In the heart of Palestine, an atypical couple is bringing positivity to the limelight, using their independent media venture, the Baladna Media Network. Founded as a radio station in 2018, Baladna has grown its reach to connect with Palestinians from all corners of the world.

As a Christian-Muslim couple, Mirna Al Atrash and Aladdin Alabid aim to break stereotypes surrounding Palestine and promote unity and acceptance about their community.

“When the media writes about Palestine, it is always bad news. We wanted to go beyond the occupation. We wanted to celebrate the success of Palestinians who are presidents, vice-presidents, doctors, actors,” says Mirna, emphasising the need to present a more inspiring portrayal of their community.

But Baladna’s mission goes beyond storytelling; it aims to educate and empower the youth and women of Palestine, who often get overlooked in matters of governance and democracy.

“We have a lot of work to do to build a better knowledge of democracy and elections; and to educate people who do not know their rights and are afraid to speak out,” explains Aladdin.
With a grant from the European Endowment for Democracy, Baladna launched two media programmes which involve live-streamed discussions between local authorities and community members on one side, and journalists conducting surprise visits to public institutions and businesses to advocate for greater accountability and transparency on the other.

The road is not without challenges as demonstrated by the duo’s recent loss of access to their Facebook page. But Baladna Media Network continues to thrive and has been actively engaged with the community during municipal elections. Mirna and Aladdin are now hopeful that presidential and parliamentary elections will soon follow, as they firmly believe in the power of elections to bring about change.

This story is adapted from the #FirstPersonStories series published by European Endowment for Democracy.
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