From Chatlapur Tea Garden to Gothenburg: A journalistic odyssey

About 18 years ago, when I began my humble foray into journalism, I had little idea about places the profession would possibly take me to.

Over the years until recently, Kailashahar municipality in India's Tripura was the only place I set my foot to beyond the borders of Bangladesh.

Also, hailing from a marginalised community at Chatlapur Tea Garden in Moulvibazar, my aspirations were not so many in this profession.

All that I tried so far was to represent the tea garden people and write about their plight, alongside reporting about the regional affairs.

However, all changed when Miraj Chowdhury, Bangladesh representative of Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), encouraged me to participate in the 2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC23) in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Initially, the proposition seemed surreal. Yet, inspired, I applied for the opportunity, and found myself on a flight to Sweden on September 18.

Boarding the Turkish Airlines flight, I had a walk down my memory lane as it took me back to 2004 when Hasibur Rahman Mukur, executive director of Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI), undertook a commendable initiative to usher 22 indigenous and marginalised youths from Sylhet, including me, into journalism.

Endowed with the training and mentorship, I found my footing in this profession, and have since then passed 18 transformative years.

At Istanbul for transit on way to Gothenburg, I met two other passengers, an Indian and a Turk, with a shared destination -- the GIJC23.

As the plane touched down, it became evident that a significant portion of its occupants were headed to the same destination, and were all engaged in investigative journalism within their respective spheres.

The conference, held from September 19 to 22, brought together over 2,000 investigative journalists from 133 countries.

A pre-conference day preceded the main event, featuring over 300 speakers and about 200 programmes. Since the first session, I became immersed in the overwhelming experience, as it dispelled all my initial doubts regarding my journalistic competence.

The conference brought forth a revelation that traditional journalism, grounded in human insights, would persist even as Artificial Intelligence emerged as an inevitable force in modern living and journalism.

Sessions offered glimpses into various facets of investigative journalism, unveiling the bizarre aspects of charity organisations, illicit trades, environmental impacts, and unconventional businesses.

A harrowing reality check on the pervasiveness of digital threat was made clear by GIJC keynote speaker, Ron Deibert, also the director of Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. He urged reporters to work together in collaboration to fight back, by investigating the hacking industry that is targeting them and, in most cases, their relatives.

"I'm really worried about where we sit right now. The 'new normal' is mercenary surveillance firms, that are almost entirely unregulated, are selling to the world's worst sociopaths," Deibert warned, adding that numerous democratic governments were also enthusiastic clients of these spy firms.

He discussed some privately-developed and government-deployed hacking and geolocation tools that are so potent that there is little anyone can do to prevent their phones from being secretly turned against them.

Naziru Mikail, executive director (digital and editorial) of Media Trust Group, said the media entities in Nigeria need to talk to each other and beyond each other to come up with innovative ways of sustaining the industry.

Dev Kumar Sunuwar, chairperson of Indigenous Television, an indigenous peoples-based news media in Nepal, said at a panel discussion on "Investigating Indigenous Stories" that despite the different geographies and cultures represented at the gatherings, the similarities in the impacts of racism, colonisation, land grabbing, and forced displacement of indigenous peoples, among others, are weaved together in all of our stories, although the coverage of such violations is extremely limited.
If indigenous peoples' issues or rights violations are covered at all, they are not always properly or positively portrayed, he added.

Speaking at the panel, Tristan Ahtone, editor at large at Grist, said, "In the US, there are several things that impact indigenous peoples -- economy, land grabbing, health care -- that receive little or no coverage in the media, primarily because reporters don't find those stories particularly important. And there are no signs of such an attitude going away anytime soon."

A few places have started designated desks to report on indigenous peoples' problems, but most of them are at small non-profit outlets or public radio stations, not at large organisations or mainstream media, he added.

Attending the evening reception, I noticed the distinctive approach of international journalists, particularly their commitment to investigative reporting, that transcends daily news cycles.

The dedication of those who sacrifice personal lives, endure threats, imprisonment, and even death for the sake of journalism left a lasting impression on me.

The main conference delved into diverse realms, exploring social policies, state policies, international relations, politics, elections, and myriad other subjects. It grappled with the question of how journalism could genuinely serve public welfare, ensure accountability, and engage the public.

As an indigenous journalist, I found an unmissable focus on indigenous issues, emphasising the vital role communities play in preserving nature.

The conference showcased multiple Bangladeshi speakers across various sessions, culminating in the prideful moment of Bangladeshi journalists receiving Global Shining Light Awards.

David Kaplan, outgoing executive director of GIJN, said while press freedom is under threat in most countries in the world, GIJC is an opportunity for investigative journalists to know that they have a global support.

"In whichever country you work, know that you're not alone. Investigative journalism is more needed than ever before. Together, we will advance it," he said.

At the end of the conference, when I met David Kaplan, I introduced myself as a journalist hailing from a tea garden area in Bangladesh, and talked about the discrimination faced by indigenous tea workers there. He was surprised.

He said, "We are very grateful to be able to join the remote areas or indigenous communities in GIJC. I give you thanks for coming. Have courage. We are also with repressed people."

In retrospect, my participation in the GIJC23 instilled a profound sense of honour, responsibility, courage and conviction that journalism remains a noble pursuit.

I learned journalism is not a crime and journalists are not criminals.