Only days after the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan last August, the world watched in awe as the Taliban swiftly retook control. Desperate and visceral images of Afghans clinging to evacuation planes, lifting children over Kabul airport’s barbed wire fences, and stories of crisis dominated news coverage for weeks. On February 22, the CJF welcomes a panel of storytellers who were there before and during the takeover, to share their insights into the challenges, safety issues and nuances of covering this humanitarian crisis.

Featured speakers are Global News journalists Stewart Bell and Jeff Semple, who captured moments of loss and sacrifice after the Taliban had swept to power; VICE World News journalist Hind Hassan, who spoke with Taliban leaders in advance of the takeover; and visual storyteller Kiana Hayeri, who captured the transition through powerful photographs. Leading this discussion is Nil Köksal, host of CBC’s World Report and former foreign correspondent based in Istanbul, Turkey.    

Originally aired: Feb. 22, 2022, at 1 P.M. EST

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Stewart Bell, a national online investigative journalist at Global News, is the author of three non-fiction books, most recently Bayou of Pigs about a far-right coup plot in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. Bell's reporting has received numerous awards, including the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. @StewGlobal

Hind Hassan is an award-winning international correspondent for VICE News covering conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world, including the post-ISIS legacy in Syria, massive demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq's anti-corruption protests where her team witnessed and documented human rights abuses. @HindHassanNews

Kiana Hayeri, an Iranian-Canadian photographer based in Kabul, is a Senior TED Fellow and a regular contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic. In 2020, she received the Tim Hetherington Visionary Award and the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting. Last year, Hayeri received the Robert Capa Gold Medal for her photographic series "Where Prison is Kind of a Freedom," documenting the lives of Afghan women in Herat Prison. @kianahayeri

Jeff Semple is a Senior Correspondent and Video Journalist with Global National News based in Toronto. He has reported from more than 30 countries across five continents, covering terrorist attacks in Europe, the refugee crisis in the Middle East and from the frontlines of the fight against ISIS in Iraq and in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Semple's reports have been recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Online Publishing Awards and Apple Podcasts. @JeffSempleGN

ABOUT THE HOST

Nil Köksal is the host of World Report, CBC's flagship national radio news show with more than one million listeners. While working as a foreign correspondent in Istanbul, Köksal covered Syria, the refugee crisis and ISIS. She is a winner and two-time Canadian Screen Award nominee for her reporting. @nilkoksalcbc