (24 October 2023). "'Not sure I'm lucky to be alive': Gazans fear worse is to come as public health 'catastrophe' looms". France 24. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
4. ^ "Bisan Owda". EU Neighbours. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
5. ^ "In the Words of Bisan Owda "Content Creation is an Effective Tool to Advance Gender Equality in Palestine"". UN Women – Palestine Country Office. 28 August 2023. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
6. Blanco, Patricia R. (3 November 2023). "Pregnant women in Gaza in dire straits with no food, water or anesthesia for Cesareans". EL PAÍS English. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
7. ^ "Gaza's remaining young voices after Motaz Azaiza and Plestia Alaqad: Who is Bisan Owda, Hind Khoudary, and Doaa Albaz?". The New Arab. 15 February 2024.
8. Easy Languages (16 September 2022). "Which Country Do Palestinians Like the Most? – Easy Palestinian Arabic 3". Retrieved 1 February 2024 – via YouTube.
9. "'Are you still alive? Is there bombing around you?': These are the questions asked inside Gaza". ABC News. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
10. ^ "Gaza journalists Motaz Azaiza, Bisan decry world apathy towards Israel's onslaught". The New Arab. 3 December 2023.
11. Arafat, Zaina (20 November 2023). "Witnessing Gaza Through My Instagram Feed". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
12. "This Ramadan in Gaza, There Will be No Dates to Break the Fast". Save the Children. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
13. ^ Malik, Asmaa; Fatah, Sonya (30 January 2024). "Attacks on Press Freedoms Have Chilling Effects Far beyond Gaza". The Walrus. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
14. ^ Rémy, Jean-Philippe; Zerrouky, Madjid (6 November 2023). "Israeli army intensifies strikes on Gaza, plunging civilians into horror and hunger". Le Monde.fr. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
15. "Red Crescent says 15 killed in strike on Gaza ambulance outside Al-Shifa hospital". BBC News. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
16. Price, Mikayla (11 November 2023). "Palestinian journalists forced to flee to southern Gaza, can't report on events in north". CBS News.
17. "Artist and illustrator Anna Dittmann, from Abbeyhill, Edinburgh,..." Getty Images. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
18. Mehdi, Zainab (16 February 2024). "Brushstrokes of hope: Mural project in London iconifies the hero journalists of Gaza". The New Arab.
19. ^ Pedersen, Erik (9 May 2024). "Peabody Award Winners Include 'The Bear', 'Last Of Us', 'Reservation Dogs' & 'Bluey'; Special Honor For 'Star Trek' Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
20. ^ "Bisan Owda and AJ+ win Peabody Award for Gaza war coverage". Al Jazeera. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
21. Jones, Marcus (12 June 2024). "Most Awards Shows Dodge Real-World Issues — Not This One". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
22. ^ Hilary, Lewis (25 July 2024). "2024 News & Documentary Emmy Awards Nominations Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter.
23. ^ Rice, Lynette (20 August 2024). "NATAS Responds To Request To Rescind Emmy Nom For Palestinian Journo Behind Doc "It's Bisan From Gaza And I'm Still Alive"". Deadline. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
24. ^ Tracy, Marc (20 August 2024). "News Emmys Defend Nomination of Palestinian Journalist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
25. ^ "Al Jazeera Digital wins top Edward R Murrow Awards for Gaza war coverage". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
26. "2024 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winners - Radio Television Digital News Association". www.rtdna.org. Retrieved 21 August 2024.

External links

• Bisan Owda on Instagram
• Bisan Owda on TikTok

• 1990s births
• Living people
• 21st-century Palestinian journalists
• 21st-century Palestinian women
• Instagram people
• Palestinian film producers
• Palestinian Internet celebrities
• United Nations Population Fund
• Palestinian women film producers
• People of the Israel–Hamas war
• Palestinian women journalists
• 21st-century women journalists
• Journalists from the Gaza Strip