@cammacd.bsky.social
Journalist from Aotearoa New Zealand. Now in Ottawa after a long stint in the Middle East
Newsletter: In a media landscape dominated by algorithmic feeds that aim to manipulate and extract, sometimes the most radical thing you can do is choose to read what you want, when you want, without anyone watching over your shoulder.
Here’s how to use RSS.
www.citationneeded.news/curate-with-...
Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die - AFP, July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance videographers in the Gaza Strip since the departure of its staff journalists in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones reporting what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to see them die. One of them, Bashar, has worked for AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then as a freelance photographer, and since 2024 as the main photographer. On Saturday, July 19, he managed to post a message on Facebook: "I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can no longer work."
Bashar, 30, works and lives in conditions equal to those of all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another as Israeli bombardments dictate. For over a year, he has lived in absolute destitution and works at enormous risk to his life. Hygiene is a major problem for him, with periods of severe intestinal illness. Bashar has been living in the ruins of his Gaza City home since February with his mother, his four siblings, and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any amenities or comforts, except for a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that his older brother had "fallen from hunger." Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, there is nothing to buy, or only at exorbitant prices. The banking system has disappeared, and those who exchange money between online bank accounts and cash charge a commission of nearly 40%.
AFP no longer has the means to have a vehicle, let alone the fuel to allow its journalists to travel for their reports. Traveling by car is tantamount to running the risk of being a target for the Israeli air force. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. Ahlam, for her part, survives in the south of the enclave. And she is determined to "bear witness" for as long as possible. "Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, conduct an interview, or document a story, I don't know if I'll come back alive." The biggest problem, she confirms, is the lack of food and water. We see their situation worsening. They are young, and their strength is failing them. Most no longer have the physical ability to travel the enclave to do their job. Their heartbreaking pleas for help are now daily.
Over the past few days, we have understood from their brief messages that their lives no longer depend on much and that their courage, devoted for many months to informing the whole world, will not help them survive. We risk learning of their deaths at any moment, and it's unbearable. This Sunday, Bashar wrote: "For the first time, I feel defeated." Later that day, he told one of us that he thanked him "for explaining what we live daily between death and hunger." "I wish Mr. Macron could help me get out of this hell." Ahlam is still standing. "I try to continue practicing my profession, to carry the voice of the people, to document the truth in the face of all attempts to silence it. Here, resistance is not a choice: it's a necessity." Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing a colleagues die of starvation.
“Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing our colleagues die of starvation.”
The AFP news release has been released in French. Below is an English translation via Google translate.
Sans intervention immédiate, les derniers reporters de Gaza vont mourir 21 juillet 2025 L'AFP travaille avec une pigiste texte, trois photographes et six pigistes vidéo dans la Bande de Gaza depuis le départ de ses journalistes staff courant 2024. Avec quelques autres, ils sont aujourd'hui les seuls à rapporter ce qu'il se passe dans la Bande de Gaza. La presse internationale est interdite d'entrer dans ce territoire depuis près de deux ans. Nous refusons de les voir mourir. L'un deux, Bashar, collabore pour l'AFP depuis 2010, d'abord comme fixeur, ensuite comme photographe pigiste, et depuis 2024 comme principal photographe. Samedi 19 juillet, il est parvenu à poster un message sur Facebook: « Je n'ai plus la force de travailler pour les médias. Mon corps est maigre et je ne peux plus travailler ». Bashar, 30 ans, travaille et vit dans des conditions égales à celles de tous les Gazaouis, allant d'un camp de réfugiés à un autre camp au gré des bombardements israéliens. Depuis plus d'un an il vit dans le dénuement le plus total et travaille en prenant d'énormes risques pour sa vie. L'hygiène est pour lui un problème majeur, avec des périodes de maladies intestinales sévères. Bashar vit depuis février dans les ruines de sa maison de Gaza City avec sa mère, ses quatre frères et sœurs et la famille d'un de ses frères. Leur maison est vide de tout aménagement et confort, à part quelques coussins. Dimanche matin, il a rapporté que son frère aîné était « tombé, à cause de la faim ». Même si ces journalistes reçoivent un salaire mensuel de l'AFP, il n'y a rien à acheter ou alors à des prix totalement exorbitants. Le système bancaire a disparu, et ceux qui pratiquent le change entre les comptes bancaires en ligne et l'argent liquide prennent une commission de près de 40%. L'AFP n'a plus la possibilité d'avoir un véhicule et encore moins de l'essence pour permettre à ses journalistes de se déplacer pour leurs reportages. Circuler en voiture équivaut de toutes les façons à pre…
🚨BREAKING: The last journalists working for AFP in Gaza have said they can no longer work for the news agency.
They are out of energy and they are starving to death.
I have never seen a statement from a news organisation like it.
🧵
Happy birthday! How is Baghdad these days?
26.06.2025 21:52 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Ottawa psychotherapist Kafui Sawyer (left) and organizational psychologist Helen Ofosu have criticized the Canadian Psychological Association for proposing changes to its strategic plan relating to equity, diversity and inclusion and truth and reconciliation policies.
Black psychologists fear EDI rollback within Canadian Psychological Association www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... @cammacd.bsky.social
𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/newsletter 🍁
Trump threats open 'floodgate' of inquiries from U.S. physicians about moving north. Some Canadian doctors and researchers are also turning down opportunities in the U.S., by @cammacd.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... via @cbcnews.ca
31.03.2025 18:04 — 👍 23 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 1Hi there, I'm a journalist with CBC in Ottawa, wondering if you'd be willing to speak for a story about Americans moving to Canada? My work email is campbell.macdiarmid@cbc.ca 🙏
12.03.2025 17:26 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Also if you're looking for the *perfect* gift for a loved one this holiday season, who could resist Pete's book about the link between climate change and rising violence? islandpress.org/books/heat-a...
15.12.2024 16:39 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0If you're interested in signing up for these newsletters you can do so here: www.campbellmacdiarmid.com/newsletter
15.12.2024 16:39 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
The Sausage Factory #3: Near death in the desert, the best reporting on Syria and @schwartzstein.bsky.social shares his secrets (of freelancing). mailchi.mp/59b403df6ec7...
15.12.2024 16:36 — 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0Their story is better known since Kiwi writer Ben Stanley spent a year researching their story ahead of the 50th anniversary of Jim’s death. Ben got to know Garry as he was dying of cancer and produced a stunning Longform piece for North & South magazine in 2018, that sadly is not available online.
03.12.2024 18:11 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Jim and his brother Garry were the sons of a US Marine who was stationed in New Zealand during WWII. The Lott boys both joined the Marines and served in Vietnam. Jim was killed in a rocket attack on Chu Lai in May 1968
03.12.2024 18:11 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
On my first trip to DC this weekend I left a poppy at the Vietnam War memorial for Jim Lott, the only New Zealander on the wall.
03.12.2024 18:11 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Thank you! 🫡
25.11.2024 13:10 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Isaac argues that by focusing on suffering, war reporting legitimates existing power structures. By not giving the same space to discussing the causes of violence, we cover war as if it was a natural disaster.
I cover some of this in the newsletter but I encourage you to read his book.
This week I spoke with Isaac Blacksin, whose book "Conflicted: Making News From Global War" challenges many of the assumptions of conflict reporting. mailchi.mp/7d35532ce69b...
23.11.2024 20:24 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Greetings Bluesky. I've been less active on social media this past year but I did start a semi-regular newsletter where I talk to friends and colleagues about how the sausage gets made in journalism. I'd love to hear from anyone who was interested. www.campbellmacdiarmid.com/newsletter
23.11.2024 20:24 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 1
