“These Syrian students who were future lawyers, doctors, engineers, journalists – they were ripped away from their home country,” says Thomas. “What happens to this entire group of young people who were supposed to be the future leaders of their country?”
From Syria's lost scholars to civilians trapped in Iraq – Molly Thomas on telling the world's difficult stories
Published: September 9, 2015
“I love telling stories that are different – immersing myself in new places where my outlook on life is constantly challenged,” says U of T Master of Global Affairs student and television journalist Molly Thomas.
The stories she tells – such as “Trapped in Iraq,” a harrowing television documentary about Iraqi civilians displaced by ISIS – draw heavily on her course work and research in the two-year Munk School of Global Affairs graduate program, Thomas says.
Now entering the final year of the program, Thomas is also a reporter and producer with the independently produced current affairs television show Context with Lorna Dueck. “Trapped in Iraq” aired on the program in July 2015 and Thomas is now working on a second documentary for the show, this one about Syrian university students uprooted by that country’s civil strife.
Read more Back to School stories about the University of Toronto students who are driving change in the classroom, across the city and around the world
Thomas gave up a successful career as a television journalist and anchor in Regina in 2014 to enrol in the Master of Global Affairs program. She says the Munk School appealed to her because of its emphasis on professional applications, rather than just research or theory.
“As a journalist, I prefer practical hard skills that I can apply to the workplace,” she says. “It also has a strong financial and economic push to the program, which was outside my skill set. U of T is also in the heart of Canada's news hub, so what a great opportunity to make contacts, network and work in Toronto while also pursuing my lifelong goal to earn my master’s degree.”
The Munk program also allowed her to combine her scholarly and journalistic work. “What I love about Munk is that I’ve been able to put so much time into the research component and then go out and tell those stories. When I started hearing the rumblings that the show might do something in Iraq, Jordan, or Lebanon or that we might go to Turkey to do the Syrian refugee story, I started to cater my schoolwork to that,” she recalls. “I wrote a 20-page paper on the lost scholars of Syria. I also wrote a security report on Iraq.”
Learn more about the Master of Global Affairs program
The Iraq trip wasn’t Thomas’s first international journalistic experience. In 2010 she covered national elections in Rwanda, and has also done reporting for the Canadian International Development Agency in Uganda and Rwanda. She’s travelled to 18 countries on five continents over the past 20 years, she calculates. “My family is global. We’ve always travelled a lot.”
Besides her desire to travel, Thomas also attributes her sense of social justice to her family. “My dad is from Malaysia and my mom is from India. My parents made it a point to take us through areas of the world that have a much harder time in life. That has to have an impact on you. You can’t just walk away and not do anything about it.”
Thomas says it was difficult to keep a sense of journalistic detachment while producing “Trapped in Iraq,” which includes an interview with a father who saw his seven-year-old son killed by ISIS in cold blood.
“I’m not saying I’ve never broken down but as a journalist, I try my best to keep my emotions separate, because my worry is that the story can very easily become about you, and that is not the point of being a journalist.”
Her new documentary comes directly out of her Munk paper on Syrian students. “These Syrian students who were future lawyers, doctors, engineers, journalists – they were ripped away from their home country. What happens to this entire group of young people who were supposed to be the future leaders of their country? What are their options? What happens to their future?”
The documentary, currently being edited, is scheduled to air on Context With Lorna Dueck in late September or early October on Global TV and other stations throughout Canada.
Thomas is now doing an internship at the United Nations, and thinking about her post-Munk future.“I’m making contacts, I’m in the city where no one sleeps, and all the major news outlets are here.”
But Munk has opened her eyes to possibilities outside of journalism as well, Thomas says.
“I love the research aspect. Perhaps my skill set could be used in the United Nations or another international organization. I’ll see when April rolls around. But I’m after that diploma first. I want that master’s degree in my hand.”
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