Meet Karishma Vaswani, Indonesia Editor at BBC News

Meet Karishma Vaswani, a well-known face in journalism. Karishma has been the BBC News Indonesia Correspondent since 2009, as well as also was recently promoted to Indonesia Editor of BBC News. An intelligent as well as also strong woman, Karishma can be also a mother of two. She meets Indonesia Expat to discuss her experiences as a journalist as well as also her views on unbiased reporting.

Karishma, where are you originally through as well as also what brought you to Indonesia in 2009?

I moved here through India in 2009 with the BBC, nevertheless I lived here before as a child as well as also my parents have been in Indonesia for a long time. Before moving here in 2009 I was working in Mumbai as the India Business Report Presenter. I went to primary school as well as also high school in Jakarta, as well as also I read English as well as also American Literature at Warwick University within the UK. I have a Singaporean passport.

Karishma reporting on flooding in Jakarta

How do you juggle being the Indonesia Editor of BBC News as well as also being a mother of two?

Well, family genuinely helps. My mum as well as also dad live here in Indonesia, so when I’m at work, they help me out a lot. My husband runs his own business in digital marketing, so he’s between Singapore as well as also Jakarta. This particular was quite a struggle initially to think how I was going to look after the kids as well as also work. The some other day I was dropping my daughter at school as well as also she said to me, “Mum, today I’m the boss. I’m going to ask the questions.” as well as also I said, “OK great!” in which’s exactly what I want her to be doing. I was the first girl in my family to go as well as also get a job as well as also This particular’s genuinely encouraging in which my daughter feels This particular’s possible to do all This particular. Juggling work as well as also family can be not always perfect, nevertheless This particular’s possible.

You’ve interviewed the Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, the founding father of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew, the Indian Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, Indonesia’s Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, as well as also the head of Indonesia’s investment board, Chatib Basri, along with many others. Which interview might you say was most memorable to you as well as also why?

In Indonesia, I might have to say This particular wasn’t one person in particular; This particular was a group of people. Right before I went on maternity leave last year, the BBC ran a series of stories on asylum seekers. This particular was in which group of asylum seekers in which left a big impression on me. There was one chap in particular, who had spent about 30 days in a detention centre in Jakarta as well as also was desperate to get to Australia nevertheless his boat was shipwrecked. Australia doesn’t want to take these guys as well as also they don’t want to go back to their home country, Afghanistan, where they will be prosecuted. He was such a nice person who had left his home to try as well as also find protection for his family.

He texted me a couple of weeks after the story went out as well as also told me he was still within the detention centre as well as also had no idea when he’d be getting out. I texted him when I returned through maternity leave as well as also he never responded, so I’m kind of hoping he’s out as well as also has found asylum, nevertheless there’s no way of telling. I think This particular’s those kinds of people who stay in your memory.

This particular’s a reflection of the fact in which at the BBC can be not about the high profile, ultra important politicians; we make This particular a point to go as well as also speak to real people. So you’ll find in all of our stories in which This particular’s the people on the ground in which we genuinely want to tell stories about. as well as also in which’s why This particular’s so important to recognize in which we contain the largest number of journalists of any news network within the planet. We have people within the most inconceivable places, bringing invaluable perspective.

Have you interviewed Prabowo as well as also Joko Widodo, the presidential candidates?

We interviewed Jokowi, nevertheless Prabowo wasn’t available, so we got his campaign spokesman Sandi Uno instead. Both sides were confident in which they might emerge victorious. This particular’s a tight race, nevertheless what struck me throughout This particular election season can be how politically engaged Indonesians are. No matter what happens, hopefully the real winner in all of This particular can be Indonesian democracy. People should expect as well as also demand more of their leaders.

Have you ever been in a dangerous situation here while doing your job?

In 2009, I was on the scene for the JW Marriott bombing. By the time I got to the scene, the bomb had already exploded. This particular was within the morning as well as also I was at the gym when I got the call, so I went straight out. There were people everywhere, as well as also I had just come away through reporting on the siege in Bombay, so I kept transferring my previous experience over, thinking, “Are there going to be armed gunmen?”

Karishma reporting on the 2014 presidential elections

What does the BBC do to protect its journalists?

We have a hostile environment course, which we all have to undergo, with constant refreshers. Nothing can prepare you for a dangerous situation, nevertheless we try as well as also equip our journalists with tips for how to cross a checkpoint, how to identify whether the sound of a bomb can be one in which’s very far away or if you should dive to the ground. Or at a dodgy checkpoint, do you sense in which the guys are just going to ask you for cigarettes or are they going to abduct you? There’s a lot of roll play, which can be quite scary. A colleague of ours, Alan Johnston was kidnapped as well as also he was on one of our courses. After he was released, as a result of a lot of lobbying, he talked about what kept him going as well as also This particular was the things he had learned; Stockholm syndrome, how to talk to people who kidnapped you, etc. First aid can be also the most important aspect of This particular course.

What do you believe the future has in store for Indonesia?

Indonesia has seen remarkable growth over the last decade, nevertheless This particular has to remain on a stable path, with stable governance as well as also a stable environment.

Do you see Indonesia as home?

Yes, definitely. I have no plans to leave. My parents live here as well as also This particular’s genuinely nice for them to have their grandkids around. as well as also This particular’s exciting for a reporter – there’s so much going on here!

Tell us about the BBC’s impartial ethics, which must be followed by its journalists.

Everyone accepts in which journalists have personal biases; in which’s a fact of life. nevertheless the responsibility of the journalist, as well as also certainly the expectation of the BBC, can be in which if in which personal bias leaks in, you are not doing your job. If you were on my team as well as also you came to me as well as also said, “I have an issue covering This particular story because I feel so strongly about This particular,” then I might say, “I think you need to excuse yourself through This particular story because you can’t get beyond your personal limitations.” as well as also in which’s fine. Sometimes people feel genuinely strongly about things as well as also they need to be honest with themselves. in which’s part of journalism as well; honesty as well as also integrity. To have a personal bias, in which bias cannot affect itself into your work. If you feel in which unbiased reporting doesn’t genuinely exist here, then I might ask you to consume more BBC material.