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An Open Letter
from our Founders

Welcome to The Spill!

BY JENNIFER HAKIM AND CHOUROUK GORRAB

"Inspired by real change, The Spill is an online publication on a mission to take up space." 

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BY THE SPILL
1 January 2021

The Spill was born in a very interesting year, and it feels like we have seen it all.

A health crisis named Covid-19 spread out globally, the Black Lives Matter movement took a major turn, Australia declared a state of emergency amid large bushfires, terrorist attacks hit France again, the Uighur community in China remains persecuted, major explosions killed and injured thousands in the port of Beirut (Lebanon), US. President Donald Trump carried on with his modern dictatorship, a civil conflict continues in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

 

The list is long and this is just the tip of the Iceberg. 2020 happened to be mostly disastrous, sometimes reflective, often nerve-wracking, and somehow a very inspiring year for our two co-founders Jennifer Hakim and Chourouk Gorrab.

 

“We have a lot of ideas and want to do things differently than the mainstream media, to finally have a platform that amplifies the voices of under-represented and marginalised communities. In other words, we’ve had enough of the status quo, and decided to act our own way” they explain.

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Our beliefs

We believe in true diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation. Real change, and not just empty promises. Real stories that are written by, and relevant to Black people, people of colour, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ umbrella and beyond, people who are non-binary, Muslim people and those attacked because of their religious beliefs, people from marginalised groups, and people who have been ‘boxed up’. 

A publication with people at the heart of its business 

This publication is a statement, and is for:

  • People who are singled out, treated unequally, looked at as ‘different’, and victims of systemic racism and discrimination

  • People who are rejected by society for their physical or behavioural characteristics

  • People who are stigmatised for their religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation

  • People who live in a society that doesn’t accept them

  • People who can’t express themselves freely in fear of oppression

  • People at the intersection, who face disadvantage because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, class or gender, or all of the above

  • People who’ve been told the colour of their skin is the problem

  • People whose sexuality is challenged every day

  • People who have been told they won’t be able to do any better

  • People who are considered second class citizens because they don’t have the education or speak the local language, but are still being taken advantage of by the system

  • People whose history is butchered to give the dominant group the upper hand

  • People whose heritage is seen as insignificant

  • People whose ethnicity is seen as a danger

  • People whose culture has been and still is mocked, with no one to defend them

  • People who are still facing social inequalities

  • People who feel invisible because society doesn’t recognise them

  • People who have been catcalled on the street

  • People whose hair has been touched by strangers without permission

  • People whose name has been mocked because it sounds ‘exotic’

  • People who have been looked at suspiciously and treated like a threat because of their physical features or origins

  • People who are attacked for loving someone of the same sex

  • People who never know if they’ll be able to make it home because the elevator is broken

  • People who were told they asked for it for wearing too little clothes 

  • People who still have to deal with their trauma

People who know reverse racism is a myth. That Black privilege doesn’t exist. That same-sex people deserve better than a ‘civil union’. That it has never been more crucial to say ‘no more’.

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We are made by and serve under-represented people. Meaning, we only work with journalists and artists from these groups and put a lot of thought into this before agreeing to partner with anyone. We hear from dominant groups enough, and we think it’s time we also have a space to share our views.

 

We want to amplify the visibility of people who are too often misrepresented, misquoted, or simply brushed aside. People who have been mansplained, gaslighted, victim-blamed, harassed, bullied, doxed, insulted, and hurt by the dominant group. We want to be the media to have their back.

 

We believe in community. We take this very seriously, and when we say we want to amplify their visibility, we mean it. We take your views seriously. We take your story seriously. We take your mental health seriously.  

 

We are small, and we may not be able to do everything we want to do but we’re working on it. We will always stand by the side of the oppressed, and we know a long journey is waiting for us. We as a media and industry have a lot to do. The world is changing and we believe we can create a better future, a society that doesn’t rely on oppressing a group of people to thrive.

 

We believe in quality journalism that shines a light on what needs to be improved, on the heroes nobody speaks of, on the topics the media has shied away from for too long. We want to create a great journalism platform for our writers, and great content for you.

 

We want to bring you interesting content, about topics that matter to us and to you. About interesting people, by interesting people. Content that makes you stop and think. Content you’ll remember, and want to talk about. Content you can relate to, and surprises you. Content that challenges your views. Real-life stories, stories about culture and arts, politics and the environment, and explorations of the self. We are interested in how the world is evolving, how humans are coping, and how we are all interacting now. We are passionate about social justice and positive change. Our content will sometimes be quirky, sometimes funny but always exciting. Our content will sometimes be scary. Sometimes heavy and heartbreaking. But mostly we hope our content will resonate with you because you’ve been there or because you will learn something new.

Be part of the movement

This is who we are, and we are only just starting. We are a small independent publication with big plans and a big heart, and we will always welcome ideas on how and what we can do better.

 

  • Want to be a friend of The Spill? Come say hi and talk to us on social media, we’re on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

  • We want to connect with you! Reach out to write for us, send us a pitch, or share your story.

  • Want to help us in our mission? We accept donations. 100% of the funds will go to our contributors.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read us, we can’t wait to be part of this journey with you.

 

With unconditional love and respect,

 

Jennifer Hakim & Chourouk Gorrab, 

Co-founders of The Spill.

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