Rym T. Ghazal

Motto: "Be a #hero to someone." Love Notes From Inside a Syrian Jail won the 2014 prestigious EUROMED Anna Lindh Foundation Mediterranean Journalist Awards, in Thematic Focus. In her 13 years as a journalist, Rym has covered war zones, assassinations, revolutions and elections. Done in-depth features on tribes and social issues as well as interviews with royals, sheikhs and sheikhas, tribal leaders, celebrities, politicians, heroes and historic figures like Alexis Leonov, the first man to walk in space. Write on #tribes #history #politics #culture #Women #socialissues and #poetry She was one of the first Arab-Canadian women covering war zones in Middle East, starting with Iraq in 2003. Back then, there weren't many Arab females journalists covering conflict zones, actually, not many women. Now it is the women covering the most dangerous areas and stories. She is also the author of the popular weekly column, “single in the city”, where she tackles the everyday dramas of being single and the adventures encountered in the ultimate search for love. Also somehow has become a part time matchmaker, helping couples find love and each other. Rym has worked as a psychologist, a researcher, a teacher, a photographer, an artist, a writer and dabbled in theater, radio and car racing before combining all of these passions into her current career as a journalist, or rather as she likes to say: “a story teller without borders.” She was featured in the popular UAE documentary: Hidden Beauty, about Arab women in the region. Building on a powerful network collected through 13 years of dedicated work in media Rym (with a friend) launched The Hidden Beauty Project, a special monthly gathering dedicated to empowering women by helping them realize their dreams, launch projects and meet powerful inspirational “heroes”. She taught at universities, holds workshops, and has a masters in Journalism and currently updating her psychology background. She is also a member of Hunna, an exclusive literary group of Arab women writers, authors and illustrators. Besides working on documentaries ('Veiled Police'), she is the author of the national bestseller "Maskoon" (haunted), a young adult horror book with a surprise ending that follows four teenagers and their experiences with the world of spirits and Jinn as they spend a night in a haunted palace. Based on a real haunted palace in the UAE, it is said to be “the first full Arabic novel written within the paranormal genre.” English version can be read here. Second book is being published about a refugee boy and his kitten (profits to be donated to refugee and orphaned children and animals.) Rym did psychology and culture research projects in Middle East, like a Bachelor's thesis in Saudi Arabia and then a Master's thesis in Iraq during the second Gulf War. Produced and shot multi-media documentaries for New York University Abu Dhabi on Emirati communities related to heritage and history. Launched historical and contemporary projects on tribes, currency, stamps, as well as culture of coffee and trade. A judge on writing competitions and holds reading sessions at libraries and schools. She launched Reading Therapy in conflict zones. Most recent humanitarian efforts include Foosball tournaments through WAR CHILD UNICEF with Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. Was an honoured Guest speaker at regional UN conference on refugees for humanitarian efforts by her, to discuss "How one person CAN make a difference." Worked with orphans, distributed toys and education tools (SOS Children’s Village). Photos taken by Rym used now by the NGO. Moderator/speaker at The Global Women Forum in Dubai 2016. Ran workshops with Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Cultural Foundation & Ruler’s wife Sheikha Jawaher AlQassimi for leadership and media. She received several awards, like the prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Award, and was nominated for the Arab Women Award and shortlisted for the Abu Dhabi Excellence Award. She was selected by Canada's Foreign Affairs for the International Notebook program (which selects Canada’s best future foreign correspondents) & selected by the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute for Military Journalism, a prestigious selection of future military journalists. Rym was one of the editors at Push magazine (a business and empowerment magazine for women in the Middle East) and a member of the NGO YAWE (Young Arab Women Entrepreneurs). She has written for The National Geographic magazine in Arabic about Saudi women and historic sites in UAE, and before moving to the UAE, she worked at International Herald Tribune’s The Daily Star where she covered assassinations, bombings, and did investigative pieces on such topics as mass graves and missing persons. Rym was also a Contributing Editor to educational Academix Magazine of Lebanon, as well as regional corespondent to international media like The Globe and Mail and The Christian Science Monitor. She also made radio documentaries for CBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, one on Iraq and two on Lebanon. Rym lives with her two cats, Tiny and Tuna, her greatest inspiration and supporters. She is also a prominent animal welfare activist. Rym had recently rescued a Cheetah, a duck, a donkey and three Arabian Maus (Meko, Baby and D-kitty) from abuse. Often, she drives around with gardening tools to save random trees and plants in need of help and has taken up pottery. She is proud of her collected treasures from around the world like a dinosaurʼs tooth, Islamic periods pottery, Japanese manga and paintings.