Catherine Handfield: You are publishing these days Where the heart of the world beatsa collection of 33 reports that you wrote for The Press between 2003 and 2023. Which of Did these reports impact you the most?
Isabelle Hachey: The five days I spent in the red zone in the CHSLD LaSalle, in April 2020. François Legault had asked for help, and I decided to get hired, saying that I was a journalist. I did my training. The day before, before my first day, I was more terrified than if I had gone to cover the war in Iraq or Ukraine. At the time, lots of people ended up in intensive care. Obviously, there was no vaccine. But as soon as I set foot in the CHSLD, the fear and anxiety vanished. I was no longer a journalist; I was arms to help.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Isabelle Hachey at CHSLD LaSalle, in April 2020
In the prologue to your collection, you write that war is above all life continuing. What have all your reports (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, etc.) taught you about human nature?
When I went to Iraq, my mother wanted me to stay with us, and I told her this: 99% of people in countries in conflict are people like you and me, who want the best for their children and who want to live in peace. And I found that in all the dangerous zones where I worked. You shouldn’t be afraid to go there, because the people who live there have the same goals, the same dreams.
By appointing yourself Journalist of the year 2022, the jury of the Canadian Journalism Competition wrote that no one in Canada succeeded better than you in making readers understand the war in Ukraine. It’s not nothing ! Between you and me, what is your thing?
I put myself in the shoes of the Ukrainians, as we all put ourselves in their shoes at the start of the war. What is it like to go to war? How does it feel to go from a completely normal life to life in a country at war? How do you feel when a foreign army invades your country and you don’t know what will happen tomorrow morning? I asked everyone the question.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Isabelle Hachey in Ukraine
How do those around you deal with the risks associated with war coverage? In an article from 2004, you recount a car bomb attack, very close from where you were in Baghdad, and which left at least 29 dead. It’s intense…
My mother already told me that she was going to light lanterns in church when I went to Iraq, although she was not that religious! She was probably the one who had the hardest time. My boyfriend always pushed me to do it, because he knew that’s what I wanted to do. And my children, on the surface, are not really stressed. Although coming back from Ukraine, I was treated to a slightly longer hug than usual. They realize it more now.
You have written a series of articles on lies, notably those by journalist François Bugingo (2015) and chef Giovanni Apollo (2017). Is it difficult to write articles that will have a big impact on the lives of the people involved? Arrivalsdo you sleep the day before publication?
In Bugingo’s case, I didn’t sleep. I can’t say I was surprised that he lost his contracts everywhere. I knew it was going to happen. And of course it’s heavy to carry, but I rationalize it by telling myself that if it hadn’t been me, it might have been someone else. And it wasn’t me who lied in my reporting, it was him. I investigated and revealed facts. I consider myself a messenger.
Does being a women Was it an obstacle in your career?
It’s different for some colleagues, but personally, it’s never been a problem. I never felt like it was stopping me. I did interviews with ultraconservative Islamists in Iraq and Afghanistan. I even met the former head of the Taliban morality police, the one who banned TV, high heels and makeup. He didn’t shake my hand, but he spoke to me.
Some notable reports from Isabelle Hachey
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“The imaginary humanitarian”, in 2016, on the ravages of voluntourism in Cambodia
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“And the girls fall”, in 2013, on gender selection in India
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PHOTO ARCHIVES THE PRESS
“The mirages of François Bugingo”, in 2015, on the journalist’s invented international reports
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“Falling into war”, in 2022, on the preparation of the inhabitants of Odessa for the Russian offensive
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“How we create a monster”, in 2019, on the transformation of Alexandre Bissonnette into a mass killer
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“The bitter taste of freedom”, in 2004, on Iraq a year after the fall of Saddam Hussein
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Extract
Between Iraq and Ukraine, I filled hundreds of notebooks in around forty countries. As I packed my suitcase, the question sometimes crossed my mind. Should I go there or not? Baghdad, Kabul, Tripoli, Raqqa, Bakhmut. Is it worth it ? Each time, the conclusion is the same: I’m going. Because a reporter’s place is in the field. And because that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Over time, memories get mixed up. It comes back to me in flashes. A street, a neighborhood, a smell. Where was I again? Certain reports remain engraved in my memory. The investigation into modern slavery in Mauritania. Another on the large-scale destruction of female fetuses in India. Yet another on the ravages of voluntourism in Cambodia – one of the rare times I worked incognito, without revealing my identity as a journalist.
Where the heart of the world beats – reports and chronicles, 2003-2023
La Presse editions
328 pages