As events in Ukraine continue to unfold quickly and dramatically, children and young people are in danger — one million are already on the move. This tipsheet brings together advice from Dart fellows who have reported on children in war and other emergency situations.
1. Ask yourself if you really need to approach a child for your story
If you want to interview a child, can you get the story from an adult instead, and engage the child only to play and fill in other details? Can you tell the story by using other resources, such as data? “Children's stories can often be communicated without focusing on the possibly traumatic event you're trying to cover. Asking simple questions that may not trigger a child in a traumatic situation, like their age, name, favorite food are ways to include the child in the report but without risking their well-being for your story,” says Cengiz Yar, a documentary photographer and photo editor currently based in El Paso, Texas, who authored “Syria’s children” documentary project.
