Elizia Volkmann is a British freelance journalist, photographer, and videographer with more than 20 years of experience. Based in Tunisia, Elizia covers international trade, geo-political economics, and humanitarian issues in the Maghreb and Euro-med regions and North Africa. Her work has been published in the Times, Al-Jazeera, Euro News, the BBC, and AI Monitor, among others. During COVID, Elizia covered the impact of the pandemic for both Arab-focused English language press and business publications.
In this interview, Volkmann recounted in vivid detail her experiences surviving COVID and enduring Long COVID symptoms while covering politics and the pandemic impact. She lost significant work and income, received no institutional support, and struggled with maintaining mental health and physical health during the pandemic. She commented on the dilemma of being a foreign correspondent stuck overseas. She also recalled incidents of sexism against women in society and harassment against women journalists in the workplace. She called for more organized support to freelancers and to build community connections and mental and physical strengths.