The basics

Could you start by introducing yourself? 

Michel Baljet: I'm 40 years old. I'm living in the Netherlands when I'm not traveling. In the last 10-15 years, I’ve mostly been in war and crisis areas to investigate.

Are you a journalist? Would you call yourself a journalist or how would you describe it?

Michel Baljet: Yeah, I think I did for a long time. It started with journalism, but I learned over the years that it’s really difficult to be in war and crisis areas on one side and be public about it on the other side. It’s always balancing between the powers of geopolitics, and that’s not always easy—not just for yourself but also for your team, who I’m responsible for. So, more and more, I’ve changed my work into investigation, being more in the background instead of in the foreground.

How did you first become involved in documenting conflicts, organized crime, and war? And what motivated you to pursue this very specific path?

Michel Baljet: In the end, you grow into it. It’s not that you decide one day, “Let’s go to Syria or another place.” It started with me in Venezuela. I was traveling in South America, just trying to figure out what I wanted with my future. The job I had, I wasn’t happy with, or the life I had, I wasn’t happy with. So, I was in Peru and Ecuador, and at one point, I had to renew my visa. I exited Ecuador and could choose where to go, so I went to Colombia. At that moment, there were student protests in Venezuela, and I didn’t understand why. We didn’t have any Dutch journalists or correspondents in the country, so I decided to go to Venezuela. The idea was to stay for two weeks, just to talk with people and learn a little bit more about the country. I started blogging about that online, and it got picked up by some media in the Netherlands. They asked me if I could write about it for them, then the radio came asking if I could talk about it, and then television wanted something too. So, two weeks became one and a half years, where I grew into the crisis over there in Venezuela, Colombia, the border, and the surrounding areas. From there, I went to Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Russia, and the Dominican Republic, and then to Haiti, where I got sick two years ago.

A personal journey

Did you immediately feel that this was your passion?

Michel Baljet: Yeah, people were dying, and in the Netherlands, we weren’t writing about it. So, it was important to share what I was seeing. Because there was nobody there to write about it, it was easy for me to share my story with a wider audience.

Now that you’ve made a shift in your career more towards writing and research, what new initiatives or projects are you currently working on?

Michel Baljet: I had to change my career. I got sick two years ago when I was abroad. I made it back to the Netherlands, and the same day, I was admitted to intensive care. They put me in a medically induced coma for a while. Two years ago yesterday, that was the day. Since then, I’ve been training every day to get better again. I can walk short distances, but for long distances, I’m still in a wheelchair, and wheelchairs and front lines aren’t a good combination of things. So, I’ve had to shift what I do. I can’t sit still, though. I have a lot in my digital archive, and I’m interested in new developments. How can we use machine learning in journalism? How can we provide better sources for people on the ground, NGOs, or other companies? How can we make better risk assessments using big data? And how can we build a stronger network of people working in the same areas as I do to provide better and more information to the public?

So, you’re on a mission to give better and more information?

Michel Baljet: I’m defining a new mission. I’m not sure what my role will be yet.

What are some key topics or events that you believe are crucial to address in today’s global landscape?

Michel Baljet: Yes, I think what I want to start with is that the digital world can enhance journalists and people’s ability to learn more about our world. For me, it’s important that we hear the stories we otherwise don’t hear, like those from places in crisis or war that go unseen. Venezuela was one of those places 10 years ago and still is. We have a hard time looking in more than one direction. The whole world is looking at Ukraine and Israel, but in the meantime, the problems in Sudan and Myanmar aren’t over yet. So, I think it’s important to keep writing about what’s happening in this world and to share the stories of the people I’ve met on the ground over the last few years. That’s one side. I want to keep writing about crisis, war, and organized crime. When you have war and crisis, you have organized crime, and where you have organized crime, there are always victims—children whose parents make decisions for them. I think we should protect them. 

On the other side, the world is changing quickly, and we should adapt to it. I want to use big data to gather more information, perspectives, and facts. But how? I’m not sure yet. I think that will be a road we need to work on together in the coming months and years. The first and most important thing is to keep working every day. Problems don’t stop just because we take a break.

Which publications do you follow?

Michel Baljet: I’m on a lot of databases like LexisNexis to get my daily dose of news. On the other side, I look at other opinions and views. I was looking at one of the feeds running through your sites—The Gates of Vienna. They’re really good, providing a lot of snippets of news, which is easy to follow. I think I follow all the bigger news outlets in different countries, from AP writers to AFP, France 24, and depending on what’s happening in the world, I focus more on different sources. I always follow the local journalists there—first-source information.

What do you think has been the most rewarding moment in your career?

Michel Baljet: It’s difficult. There are a lot of moments where I’m happy to have been part of a solution or to have told a story. I have a lot of passion for Latin America, so I think my time there was important and rewarding. Even if you can’t help people immediately, everything you do matters. That’s rewarding. I think the moments when you can make children smile, even in difficult times, are rewarding. I have photos on the stairway leading up to my room—photos of children I met in Syria, Venezuela, and Colombia. They’re all smiling and looking positive. Looking at those photos every day is rewarding.

Choosing syndication

What made you trust Newstex to syndicate your content with us? Why us?

Michel Baljet: I think it’s because you take the effort to learn who you’re working with, rather than just trying to syndicate the whole world. That would create a lot of noise for people. Your professionalism and quick responses helped me decide to choose you. That’s an important part. The second part is the places where you syndicate. I recognized LexisNexis and some other big names. In the end, those names help spread stories to a wider audience, and you’re right in between. You bring them all together, and that makes me happy.

Michel Baljet is a Dutch investigative journalist with an extensive background in working in war and crisis areas. Over the years he has worked with various media, organizations, committees and individuals. He is driven by a passion for uncovering the truth and giving an unbiased view of events.