Samir Khader

Rail: Which country in the Middle East do you find it hardest to get access to?

Khader: Saudi Arabia. Because I am an employee of Al Jazeera they don’t even allow me to perform Haj in my private capacity! This is my duty as a Muslim! (laughs). It’s very hard for all journalists to work in Saudi Arabia. For all journalists anywhere you can work as long as you don’t cross the red line. In Saudi Arabia the red line is the ground under your feet. Our mission is to look for these red lines everywhere and then cross them. What is the point of going to a country and talking about the achievements of the government? Every government in the world is supposed to achieve. As an employee of Al Jazeera, I get deported from 15 of the 22 Arab countries. Our journalists also run into trouble in India. We have to sign an agreement that we will not report on Kashmir. Among the countries that we do have access to are Iran and Pakistan. In Pakistan we were the only camera crew allowed in the area where the Pakistan Army is conducting an operation against Al Qaeda in the tribal territories. And in Iran we are allowed access everywhere.