Alaa Basatneh

Alaa Basatneh is a human rights activist, writer and Justice Correspondent at FUSION and is the protagonist in the 2013 award-winning documentary, #ChicagoGirl (www.chicagogirlfilm.com), following Alaa’s tireless efforts to guide revolution in war-torn Syria using only social media and her laptop from 6,000 miles away in the suburbs of Chicago. #ChicagoGirl, which aired in over 40 countries including FUSION, Al Jazeera and is currently on Netflix, is a story of perseverance and new- age revolution. Alaa has been featured in international newspapers and media outlets, including the New York Times and the Huffington Post. 

From the young age of 14, Alaa has been proud to share her good will and rich culture with others, and even taught Arabic to a class of 36 students at a community center in Chicago. Fostering understanding and building a bridge between the Arab World and the United States of America is her ultimate goal. Despite her world travel, speaking engagements and volunteer work, Alaa balanced a life of activism and study and received her B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern IL University. 

Way beyond her years, Alaa has gained renown globally in the political and humanitarian activism world. She has been welcomed in meetings with congressmen, United Nations, Amnesty International, Foreign Affairs Ministries from 45 countries to speak about political issues and the crisis in Syria. Basatneh has had the honor of meeting Former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to name a few. Alaa continues her fight to raise awareness of the crisis in Syria of which has been called “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II” and her experience as a young Muslim woman through her work as Justice Correspondent on FUSION. Her writing can be found on FUSION.net and her insight as well on FUSION’s weekly news show “The Feed,” covering all topics from immigration and healthcare to pop culture and race and everything in between.