The last time I saw Anna Day we were both attending a conference in Dubai. That was just last month, in February. I hopped a plane back home to the United States.
She went to Bahrain.
She was soon arrested with her crew as they were filming a documentary about the legacy of the Arab Spring uprisings. They were charged crimes that carried hefty sentences.
Anna and crew in Bahrain. Courtesy of the people of Sitra village, Bahrain
Anna recounts that experience in pretty vivid detail. But getting arrested in Bahrain is just the latest challenge that Anna has faced while trying to tell stories from the Middle East. She was one of the first western journalists to detail the rise of ISIS in Syria, and before that she was one of the first American journalists in Tahrir Square as the Egypt Arab Spring began.
In this episode, Anna discusses her arrest in Bahrain and the challenge of press freedom in the Middle East. She also discusses a career path that led her from Idaho to Syria and many places in between.
Links mentioned:
Who Shot Ahmed: A Mystery Unravels in Bahrain’s Botched Arab Spring by Elizabeth Dickinson.
Jezebel profile of Anna.
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