Multimedia Journalist
Julie Bourdin
JOURNALISTIC WRITING
Published in NewLines Magazine, Libération (FR, front page), Domani (IT), InfoMigrants (FR) (2022)
In the UK, Italy and Greece, asylum seekers are regularly accused of being members of criminal networks of which they themselves are victims for piloting a "small boat", holding a GPS or even calling the authorities for help. Hundreds are imprisoned on dubious charges, after trials marred by irregularities.
Cross-border investigation supported by the IJ4EU fund and Lighthouse Reports.
Published in The Guardian (November 2023)
Behind a music stand in his grey school uniform, Khanya Mtala takes a deep breath and releases his powerful baritone voice. His vibrato suggests years of training, but the 17-year-old took up classical singing 10 months ago.
Mtala is one of 13 singers selected by the city opera’s Foundation Studio – a training programme for the next generation of South African soloists. This pioneering initiative is helping a new generation thrive in what was once seen as a ‘white space’.
Published in GEO (FR, December 2023)
In South Africa, an academy trains rangers in the most advanced forensic investigation techniques. The goal: increasing success rates in solving and prosecuting wildlife crime, to tackle wildlife trafficking and poaching.
Published in The Guardian (june 2023)
On 16 May 2023, Namibia's Supreme Court recognised the marriages of same-sex couples contracted abroad. Namibia's LGBTQ+ community sees this decision as the first step in a new era of recognition of their rights - in contrast to many other African countries. In recent years, an unprecedented movement for LGBTQ+ rights has emerged in the country, bringing the country to a crux: despite violent backlash, "they will never be able to push us back into the closet," says Omar van Reenen, a young activist.
Published in GEO (FR)
Rooibos, an endemic plant with a thousand virtues, grows in the south-west of South Africa. Now world-renowned, it is a symbol of the recognition of the descendants of the KhoiSan, the very first inhabitants of the country.
This report was produced as part of the GEO Young Reporter Grant for 2021.
Published by The Guardian (December 2023)
An embroidery collective based in Eastern Cape has tackled funerals, colonialism and HIV in massive fabric artworks. Their latest piece is a heartfelt cry against climate breakdown.
The women’s first masterpiece, the 120-metre Keiskamma Tapestry, depicting South Africa’s colonial history, was on permanent display in the Parliament until recently. Their latest work, a flamboyant six by two-metre piece, was commissioned by the WWF to be shown at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai.
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Published in Reporterre (FR, 2022)
For over a year, they occupied the German forest of Dannenröder against the construction of a motorway. A year and a half after the violent eviction of their zad, these young activists are suffering: they are "mourning the loss of nature", says the group "Psychologists for the future".
Other reports for Reporterre: in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique (2023), and with endangered penguins in South Africa (2023).
Many other reports and articles ...
Published in Le Monde, Jeune Afrique, Agence France Presse, Reporterre, Infomigrants, Slate, Le Figaro, Climate Tracker ...
In South Africa, Mozambique, Greece, France, Ethiopia, Luxembourg, Germany; on migration, human rights, climate, indigenous rights, health, misinformation and many other issues.
VIDEO REPORTS
About 3,000 children are abandoned each year in South Africa, according to estimates by the National Adoption Coalition. But according to some activists, the total number of abandoned children could be as high as 10,000 each year.
Many are abandoned in the street in the first weeks of their life and die of neglect. Some orphanages have opened "baby boxes", where the infants can be deposited safely.
English link here.
In South Africa, morgues overflow under the influx of corpses that are never claimed. The only solution is to try and identify the bodies and notify the grieving families so they can mourn.
Filmed the second half of the report, accompanying the Red Cross as they reunite a family separated for decades.
South African NGOs are taking the state to court, accusing it of violating people's constitutional right to a healthy environment. At the heart of the case is one of the most polluted areas in the world - the South African Highveld, a region where hundreds of people die prematurely from health issues - victims of an invisible killer.
PROJETS PERSONNELS
Op-Doc directed, shot and produced by Julie Bourdin, and published on Brush&Bow. Based on interviews taken in 2019 in Lesvos, Greece, the film is an ode to the small village of Skala Sikamineas on the Northern coast of the island.
In 2015, when over a million people passed through the Aegean islands to seek refuge in Europe, the some 150 villagers of Skala Sikamineas leapt into action, setting a shining example of what solidarity can be. This film pays homage to a place where irrepressible beauty cohabits with tragedy, and reminds us of our common humanity and ideals.
Lighthouse Relief is the only land-based emergency response NGO remaining on the north shore of the island of Lesvos, where thousands of asylum seekers reach Europe onboard unseaworthy boats. I spent five months living in the village of Skala Sikamineas, on call 24/7, working with dozens of volunteers. Here are some of their stories.
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Based in the small, peaceful village of Skala Sikamineas, Lighthouse Relief volunteers are on call 24/7, spotting for boats in distress approaching the north shore of the island of Lesvos. At any time, they must be ready in 5 minutes to assist asylum seekers upon landing.
PHOTOGRAPHY
A rubber boat with 90 people in distress in the Central Mediterranean. Their rescue by the NGO Sea-Eye was interrupted by so-called Libyan "coastal security".
An armed Libyan fast-boat, allegedly from the so-called "coastal security", interrupts a rescue in the Central Mediterranean. They shot in the air and in the water as people tried to swim away.
The volunteer pilot of Seabird prepares for landing at sunset, after a long mission.
A rubber boat with 90 people in distress in the Central Mediterranean. Their rescue by the NGO Sea-Eye was interrupted by so-called Libyan "coastal security".
Flying over the Central Mediterranean
Moonbird, an aircraft operated by NGOs Sea-Watch and Humanitarian Pilots Initiative, flies over the Central Mediterranean spotting for boats in distress and bearing witness to human rights violations.
Thousands of people fleeing Libya have drowned on their journey to Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea has become the "deadliest border in the world".
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A volunteer on night spotting shift scans the Greek waters for boats in distress. The Turkish coast shines only a few kilometers away.
A boat of asylum seekers from Afghanistan lands on the north shore of Lesvos.
Lighthouse Relief Emergency Response Coordinator observes a boat approaching the beach. Volunteers are on call 24/7 to assist any boat arriving on the rocky shores and prevent incidents and capsizes.
A volunteer on night spotting shift scans the Greek waters for boats in distress. The Turkish coast shines only a few kilometers away.
On the shores of Europe
Five years after the so-called "migration crisis" of 2015, women, men and children continue to cross the Aegean sea to arrive on the island of Lesvos, Greece. Asylum seekers have to board overcrowded, unseaworthy boats to cross the dangerous stretch of water in their search for a safe country.
In 2019 and 2020, I spent five months with Lighthouse Relief, on call 24/7 on the north shore of the island. As the last emergency response NGO on land, they assisted over 14,500 people in 2019 - half of them children. Those were the highest numbers of arrivals since 2016.
ABOUT
I am a French-South African multimedia journalist, with a keen interest in migration, human rights, climate and borders.
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, since 2023, I work for multiple international media, in English and French, in the whole Southern African region.
Trained in journalism and international relations at Sciences Po Paris, I am the laureate of the GEO Young Reporter Grant 2021, Slate.fr's Union is Strength 2022 competition, and 2nd prize in the Prix européen du Jeune Reporter d'Espoir 2022.
I favour investigative journalism and documentary, and have worked in many countries: South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, France, Greece, Italy, Germany ...
I speak French, English, Afrikaans, Portuguese and German.