Raguia Mostafa is an independent researcher and journalist working in Arabic, Spanish, English, French and German, all native. She reported from Cairo between 2010 and 2014, covering the 2011 uprising and the political transition that followed, bylined in Al Jazeera English and Daily News Egypt and carrying out research and field reporting for the Washington Post, NPR, the Associated Press and Newsweek. Her journalism is published under the byline Ragia Mostafa.
She subsequently spent nine years living and working across Mexico and Colombia, including at an asylum centre in Tijuana on the United States–Mexico border, and in Mexico City, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Puerto Escondido, Santa Marta and Palomino. Her Latin American experience is working and residential rather than academic: agricultural labour, hospitality and direct support work with people in the asylum system, conducted throughout in native Spanish.
Her country knowledge combines Arabic-language primary source assessment across Egypt and the wider Arab world with first-hand familiarity with migration, displacement and asylum conditions in Mexico and Colombia. She holds a BA in Journalism from the American University in Cairo, awarded magna cum laude, and is based in Malta.
Egypt. Political transition and governance since 2011: the 2011 uprising, the 2011–12 parliamentary elections, the 2012 presidential race and the security conditions through the transition. Treatment of civilians by military and security forces, including the use of force against demonstrators. Gender-based violence, sexual harassment and the position of women, including state and societal responses. Freedom of expression, press freedom and conditions for journalists. Civil society and protest movements. Reported from Cairo 2010–2014 in Egyptian Arabic and English.
Mexico and Colombia. Nine years living and working in the region in native Spanish. Direct experience of the asylum system at an asylum centre in Tijuana on the United States–Mexico border, and residence and work in Mexico City, San Cristóbal de las Casas and Puerto Escondido in Mexico, and Santa Marta and Palomino in Colombia. Familiarity with migration and displacement routes, conditions facing people in transit and in the asylum process, regional and local variation in safety and state protection, and the differences between capital-city, coastal, border and Chiapas contexts. Assessment of Spanish-language sources, including local and regional media.
Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. Regional coverage and analysis, including Iraqi and Syrian regional positioning reported from Cairo. Assessment of Arabic-language primary sources across Maghrebi, Levantine and Gulf varieties, including state and independent media, official statements and social media material. Cultural and linguistic competence as a native Arabic speaker working across the region.
Four years of field reporting and research in Egypt, 2010–2014, working to the sourcing and verification standards of international news organisations: first-hand observation of protests and their policing, interviewing of witnesses and affected individuals, and verification of Arabic-language material. Nine years of residence and work across Mexico and Colombia, including direct support work at an asylum centre in Tijuana. Newly listed on this directory and has not yet produced expert reports for immigration or asylum proceedings.
"Egypt political groups ready for round two", Al Jazeera English, 15 December 2011 (contributing reporter) "Egyptian artists showcase their stance against sexual harassment", Daily News Egypt, 3 July 2012 "Shafiq 'on pilgrimage'", Daily News Egypt, 27 June 2012 "Iraq pushes for influence in Syria", Daily News Egypt, 25 June 2012 Published under the byline Ragia Mostafa
States–Mexico border. Women and girls, including survivors of sexual and
gender-based violence. Journalists and media workers.