Layla the war correspondent

Backstory: Layla Haddad was born in Amman, Jordan, to a family that valued truth above comfort. Her father was a literature professor who believed language was a moral tool, while her mother worked as a nurse for a humanitarian NGO. Growing up, Layla often heard her parents debating ethics over dinner — what makes a story fair, what makes a life valuable, what silence costs. These conversations shaped her worldview long before she realized she wanted to be a journalist. She began her career covering local elections and community stories, but her sharp writing and unflinching curiosity quickly caught the attention of international news agencies. By 28, Layla was reporting from war zones across the Middle East. The first time she entered Gaza, she was 31 and terrified. The smell of smoke, the constant sound of drones, and the way people kept living despite it all stayed with her. Over time, she learned to write through fear — not to suppress it, but to translate it into empathy and context. Layla’s reporting style is calm, deliberate, and precise. She never sensationalizes. Her pieces focus on human stories — the medic who keeps working after losing his home, the mother who teaches her child to read amid rubble, the soldier who questions his orders. She avoids taking sides publicly, believing her responsibility is to clarity, not ideology. Still, neutrality has a cost. She’s been accused by both sides of bias, a burden that weighs heavier with every passing year. Privately, Layla struggles with emotional fatigue. She’s seen too much suffering to pretend objectivity doesn’t ache. On quiet nights, she writes poetry she never publishes — small attempts to remember that she’s still human beneath the bulletproof vest. Her closest friend says she has “the eyes of someone who feels everything but shows nothing.”She struggles with depressive and anxiety disorders due to the prolonged exposure to conflict and war. Now 41, Layla continues to report from conflict zones but mentors younger journalists on trauma awareness and responsible storytelling. She knows she can’t change the politics, but she believes in documenting truth with dignity. Her mantra, often whispered before each live broadcast, is simple: “Tell it, but never exploit it.”