2023-11-08 07:18:16
Formation
Born in 1971 in a mountain village in northern Kyrgyzstan, Zhenishbek Edigeev grew up during the Soviet period. At the age of 14, he began writing his diary in secret, because the regime forbade it. Following an argument with his brother, the latter denounces him to his school teacher, who destroys his diary as well as the copy of The Thousand and One Nights that Zhenishbek was reading and which was also banned.
After high school, he began studying medicine in Tashkent but stopped after a year to join the army. He was assigned to Belarus for one year and Czechoslovakia for one year. When he arrives near Prague, he meets by chance his brother whom he has not seen for a year and a half. He writes the story of this unexpected meeting and sends it to the main newspaper of Kyrgyzstan. The article was published a week later. During his time in the army, he continued to write his diary and published six articles. He now knows what he will do in the future: write.
Having completed his military service, he returned to Kyrgyzstan at the end of 1990. The communist regime was collapsing. Huge changes are happening in the country. Having found his way, Zhenishbek studied at the Faculty of Journalism in Bishkek. Very quickly, he began working for an independent newspaper. The editor-in-chief becomes his mentor. The newspaper stands out from other Kyrgyz publications for the freshness of its style and the courage of its opinions. Zhenishbek imbibes this innovative style and learns to criticize power skillfully.
Beginnings
In Kyrgyzstan, there are two types of newspapers, newspapers serving the government and private or independent newspapers. Often, investigative journalism is taught in schools or by professionals. Since 2005, NGOs have started teaching investigative journalism in Kyrgyzstan.
However, Zhenishbek and his wife learned the trade in their private lives as the political context confronted them with the need to gather and disseminate information. They gained a lot of experience by doing research and surveys on the diet.
In 2008, with his experience, Zhenishbek left his position as deputy editor-in-chief and founded with his wife, who is also a journalist, the newspaper In fact. From the first issue, the newspaper was a great success. The circulation is increasing very quickly to meet demand.
The political situation in Kyrgyzstan is unstable. The government limits freedom of expression and assembly. In fact denounces the excesses and corruption of the regime. The government also exerts pressure on the media.
Thus, the newspaper In fact only existed for 10 months. One morning the regime closed the newspaper. Computers and all equipment are confiscated. Threatened, fearing for their lives, Zhenishbek and his family quickly left Kyrgyzstan to go to Almaty, Kazakhstan, a 3-hour drive from Bishkek.
They contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which grants them the status of political refugees after a month. The UNHCR sends their asylum application to several countries. Three months later Switzerland agreed to receive them. Arriving in Geneva in 2009, Zhenishbek and his family never imagined leaving their country. In Kyrgyzstan, their newspaper was a success and they had plans to expand it, to create a radio or television show, but in a few days their destiny changed.
The profession of journalist
Zhenishbek believes that the main thing to become a journalist is to have a talent for writing. You also need to know how to “feel” the situation. A good article must answer two questions: why? and for whom? The journalist must always think about his audience and the purpose of his article. The journalistic article must be complete, with an introduction, development and conclusion.
“If you feel that without writing you are nothing, it is because you are ready to be a journalist. »
The search for truth must guide the journalist’s professional ethics. In some countries, journalism helps expose government abuses and corruption. The journalist has power that can overturn a regime. For this reason, journalism must be practiced responsibly and conscientiously.
When it comes to writing for online media, Zhenishbek believes that it is generally of lower quality than that for print media. On the web everything is confused; there is no editorial line or quality standards. Some people tend to write like text messages. The richness of vocabulary, but also of style, is lost, in French as in other languages. His advice for writing on the web is to apply your know-how, without trying to oversimplify your style.
Author of two novels, Zhenishbek considers that the news journalist, unlike the art critic and the writer, writes on subjects which generally take place over a short period of time. An article can lose its appeal overnight, which is not necessarily the case with a film review or a novel. The writer must capture what others do not see and know how to transmit it. Despite the many differences, the writer and the journalist have things in common, the main one being the ability to transmit ideas and the search for their own style.
Zhenishbek created the Alpalatoo association in 2021 to establish links between Central Asia and Switzerland in the field of culture and economy and to promote all kinds of exchanges. The association’s website, www.alpalatoo.com, available in Kyrgyz, Russian, French and English is under construction. The association is seeking funds for the development of its activities.
From the same author :
The Mysterious Goat
The mysterious Goat
Hermeto Pascoal: Ella Fitzgerald Stage, July 5th
Hermeto Pascoal: Stage Ella Fitzgerald, July 5
Plácido Domingo au Victoria Hall : June 13
The odyssey of the
La Nativa: A slightly magical café-bar
Motorpsycho at the Factory: Yay!
Jean-Michel Jarre, Guest of Honor at GIFF
Photo credit: Zhenishbek Edigeev
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