Background, quality and a bit of "girl power" (retro 2/12)

By Camille Frati Published on 31 Dec. 2021 Switch to French for original article

Listen to this article

The Journal-team looks back at 2021 - it's Camille Frati's turn. The past twelve months have been exciting, challenging and enriching, and they also mark our first digital birthday. To celebrate the occasion, each team member has chosen the piece whose research or production had the biggest impact on them in 2021.

The retrospective 2021 is provided to you free of charge. If you want to support our team, subscribe!

Looking back, I have a particular affection for one of my very first articles for the Journal: A lawyer in the Jungle of Calais. It tells the story of Nora Fellens, a young Luxembourgish lawyer working for a humanitarian association that intervenes with exiled people in Calais. These people survive in very precarious conditions while waiting to cross the Channel to the United Kingdom, often their last hope for a new start and a decent life, far from the war or poverty they fled in their home country. Calais is hell, just a 4-hour drive away from Luxembourg.

This is probably the most striking interview I had the opportunity to conduct during this year 2021. Also because it allowed me to reveal the face of a youth who commits itself without following a fixed path, without indulging in the material comfort and carefree attitude of a promising career start. And this theme regularly reappears in the news, with the recent shipwreck of a makeshift boat loaded with migrants, and also the instrumentalisation of refugees by the Belarusian president in a sordid arm wrestle with the European Union. Calais reminds us of our good fortune and our responsibility towards other human beings in distress.

"For a year now, I have been able to concentrate on the fundamental subjects that have always attracted me, at the intersection of society, economy and justice."

This article also embodies the journalism I aspired to when I joined the Lëtzebuerger Journal. A journalism of quality and substance, which allows the necessary time to prepare a subject, to think about an original angle, to make contacts, to carry out one or several interviews, to choose the right illustrations, to propose relevant sound bites. So many steps that we tend to rush when we work in a hurry, either because the news doesn't wait, or because we have an already full list of articles to hand in at short notice.

For a year now, I have been able to concentrate on the fundamental subjects that have always attracted me, at the intersection of society, economy and justice: the unprecedented linguistic context of the Grand Duchy and its consequences, the legal battles that upset lives and correct iniquitous laws, the place of Luxembourg in the world, the crusade of the border workers against discrimination, the backstage of the financial center, the stakes around housing… It's fulfilling and the good reception of our articles is more than encouraging. I also particularly appreciate signing for the first media in the country to have adopted inclusive writing and to have a real parity in its management and its team. Not to mention a relaxed, constructive and stimulating work environment. You can be sure that our objectives and our standards will remain unchanged in 2022.