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Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst spent several weeks in Afghanistan covering the consequences of the US withdrawal from the country and the resurgence of the Taliban.
And as he prepares to return to the Harrisburg area to visit his family, he will soon be on his way back to Jerusalem, so he can get back to reporting immediately.
“Honestly, I’m living the dream right now,” Yingst said in a telephone interview from Duha, Qatar. “I’m in the middle of what I was planning to do. “
Yingst grew up in Linglestown and graduated from Central Dauphin High School. And by the time he was in college, Yingst already had experience covering events in war zones.
While still a journalism student at American University, Yingst was an accredited member of the press covering the fighting in Gaza between Israeli security forces and the Palestinians.
Soon after, he was covering riots, marches and police action in Baltimore, Maryland and Ferguson, Missouri, after the deaths of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown – and at one point was arrested in the process. And as a reporter for One America News Network, he was a member of the White House Press Corps, interviewing press secretaries for the Trump administration.
“My job as a journalist isn’t to promote what someone does, it’s to hold them accountable,” Yingst said – and that applies to everyone, whether it’s the police and the police. American politicians, or Afghan activists. “I think even when you interview these dangerous people, our role as journalists doesn’t change.
Part of his responsibility as a journalist, Yingst said, is telling the stories of these dangerous people, so that such complicated and deadly conflicts can be better understood. And that often means he and his team are potentially putting themselves in danger. Their job puts them in danger of everything from roadside bombs and sniper fire, to sitting in front of a table with someone with an AK-47 on their lap.
“The security situation is definitely something you need to take into account,” Yingst said. “You are surrounded by members of the Taliban – people who would have killed me before – and we were in the same room earlier this year. These are now interview topics. And it was a very strange feeling to be sitting with these people. Because you have to remember that they are human, that they are motivated and that they have reasons why they do what they do.
But Yingst said his empathy and objectivity for his interview topics cannot conflict with his obligation to ask them tough questions – even though his attempts to get that information could potentially lead to violence. It’s a safe line to follow, he said, but the questions don’t change, whether it’s talking to a young Taliban activist or interviewing prominent Taliban members – members who now hold government posts after the Taliban took control.
“While we were in Afghanistan, I interviewed Anas Haqqani, from the infamous Haqqani Network,” Yingst said. “His brother [Sirajuddin Haqqani, current Afghanistan Minister of the Interior under the Taliban] has a $ 10 million bounty on his head from the United States. When you talk to someone who has been the head of the main Taliban suicide bombers for years, it can be a pretty delicate conversation. It is someone who killed, en masse, and who was able to fall asleep that night.
Trey Yingst, originally from Harrisburg and foreign correspondent for Fox News, poses with Afghan children on a mission.
To put it another way, Yingst said, “If they kill civilians, I’ll cover it up and ask them why.
And that also includes, for example, coverage of the US drone strike in late August. The strike was initially thought to target ISIS bombers, but it was later discovered that it mistakenly killed 10 Afghan civilians, seven of whom were children.
And an equally urgent obligation, Yingst said, is to tell the stories of these civilians – people caught in the crossfire in these conflicts. And these stories are just as vital to his audience, even if they are further removed from the major geopolitical picture.
“There are also other stories that are not directly related to the United States,” Yingst said. “The previous corruption in the Afghan government, and now the Taliban regime, will continue to affect the Afghan people – half of whom depend on international aid for their survival. And I think I’ve really tried to make it stand out in our reporting, talking with families with malnourished children, people who are really touched by what is happening in the months and years to come.
Yingst said it was important for people to remember that “the majority of people in every conflict we cover are innocent bystanders, and they are stuck in the middle of this conflict. We always try to shed some light on these stories because – this is a cliché but I repeat it over and over again – our role in many cases is to give a voice to the voiceless.
In Afghanistan, said Yingst, people are like those found everywhere else where he has lived. There are artists, athletes, musicians and families who are just trying to survive. Their cultures may differ, but their common humanity is the same.
“There are billions of people, a third of the world’s population, who live on less than a dollar a day,” he said. “And there are a lot of people who have nothing and will always give you everything. And I think it still really surprises me. They don’t have a dime under their belt, literally living hour by hour to survive. And yet, they are ready to give you their last cup of tea.
The stress that comes with being relatively high-profile targets in life-threatening situations is very real, Yingst said. This requires steps so that her press team is not followed as she passes through certain areas, being careful not to get caught up in snipers and sleeping with shoes on to ensure that he can run if necessary.
“It can be difficult,” he said. “I’m not Superman, and sometimes the situation we find ourselves in requires a lot of focus and requires you to deal with stress in a way that helps keep you safe.”
The work requires a constant state of alertness, which is detrimental to mental health, Yingst said.
“When you leave the complex with the hotel in Kabul, you are a target,” Yingst said. “You are absolutely in danger, and you have to do constant math, to make sure you are not killed. I’m constantly like, ‘Okay, if a roadside bomb explodes in front of us and we can’t get out, where do I go from here?’ “
His upcoming return to his hometown to visit his family is a well-deserved rest, but even then it will take some effort to release the tension. Yingst said that “this is something that I am actively working on.”
“There are times, even on the pitch, when I say to my team, ‘Hey, I need a few minutes,’” Yingst said. “I just need to do a few breathing exercises and take a few minutes to make sure I have a clear mind. I also make sure I take the time after a very stressful story to decompress and somehow reintegrate into society.
“I’m going to spend time in the AP center and hang out, have a bonfire with my parents and my sister and get back to a normal life,” he said. “There is a real shock to come back to society. Suddenly you can eat in a restaurant outside and not have to think about what happens if a suicide bomber approaches. “
But once his visit is over, Yingst is eager to get back to work and tell the important stories that lie in places of conflict – an opportunity he was proud to have with Fox News.
“My reminder to people – and this is something I try to remember and remind my team as we approach these stories across the world – is to be empathetic,” Yingst said. “You can learn a lot by listening. And you can too, I think you are a better journalist and a better human, reminding yourself that sometimes we are here on the worst day of someone’s life. And we have a responsibility as journalists to tell their story to the world. “
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