Concordia Journal, Canada
Concordia University
June 2 2006

Haig Balian travels to Sri Lanka
allison martens

The winner of a $20,000 fellowship, Haig Balian is in Sri Lanka to
help promote journalistic ethics. He said journalism is the perfect
way to combine all of his interests, which include world travel and
politics.

Photo by allison martens
Haig Balian has scooped a $20,000 Journalism Fellowship from the
International Development Research Centre to promote media education
in Sri Lanka.

He will work with Voices of Reconciliation, a non-government
organization (NGO) that seeks to instruct the media in constructive
and conflict-sensitive reporting practices.

`In Sri Lanka, the media and NGOs don’t trust one another. NGOs are
seen as imperialist and viewed suspiciously,’ Balian said.

`They feel like what they’re trying to achieve isn’t accurately
portrayed by the media,’ which is frustrating whether they are trying
to improve health and education in the country or mediate a peaceful
resolution to the ethnic conflict there.

He will help media organizations and NGOs to understand one another
better. Similarly, he will encourage fairer and more accurate
reporting on everything from natural disasters to the ongoing civil
strife.

`It’s so important to the peace process to have a fair press. If
people don’t know what is going on, it could be a recipe for
disaster.’

Balian’s own parents left Beirut in the 70s at the height of the
Lebanese Civil Wars. Their ancestors had first settled in the Middle
East after fleeing the Armenian genocide in the early 1900s.

Peter Downie, Graduate Program Director in Journalism, says this
fellowship is a great way for Balian to kick start his career.

`Increasingly, our students are energized by international projects
that allow them to use the journalism skills they learned with us in
places other than the mainstream media.’

Balian also holds a BA in political studies from Queen’s. He has
traveled extensively throughout Asia and Oceania, and lived in
Australia for a year and a half.

He was attracted to journalism because, among other things, it would
permit him to work anywhere in the world.

`I like to create and to write. It’s a perfect fit that rolls all my
interests into one.’