CBC foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed on living in a refugee camp, the emotional  pitfalls of covering wars in the Middle East, and why she loves her job: [audio:July-August2012/AyedAudio.mp3]
“People are not quotes or clips, used to illustrate stories about war and conflict. People are the story, always.” This is what CBC Correspondent Nahlah Ayed says journalists must always remember. This has served as a guiding principle in a career that has zigzagged the Middle East for the last ten years, covering the wars inAfghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and last year’s historic Arab Spring.

In April 2012, Nahlah Ayed published A Thousand Farewells, a memoir that is at once a coming of age story as well as a reporter’s deep insight into a part of the world that she understands well and whose people she loves.

Hassan Ghedi Santur is a freelance writer and radio broadcaster based in Toronto. He is the author of the novel Something Remains.