The BBC’s James Longman specialises in war reporting from Syria and the Middle East
BBC audiences were given a tasty, and unusual, treat when reporter and journalist James Longman joined the news team in 2012 as their newest correspondent.
Fluent in Arabic and French, the 30-year-old has specialised in Syrian and middle eastern affairs for five years, also working to provide safe access into the field for other international broadcasters.
His fearless determination to nail a good story, along with his dashing good looks, has also sent heart’s racing – especially since his regular appearances on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show when he’s not in the field.
Speaking to Attitude Magazine, Longman spoke about what is what like to report on gay refugees of war.
“I did a story in Lebanon about a man who had been arrested by ISIS because he was gay and had been tortured.”
“It struck me that the one group of refugees – those who are fleeing the war in Syria, anyway – who really need a lot of attention, and my job as a journalist is to shed light on things, is the gay community.
“They are the one demographic which doesn’t have their own family to support them.”
Longman also tells Attitude how his sexuality comes into play as a journalist and in countries where being gay is against the law and even, in some places, punished by life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Courageous and passionate on and off-the-clock Longman’s Instagram is the true definition of ‘work hard, play hard’.
Take a look:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIuziqbhCbB/?taken-by=jamesaalongman
