A Turkish cameraman's struggle with COVID-19: At least in a war you’ll know where an attack might come from

Pınar Öğünç reports: While it’s a cameraman's job to be out and about during breaking news situations, that doesn’t mean they don’t struggle with the coronavirus. “At least in a war you’ll know where an attack might come from. With this, the only thing you can do is watch your hygiene,” says an anonymous cameraman.

Tuesday March 31 2020 04:36 pm

Pınar Öğünç / DUVAR

Everyone is told to “stay home” but cameramen and reporters are expected to do the exact opposite for their jobs, an anonymous videographer said, adding that the last time everyone stayed home like this was during the census, when she was out working.

The anonymous cameraman’s workplace distributed gloves, masks and hand sanitizer to field reporters and videographers, but the crew decided against gloves to avoid carrying more germs around in them, he says.

“Obviously, we’re all washing our hands excessively. We even started dismantling our cameras to clean the parts, just in case we’re carrying anything back from the hospitals we go to.”

The cameraman and his coworkers try to do fewer interviews with people on the street and to stay a meter away from sources when they do, he said.

“The microphones are obviously a huge problem. We thought about wrapping them in clear plastic, but we couldn’t. So we just spray disinfectant on them now.”

While some reporters and cameramen cannot currently work due to pre-existing health conditions, the ones who still can take turns in two groups, he said.

“We wanted to work for two weeks to include the incubation period of the virus in there, but even one week is exhausting and we can barely do that right now.”

‘It takes a toll on you’

The cameraman said that when the outbreak first started, they many stories about the disinfection of public transportation.

“At one point, we started wondering if the disinfectant could hurt our health instead of the virus. It was everywhere. Seeing all the workers, in their suits too… It takes a toll on you.”

The cameraman noted that having cafes and restaurants close temporarily lowered their motivation, since they’re working outside all day and have to eat at businesses.

“People started to avoid talking to each other to avoid conflict. Obviously, newsrooms are already tense environments.”

‘At least in a war you’ll know where an attack might come from’

The cameraman notes that he has experienced wars, earthquakes and natural disasters throughout his career, but he does not know how to protect himself from the COVID-19 outbreak.

“At least in a war you’ll know where an attack might come from. You’ll know there will be an explosion and you can focus on that. With this, the only thing you can do is watch your hygiene.”

His job is one that requires him to always be outside, but he worries about her family, the videographer said.

“No matter how careful I am, I could bring something back home. We still work with a journalists’ instinct of, ‘You stay home, we’ll bring you the news.’”