Iragi Elisha, Reporting on Congo for Outsiders and Insiders from Within
Lily Wright interviews freelance journalist Iragi Elisha on his experience reporting on his native DRC for foreign-based news organizations including the Associated Press and the Washington Post, as well as local media.
Q: Could you give me a brief overview of your career so far in journalism and any highlights oyou are most proud of?
I began my career in journalism 11 years ago. I was a presenter in [northwestern] Mobayi, I worked there for foue years.
I was called a presenter and I was a reporter for news and after that I presented news on the radio. After these four years I began studying journalism at the university in Lubumbashi and I studied for five years to complete the degree.
In that period I [got] a grant to study one year at a French university online. It is called the École Supérieure de Journalisme de Lille. So, I did one year of studying there. Since last year, I am working as independent journalist.
I collaborate with media in culture, and sports and sometimes in social areas. I don’t report on politics because I think there is so much journalism on those subjects.
I am most proud of some investigating I did with my team two years ago. There was a competition for under 16 players in Kinshasa but the Congo teams presented players who were older and they won the competition. We investigated and found evidence and presented the facts that Congo had abused the rules. That pushed the minister of sports to investigate the case and to take measures to arraign that matter.
Q: Were you always interested in journalism as your career? Did anything specific inspire you to pursue journalism?
Yes, journalism as a career was always obvious I can say.
If I look back in time, my father always had a radio on, so listening to the news was a normal thing in my life and when I think about it I believe it impacted me.
I started just as an independent presenter and in radio just because I was passionate about it and later I decided if I wanted to do this professionally I needed to study journalism.
It is a choice that I made and I’m proud of that choice even if it isn’t easy because you have so little revenue.
You live day by day and it is very stressful. I chose to be a journalist because I wanted to write and I wanted to cover DRC in a way that would satisfy foreign media. This too is my challenge. To report as a competent and well formed journalist for international media and to report on a country I know well compared to a foreign correspondent.
Q: What do you feel most passionate about reporting on?
When I began my career it was about sports. I really like sports still today. But the question I asked myself is what is the part of sports in society?
For me there are more important matters to cover than sports. People need more than just entertainment.
There are so many things on which no one reports on, and you want to not only choose a story but to tell what people are doing here and it can be on sports, climate or mining.
So my passion is really just to report on Congo from Congo. That is really my passion.
When topics in Congo are of interest in foreign countries, I am able to report it in the way I see things and in the way people want media to be. I don’t have a specific passion, it’s really just to report accurately on what is going on here in DRC and what really matters and what is our society.
Q: How well do you think Congo is covered in international news in your opinion?
International media always sends foreign correspondents here. And for me it’s like we lack competence. We don’t know how to report on our country and it’s kind of interesting to me to see always people coming from France, the United States, and other countries to cover the DRC.
When international media cover Congo, they always insert some cliche like that it’s a wild country, about poverty, and things like that. There are some good stories too, but the sensibility we (Congolese journalists) have because we know more of the country and some positive and more accurate things we can report on DRC.
I am not against foreign correspondents, it is a very passionate field, but to me it is a question of having some balance between their skill and that we can do these jobs too.
Q: How was your experience studying online with the French journalism school?
It was an amazing experience. In our society it is more and more difficult to get a grant to study in a prestigious or foreign university so as a student I always wanted the opportunity to get a grant to study in a good university because you can meet other reporters and experienced professors and that can bring you important knowledge that you can apply to your work.
I was in my last year here at Lubumbashi, so I had to do two years of school simultaneously which was very hard. I really enjoyed that challenge. I told myself that you dreamed it and now you have it so you have to be on the level of this university.
I was very passionate and I really enjoyed my experience. I discovered a different kind of education that I hadn’t gotten at Lubumbashi sadly. It was a very good challenge. It was also great for my CV because it gives a good image to have studied at Lille, similar to if you studied at Columbia in the United States.
Q: Have you worked with any international journalists so far in your career, and if so how has that experience been?
I have, but not very many. I only began the international part of my career recently, about two years ago.
Even though I have been working in journalism for 11 years I would say my professional career only started three years ago. I met some international reporters, most recently Katharine Houreld, the chief of Washington Post in East Africa.
She came here to report on mining and we collaborated and it was very challenging to work for the Washington Post.
You have to have specific details and to ask specific questions and it was hard but a very good experience. I also worked with the Associated Press last year and worked with Sam Mednick and that was very challenging too but a huge experience that I really learned from.
I also recently worked with the ICFJ on a story on photojournalists in DRC and I had to speak with photojournalists, teachers, and other people in the field to have a diverse article. It is always a good experience to work with international media.
International media also pays very well, compared to local media where the economy is very low and they often pay you months later which is why I always wanted to collaborate with bigger media and foreign media to have a stable source of income, especially working as a independent journalist.
Q: How was your experience with the International Center for Journalists? Would you recommend them for young/aspiring international journalists attempting to get published?
Absolutely yes, I recommend it 100%. They are very professional. They are very specific and they help you to elevate your writing. I also have always wanted to show myself that I could work for international media and its not just because I am Congolese that I am limited to local media, I can produce for English media and not because I am a french speaker, I can work with foreign media because of my skill. I really encourage young journalists to work with organizations like these. Working for ICFJ is also very good for my reputation. I am looking forward to submitting more projects to them.
Q: What future goals do you have for your career in journalism?
New York Times. For me that is the last dream. I want to see my piece in the New York Times. It is not a simple wish to write for that kind of media though. For now, I try to write reports to investigate and to have a portrayal of a subject that is narrow for us. I take my career day by day.
It is difficult to see where I will be in five years because you never know how things will turn. For me, it is a professional objective to produce more stories for the Associated Press because it would be a good goal for this year and could lead to regularly producing media for them. It is important for me to have some basic expectations and not just very high ones because I may not be able to achieve them and will become discouraged.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring international journalists?
It is important to have specific goals and to give yourself a way to achieve those goals.
As a French speaker, it is difficult for me to work with English speakers because of the language barrier so it is important to have some skills in other languages.
If I can’t write a pitch in English for that media, it is a blocked opportunity. You also just have to try. You can pitch to big media even if you think they won’t accept it, still try. I would also say to remain curious.
Some of the media I produce is just based on a question I ask myself. For example, how many women are in mining and how is it?
I don’t know, so I investigate this. And this curiosity leads to creativity.
I would also say not to give up when faced with “No”. There is so much “no” you will receive but you will receive that “yes” that will boost your confidence. When I first started out I experienced imposter syndrome and felt I was not sure if I could report or investigate things but with time, curiosity and creativity will build you as a person and you will have the confidence to build a good career and produce the media you always dreamed of and in my case, you can show your country in your perspective to the world.
