On Thursday, Nov. 12, the South Asian Journalist Association (SAJA) and the Arab Middle Eastern Journalist Association (AMEJA) are teaming up to host a panel on covering our communities at a time when they are not only experiencing more representation in American politics and society, but also more pushback – such as targeting by ICE agents, a rise in Islamophobia on the heels of Zohran Mamdani’s election to mayor in NYC, and consequences for speaking up on Palestinian rights or against right-wing Hindu nationalism. 

We are inviting community members and leaders, journalists and writers, and artists to gather for a discussion on how our diasporas have evolved within American society, to grapple with how we can cover our communities authentically, and what we can do when we face potential consequences when trying to report or represent our communities with truth and integrity. 

The event will be held from 6:30 PM to 9 PM in the downstairs area of Nepali Bhanchha Ghar in Jackson Heights and will feature incredible halal Nepali food – goat and veggie momos, chili paneer, and chowmein. The restaurant is right off the 7, E, F, M, and R train stop in Jackson Heights. 

We are so excited to have our panelists lead the conversation: 

Tanvi Misra is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work focuses on migration and justice. She’s an adjunct professor in journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Her writing and audio work has appeared in The Nation, Politico Magazine, The Atlantic, The Baffler, Lux Magazine, The New Republic, Harper’s Bazaar, the BBC, Bloomberg CityLab, High Country News, The Guardian, Teen Vogue, NPR, and other publications. 

Alia Malek is a journalist and former civil rights lawyer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and other publications. She is the author of two books: “The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria” and “A Country Called Amreeka: U.S History Re-Told Through Arab American Lives.” She also served as the editor of McSweeney’s 76, “Aftershocks: Contemporary Syrian Prose;” “Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post 9/11 Injustices;” and “EUROPA أوروپا : An Illustrated Introduction to Europe for Migrants and Refugees.” She is currently the director of international reporting at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. 

Ashish Malhotra is the moderator for the event. Malhotra is an award-winning journalist who spent close to a decade with Al Jazeera English, and has freelanced for The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Zeteo and others. He was a 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan, and hosts The Soccernomics Podcast.

The event will also feature a talk by Nitin Mukul, a visual artist, creative director, designer, and community arts activist. Mukul, who is also the co-founder of Epicenter, a journalism and community organization, worked with 7 artists from the Epicenter Artist Archive to bring this new project to Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights. Mukul chose artists and artworks that represent the diverse makeup of our community, and also relate to the day to day activities and livelihoods of people in the vicinity. Many of them have deep ties to the immigrant communities that make Jackson Heights so vibrant.