The story
«I cannot remember my mother’s face anymore» are the words of Javed as he looks onto the sea. We are sitting on the coast in Patras, Greece, not far away from the harbour. Just across the street is the old the old, run-down factory in which Javed and forty other refugees from Afghanistan have found shelter.
For one week also I share this home with them. Javed’s words inspire me to take on a journey going from Austria, through Turkey and Greece, leading to Iran, where he started his journey as a refugee. My plan is to transcribe this journey in the form of a report and come back with a picture of Javed’s mother Ozra to give to him.
Where you come in
My purpose is to bring across the refugee situation in Europe, and particularly Greece, in a way that is as sustainable as possible. This is why I am looking for an approach on how substantial journalism can survive while being on the pulse of time.
«Ozra» will be the exemplary outcome of this strive. The very strong emotional momentum – the lost memory of the mother’s face – is what manages to support the complex subject of Europe’s refugee policy and makes it possible to bring the issue across in a way that is comprehensible. The story will be told using appropriate media such as text, pictures, audio and video recordings, infographics and data visualisation. It will be published in the online magazine WHY ISSUE, which will also be available in English.
WHY ISSUE is based on a web environment, developed for this exact purpose, to represent multimedia-based reports, and will be launched with the publication of «Ozra».
What you support
A report of this magnitude requires a lot of time as well as a lot of money. While I was still able to cover the expenses for my work in Patras, the situation looks quite differently for «Ozra». The amount of at least CHF 6000 that is facing me for travel expenses, accommodation and food as well as paying a translator is simply impossible for me to raise all by myself. This is why I need your support, no matter big or small, to bring the report «Ozra» to life.
What more you can do
Money, although being an indispensable factor for the success of this report, is not everything! Your talent and abilities are worth at least as much.
- Do you know people living in Van, Teheran, Isfahan or near one of these cities, that could assist me with translating or a place to sleep while I’m there?
- Are you a designer, who would like be involved in designing the layout of the printed magazine, its online version or in creating infographics?
- Do you know how to visualize data and would like to participate in developing and creating such data visualizations?
- Are you experienced with HTML, PHP and JQuery and would you like to be part of WHY ISSUE’s further development?
- Do you articulate yourself eloquently in English and also be able to translate texts from German to English?
- Do you speak Dari? Can you translate and transcribe audio recordings and footage?
If so, I will get in touch with you and, of course, you will get a reward for your help.
What’s in it for you
You help realizing a report to an extent which would not be possible otherwise. You support the establishment of a new online magazine which will take on more subjects with the purpose of bringing them across in a comprehensible and pertinent manner. In exchange I promise to dedicate myself fully to high quality journalism. Furthermore, there will, of course, be some kind of a gratification for your help.
Das bekommst du
Dein Beitrag hilft, eine Reportage umzusetzen, wie sie sonst in diesem Umfang nicht möglich wäre. Du unterstützt zudem die Entstehung eines neuen Onlinemagazins, das im Laufe der Zeit weitere Themen auf ähnlich Weise vermittelbar machen wird. Dazu erhältst du mein volles Engagement, besseren Journalismus zu machen. Und natürlich jede Menge Belohnungen.