The Growing Danger of Reporting from Syria

BBC correspondent Paul Wood has been awarded the David Bloom award for his reporting from inside Syria. He talks with host Lisa Mullins about the growing complexity of the Syrian conflict, and the difficulties correspondents face as they try to verify the accounts of those caught up in the fighting.

The first hurdle reporters must cross is getting into Syria. Some slip across the border from Lebanon.

“You can pay smugglers who then bribe Syrian security men and Syrian soldiers. You can go with fighters and you can go with activists. We’ve tended to go with activists or fighters. We’ve never paid so far. I think I would trust someone more who is doing it for ideological reasons,” Wood says.

Wood explains that it’s getting more difficult to cross the border from Lebanon into Syria. The opposition believe the Syrian army has put 15,000 soldiers on the border and 11 tanks, he says.

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!