The Syrian revolution has displaced its elite. While some have fled the country or died, others have been arrested or kidnapped. As many Syrian professionals fled their homes to escape imminent death or the unknown, amateur photographers and journalists emerged in their place to document the war, publishing their images and stories on social media. They became citizen journalists because professional journalists were no longer able to work in the face of constant threats to their lives.

In the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani, violent battles raged for months between the Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish forces, as the anti-terror alliance shelled IS sites. The city was a wreck. Yet life went on in Kobani.

Journalist Mustafa Bali, head of the Free Media Union Office in Kobani, told Al-Monitor: “After IS tried to invade our city and its inhabitants were displaced to Turkey, the Kurds fought these groups courageously. But it was important to show the impact of their work, so we coordinated among each other [as journalists]. I personally oversaw relations with the international press to show the world the crimes against humanity that IS was committing. We faced difficulties reaching the Western press, as journalists feared for their lives when entering the city. We worked hard to protect them as much as possible.”

When Al-Monitor asked Bali why the Kurdish forces did not allow journalists to go deep into the battlefield, he responded: “Journalists come to obtain the news, but we do not want them to become the news. The Kurdish fighters are very careful when it comes to journalists so as not to jeopardize their lives. When a journalist is allowed to enter the battlefield, a troop of fighters surround him to protect him in case of danger.”