How a decades-long connection led to a new collaboration

Posted on January 13, 2024 by beenasarwar

I have known Rob Vreeken for over 30 years, since we met in Amsterdam in the early 1990s. He worked at the leading Dutch daily newspaper De Volkskrant, that we visited — women journalists from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia, in The Netherlands on a month-long fellowship. I have lost contact with the other fellows but Rob and I stayed in touch on email.

The last time we actually met was when he traveled to Pakistan as a foreign correspondent, soon after my daughter was born. He visited our home in Karachi and met my family, thoughtfully bringing along a baby gift. He has also been very supportive of my ventures, from Aman ki Asha, to the Southasia Peace Action Network and Sapan News, , the media outlet I started in August 2021.

Since ‘retiring’ from De Volkskrant a few years ago, Rob has been the paper’s Istanbul correspondent. After the Oct. 7 attacks, he also reported from Israel and the West Bank.

November 11, 2023: Rob Vreeken with Palestinian activist Saleh Diab in East Jerusalem. Photo by Faiz Abu Rmeleh

In November, he shared some photos which I thought would be interesting for my students at Emerson College, where I taught a Global Journalism course last fall. He subsequently shared his experiences with my students, who really appreciated his insights – like, it’s okay to say “I (or we) don’t know” rather than rushing to provide opinion or information, and the importance of acknowledging mistakes that we as journalists and human beings make.

I’m sharing Rob’s first piece written specially for Sapan News. It is a clear and fair analysis of the ICJ hearings at the Hague that he watched live from Istanbul.

You can see the photos I shared with my class in a slideshow embedded in his piece at the Sapan News website. The article, like all our features, is available for syndication with due credit to Sapan News – http://www.sapannews.com.

Read: What Israel fears above all – a Sapan News syndicated feature

Lawyer Vusi Madonsela (left) of the South Africa legal team; looking at him Tal Becker (right), head of Israeli team. Photo by Rob Vreeken, Istanbul.

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Hello, and updates from Sapan News and Southasia Peace Action Network

Posted on December 24, 2023 by beenasarwar

Seasons greetings despite the sadness, and excerpts from a Sapan Alliance newsletter sent out a few days ago on Substack

Joy is also a form of defiance. Dancers: A greeting card I made some years ago (pastel and water colour), repurposed for Southasiapeace.com and Sapannews.com.

In times that can feel dark and dismal, some good news and exciting updates.

Meet Sapan News — a unique media outlet that aims to cover and connect Southasia, the Indian Ocean and diaspora. That goes behind the headlines, connects communities, academics, activists, and more. Creating space for understanding, empathy and nuance.

  • In November, Sapan News qualified for NewsMatch, a philanthropic fund helping nonprofit newsrooms like ours in the U.S. Contributions made by year-end will get matched up to $15,000. Gratitude to our community that has stepped up to meet this challenge.
  • Those wanting to chip in are welcome – here’s the donate link for tax-deductible contributions.
  • A 100 new donors will secure a $1,000 bonus, and monthly donations initiated this month will get matched x12!
Donate now to double your impact

Thank you for your support. It means so much – and together, we are stronger.

Collaborations: Hello, Central Desi!

Sapan News is proud to partner with Central Desi, a dynamic news portal that started as a newsletter to cover all things ‘desi’ (Southasian) in New Jersey. Kudos to journalist Ambreen Ali for growing her passion project into a news org that won a major grant, enabling them to hire reporting fellows. Sapan News has much to learn from this initiative.

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