BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Rageh Omaar (/ˈræɡi ˈoʊmɑː/; Somali: Raage Oomaar, Arabic: راجح عمر; born 19 July 1967) is a Somali-born British journalist and writer. His latest book Only Half of Me deals with the tensions between these two sides of his identity. He used to be a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq. In September 2006, Omaar moved to a new post at Al Jazeera English, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series Witness uThe Rageh Omaar Report, first aired February 2010, is a one-hour, monthly investigative documentary in which he reports on important international current affairs stories. From January 2013, he became a special correspondent and presenter for ITV News, reporting on a broad range of news stories, as well as producing special in-depth reports from all around the UK and further afield. A year after his appointment, Omaar was promoted to International Affairs Editor for ITV New :
ntil January 2010.
Early life
Omaar was born in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland. He is the son of a wealthy businessman from Somaliland. A Muslim,[1] Rageh's family is originally from Hargeisa.
Omaar moved to the United Kingdom when he was two years old. He was educated at two independent schools: the Dragon School in Oxford, andCheltenham College in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He later studied Modern History at New College at the University of Oxford.
Journalism
Omaar began his journalistic career as a trainee for The Voice newspaper. In 1991, he moved to Ethiopia where he freelanced as a foreign correspondent, working mainly for the BBC World Service. A year later, he returned to London to work as a producer and broadcast journalist for the BBC. He moved to South Africa after having been appointed the BBC's Africa correspondent. Omaar's wife and children were based there through 2004, and his regular commuting made domestic life difficult.[2]
At the BBC and the Iraq invasion
Omaar covered the Iraq invasion for the weekday BBC news bulletins and BBC News. Many of his broadcasts were syndicated across the United States, where he became known as the Scud Stud.[3]
Omaar has written a book about his time as the BBC's Iraq correspondent called Revolution Day. The book deals with the effects of the Saddam Hussein regime, UN sanctions, and of the war on Iraqi civilians.
In 2003, Omaar was the recipient of an Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy award for the best TV journalist.[4]
Explaining why he left the BBC, he stated: "I wanted to be an independent journalist who did projects for the people I wanted. I wanted to be free". On being asked if he could have had more influence by staying he replied: "I don't think so. Many people from many backgrounds at the BBC have tried."
Omaar has also referred to the BBC as a "white man's club":
"It's the mentality. I'm in some ways guilty of this – I went to public school, I went to Oxford. I speak at a lot of schools with Somali kids and they say, "How do I become a journalist? We may be from the same community, but I don't have your accent." So it's a class thing rather than about being white necessarily. It's much more subtle."[5]
Omaar has expressed regret about the way in which he covered the invasion of Iraq during his time as a BBC correspondent: "We ran around, we did pieces on weapons inspectors, Saddam, the regime, and almost nothing about Iraqi people."[5] Interviewed in John Pilger's documentary The War You Don't See (2010) Omaar said: "I'd hold my hand up and say that one didn't press the most uncomfortable buttons hard enough" and called the coverage "a giant echo chamber".[6]
Al Jazeera
Omaar was Middle Eastern correspondent for the London Division of Al Jazeera English, and hosted his own monthly investigative documentaries called The Rageh Omaar Report.
ITV News
In January 2013, it was announced that Omaar would be joining ITV News as a special correspondent.[7] He was promoted the following year to ITV News' International Affairs Editor.[8]
Awards
In 2008, Omaar was presented the Arab Media Watch Award for excellence in journalism.[9]
Personal life
In 2000, Omaar married Georgiana Rose "Nina" Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill. The couple live in Chiswick, west London, with their three children. Rageh has three siblings: an elder sister, Raqiya Omaar, who is a human rights lawyer, another sister Saynab Abdullahi Omaar and an older brother, Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar, who is a Foreign Minister of Somalia.
Rageh Omaar maintains close contact with his family in Somalia, is an activist for the Somali community, and regularly attends its lectures and events.
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