Megan Gieske is doing ‘Creative Writing with photo journalism’ from Asbury University in Kentucky (USA). Being a student of journalism she travels a lot and meets people of different cultures and religions. Passionate about humanitarian causes she has travelled to Ebola affected Ghana and to Myanmar where Rohingyias are being persecuted. On her visit to India she wrote of the sufferings of Kashmiri people.
Megan Gieske makes some pertinent points in this online interview with MuslimMirror.com.
MM: Tell us about your education and family.
MG: Okay. I come from a Christian family with my parents and a brother. My father and mother met at a non-profit, so service oriented work has always been a big part of my life. In May 2017, I’ll receive a BA in English: Creative Writing with photo journalism coursework and a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language from Asbury University in Kentucky of the USA.
MM: You have travelled a lot……
MG: And how I travel – I am lucky that my passion (writing) aligns with my profession (writing), allowing me to travel. I have visited thirteen countries this year!
MM: Tell us about your experience of travelling to countries like India, Ghana and Myanmar.
MG: Constantly traveling to different countries and meeting new people, it’s such a free feeling. You learn more (comparative religion, empathy) and make more friends by being interested in people. Every single person is significant and meaningful. Given the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures, I have to rely upon the hospitality of strangers; it’s the most rewarding kind of travel. Many of these strangers have been Muslims like the Kashmiri refugee family I interviewed. I think we both realized more what makes us alike than what makes us different. It is this global perspective that has made me want to stand up for my friends in the world.
MM: How do you use your writing and photography skills to help people?
MG: I first traveled to India in 2014. Almost two years later, my writing remains committed to restoration. Over the years, I have learned how to tell those stories and take those photos that speak in a language that is universal. Using poetry, “op-eds,” and travel writing, I share those voices many of us would have never heard and many would have never been able to tell.
MM: What did you do on your visit to India?
MG: I volunteered at an Indian orphanage for a month the summer of 2014, and taught English to thirty-six girls. All of them were the daughters of sex workers in red light districts or prostitutes in Hindu temples.
MM : It seems you have passion for writing about oppressed and prosecuted people?
MG : Yes ! I went to Accra, Ghana, and wanted to know about Ebola crisis “in West Africa” as claimed by Western media the effects that had on their economy. In one interview, Abdul Rashid from Accra referred to coverage by Western media outlets like the BBC that “Ebola is in West Africa,” and because of this, he said, “It is like they are dropping us down a well that we cannot get out of.” I always think of this-of how I can throw a rope down to them.
I also visited Myanmar, Morocco, and India. I also met Kashmiris and wrote about their problems.
MM: What are you doing currently?
MG: I am taking a few classes at university in creative writing, photography, and teaching English as a second language, but I will be traveling to Morocco in December.
MM: What is your opinion on journalism?
MG: I’ve always liked writing, and think telling the stories of other people is one of the noblest professions.