Shifa Zikri Ibrahim, also known by her pseudonym Shifa Zirki Gardi (July 1, 1986 – February 25, 2017), an Iraqi-Kurdish television presenter and journalist who was working for Rudaw Media Network in western Mosul, Iraq, was killed by a roadside bomb while reporting during the Iraq War.[2]
Shifa Zikri Ibrahim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Shifa Zikri Ibrahim July 1, 1986 Ziveh, Silvaneh, Iran |
| Died | February 25, 2017 |
| Cause of death | Roadside bomb |
| Nationality | Kurdish |
| Other names | Shifa Zirki Gardi |
| Education | Salahaddin University |
| Occupation | TV journalist |
| Employer | Rudaw Media Network |
Personal edit
Shifa Zikri Ibrahim, also known as Shifa Gardi, was born a refugee in Iran on July 1, 1986. She was a graduate of media department from Salahaddin University in Erbil. She started her media career in 2006, and joined Rudaw Media Network from its inception.[3]
Career edit
Shifa Gardi began her media career in 2006. She joined Rudaw Media Network at the beginning of its foundation.[2] She worked as an Iraqi-Kurdish reporter and Kurdish-language anchor for Rudaw TV. She later became a segment presenter in Rudaw, covering Focus Mosul program which she started to run when the operation to drive Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from Iraq was launched in October 2016.[4] She often reported from the front lines of the war against the Islamic State, which made her popular.[5] Gardi was also the presented of Focus Mosul, a special daily news program focusing on the battle to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[6]
Death edit
Gardi's death occurred during an offensive by Iraqi forces trying to recapture Mosul from ISIS.[citation needed] Gardi and cameraman Mustafa had been making a report about the so-called "Valley of Death," an area 20 kilometers south of Mosul and five kilometers from the main Baghdad-Mosul road that is believed to have been used by ISIS for mass executions.[6] As Gardi was getting comments from a Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi commander beside a huge hole where ISIS militants were said to have dumped the bodies of people they had killed, the commander’s feet happened to wrap in a wire, leading to the denotation of a bomb, killing Gardi. This incident happened at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday.[7]
Ranja Jamal, another Rudaw reporter who was also in Mosul when Gardi died explained that she had been given information regarding the valley but was not able to find it. On her way back, she came across a Hashd al-Shaabi force, and asked them about the place. They told her that they knew about the place and guided her to the spot.[7] Along with Gardi, the bombing also killed five other members of a paramilitary force who had led her to the site. Another eight people, including Rudaw TV cameraman Yunis Mustafa, were injured, according to Rudaw TV and news reports.[8]
Rudaw Executive Director Ako Mohamm said, "We were always urging them to be behind the front lines of the war, telling them that they were not soldiers or Peshmerga fighters. It appears that Shifa had moved closer to the front lines out of seriousness to her job."[9]
Context edit
Gardi was one of the female journalists who were covering the counteroffensive against ISIS inside Iraq for Rudaw. Her colleagues remembered the compassion she showed in her work. Once instance involved a wounded animal. Gardi called attention to the effects of war on rabbit and said, "The rabbit is suffering from malnutrition which has caused visible damage to its face. I brought it back with me. We will be treating the rabbit and then give it to an animal protection agency which is willing to look after it," she said.[10]
Others made note of her role as a woman in war journalism. Bayan Sami Rahman, the Kurdish government's representative to the United States and a former journalist, tweeted that Kurdistan "has lost a courageous and professional journalist who cracked the glass ceiling."[11]
Falah Mustafa, minister of the foreign relations department for the Kurdistan Regional Government, described Gardi in a tweet as a "role model to young women."[11]
Rudaw praised the groundbreaking aspects of her career, saying, “Journalism remains male-dominated — Shifa Gardi broke those perceptions & stereotypes — we pay tribute to her courageous journalism.”[12]
Impact edit
Gardi's killing was the first recorded war-related death of a journalist in Iraq in 2017, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. At least six were killed in the country last year.[9] The bomb also wounded her cameraman Younis Mustafa who was transferred to Erbil, the nearby capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region where the channel is headquartered.[citation needed]
Reactions edit
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, "We are determined to follow the terrorism that is trying to kill our sons and our citizens everywhere."[13]
Ako Mohamm, executive director at Rudaw, said, "We are saddened by the passing of Shifa. Her place will remain irreplaceable in Rudaw, but she will always stay in our hearts."[9]
Brett H. McGurk, a US special presidential envoy involved with counter-terrorism, said, "She was everything ISIS fears: a journalist exposing their lies."[9]
Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, said,"She joins a list of irreplaceable people lost in this war."[14]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ شیفا گەردی لە موسڵ شەھید بوو | ڕووداو
- ^ a b "Rudaw reporter and anchor Shifa Gardi killed by roadside bomb near Mosul". Rudaw. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ McBride, Jessica (February 25, 2017). "Shifa Gardi: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ Logan, Ross (February 25, 2017). "Poignant last report of female war correspondent before she was killed". mirror. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
- ^ "Opinion: President Trump does the right thing for once — and here's why it's incredibly ironic". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ a b Oliphant, Roland (February 26, 2017). "Tributes for Shifa Gardi, 'courageous' journalist killed in Mosul reporting ISIL atrocities". Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph (UK). ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ a b "UPDATED: Kurdish journalist Shifa Gardi died chasing a lead on an ISIS mass grave". Rudaw. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ "Shifa Zikri Ibrahim (Shifa Gardi) - Journalists Killed - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org.
- ^ a b c d "TV journalist Shifa Gardi killed while covering Mosul fight". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
- ^ "Kurdish reporter killed in Mosul". 25 February 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ a b Alkhshali, Hamdi; Sanchez, Ray. "Kurdish reporter Shifa Gardi killed in Iraq". CNN. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ WITW: Women in the World in Association (February 27, 2017). "TV journalist Shifa Gardi killed in Iraq covering battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS". New York Times. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ^ Butler, Karen (26 February 2017). "TV journalist Shifa Gardi killed in Mosul roadside bomb-explosion". United Press International, Inc. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Shifa Gardi: Tributes paid to reporter killed in Mosul". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera Media Network. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2020.