Palestinian journalists shine at Doha Forum awards
World
The journalist, who left Gaza in January, dedicated his award to every journalist still in Gaza
(Web Desk) - At the prestigious award ceremony held at the Doha Forum, Palestinian journalists Motaz Azaiza and Wael al-Dahdouh were among six media personnel were honoured.
They received accolades for political dialogue for their sacrifices in reporting from conflict zones.
AFP journalists Christina Assi and Dylan Collins, Al Jazeera journalists al-Dahdouh and Carmen Joukhadar, photojournalist Azaiza and Afghan radio journalist Sadaf Popalzai were honoured at the ceremony on Saturday.
“Today I was honoured to accept the Doha Forum Award alongside brave journalists like Wael al-Dahdouh, Christina Assi, and my courageous media colleagues who have reported from conflict zones including Lebanon, Ukraine and Afghanistan. These reporters have stopped at nothing to tell the truth,” Azaiza wrote on Instagram.
The journalist, who left Gaza in January, dedicated his award to every journalist still in Gaza or anywhere in the world risking their lives for journalism.
“Reporters will not be silenced! We will continue to tell the story of this Gaza genocide so the entire world understands that Palestine must be free.”
Azaiza also thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for presenting him with the award.
“It’s not only about you as a journalist. It’s your life because you’re not an international journalist who does your mission and leave and you get paid and that’s it. No. It’s your home. What’s happening is happening to your family, to your friends,” Azaiza said during the ceremony.
He added that he lost 16 friends during the Israeli assault on Gaza.
“Gaza is a besieged territory but today it is completely destroyed. It is under genocide,” al-Dahdouh said during the panel.
“As a journalist, your mind is always controlled by the idea that you are undertaking a journalistic mission. However, at the same time, you are conducting your duty because, at the end of the day, there are millions of people who are waiting for your story to understand what is happening.”
Moreover, Assi and Collins were wounded while reporting in Lebanon over a year ago.
“I felt like there’s a need to keep speaking up, sharing our story, for me, for us, for Issam and all our colleagues who been targeted this year,” Assi said of slain Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.
