The five lives of a reporter

I’m a reporter and a world class stalker but not the creepy kind, just the annoying sort. It’s like being a fetcher for a scientist; you grab pieces of reality and bring them back to the lab for further examination.

I’ve been a fetcher for five years now. For someone in her 20s, I feel I have the kind of experience very few do in this industry — I’ve seen the birth of a newspaper and witnessed it grow, expand, flourish. This experience has been a privilege, one of the most valued moments of my life.

I’ve noticed myself grow and change with the stories I’ve written. The first piece I wrote was about a former boxer fired from his position as coach. It summed up my role for the next five years because knowing what we write can change a life is the best reason to work for.

However, there have been many a time I’ve doubted the strength of a lighter field such as sports. What can it possibly do for people in a country like Pakistan where health and education are not even primary concerns? Most of the time, just mere survival takes precedence over everything else. Every month I kept telling myself to quit.

I remember covering Pakistan’s first prototype racing car produced by NUST students to compete at the Formula Student contest in Britain. That story was a particularly tough one to do. It was 2014 and the Karachi airport was hit by a terrorist attack. Watching the live telecast was terrifying; finding the strength to even get up and talk to anyone the next morning, the thought of doing a story on a race car was almost ridiculous. I wanted to quit my job.

There have been plenty of times when I have felt envious of other fellow journalists and this was one of those. The airport attack is the kind of story I would have been doing had I been on the national or city desk — working on things that mattered.

But I ended up doing the race car piece anyway. It received an overwhelming response and that made me realise the importance of doing good things in the face of adversity.

Other times I wanted to quit because of the idea of having to sell my stories, the idea of having to fight for space on the pages, the idea of having to be just that good to succeed, got the best of me.

In these five years, I’ve seen a Christian girl make her way to the football field to represent the Islamic republic of Pakistan; a 16-year-old international footballer from Lyari killed in a police encounter and watched athletes I covered make it big, athletes such as Kaleemullah and the Street Child World Cup players.

I began with saying that I hate cricket which was sort of a professional suicide for a sports reporter, especially a female one, even before beginning my career. I was often looked down upon for the beats I chose to cover; at times my gender came in the way as well.

However, trying to prove myself was not that difficult though because I realised that it takes time for perceptions to change. Mostly trying to fetch stories that can change these perceptions became the objective every single day.

I’m a fetcher trying to be like the Greeks from a story I read a long time ago.

A king, who was fond of arts and sports, invited the Chinese and Greeks to his land, asking them to produce their best work on a given deadline.

He gave parallel spaces to the Chinese and Greeks and asked them to begin their work. The Chinese asked for all kinds of art supplies while the Greeks asked for scrapes and brushes.

With the deadline approaching, all that could be seen from the Greek camp was clouds of dust and grinding sounds while the Chinese carefully put their ideas together to present the best artwork in the world for the king.

On the day of the verdict, the Chinese went on to confidently reveal their creation. The king was astonished. In his head, the Chinese had already won.

With less excitement he turned to the Greeks to see what they had done with their time and space. The Greeks unveiled the walls which gleamed like mirrors, reflecting the work the Chinese had produced in front of them.

The king fell down on his knees to the Greeks in appreciation because he understood the art of showing reality.

And that is what journalism means to me — portraying reality.





The stories that stood out

Sarfraz’s story: Missing the father that said no

Date: January 17, 2015 

As a kid, he used to wipe his clothes to hide the stains from his father; now he would give anything for him to see them.

Peshawar attack: The faulty alarm clock that saved a life

Date: December 17, 2014 

The silence of an alarm clock saved a life and the silence of Dawood now needs to wake up many.

Kaleemullah signs two-year contract with FC Dordoi

Date: July 16 

The Chaman-based striker has now become the most expensive player in the Kyrgyzstan league; he is also the first Pakistani footballer to sign such a deal internationally.

National women’s team: Joyann first Christian to represent Pakistan

Date: November 13 

The Karachi-based player is part of a ‘new wave’ of female footballers whom national coach Tariq Lutfi recruited for the South Asian Football Federation Women’s Championship.

Pakistan’s preparations for Street Child World Cup underway

Date: November 4, 2013 

“I ran away from home when I was seven,” said 15-year-old Owais Rehmat. “I lived on the streets in Saddar for almost four years. One day I got into trouble and went to a shelter, I started playing football as well, and now I live with my mother.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2015.