Gaza and Syria in spotlight at Middle East press awards in honour of slain Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir
Three Arab journalists have been recognised for their reporting on Syria and Gaza at the 20th edition of an EU-sponsored awards ceremony in honour of assassinated Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir.
The Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press was held on Tuesday at Sursock Palace in Beirut. The annual event is organised by the Samir Kassir Foundation with EU financing.
Mr Kassir was killed on June 2, 2005 in the Lebanese capital. He was a vocal critic of Syria's occupation of Lebanon which started in 1976 and ended in the year he died.
Gaza, devastated by almost 20 months of Israeli bombardment, was central to this year's event, along with Syria as the country emerges from decades of authoritarian rule after the fall of Bashar Al Assad.
Tuesday's ceremony carried extra poignancy, 20 years on from Mr Kassir's assassination.
'It has very much to do with Samir's own multiple identities – Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian – and what is happening in these three countries defies all imagination and expectations,' said Ayman Mhanna, executive director of the Beirut-based foundation.
'Whether on the positive side or even on the tragic side', the changes taking place in Lebanon and Gaza are 'beyond anything we thought possible', he told The National.
Raised in Beirut by a Lebanese-Palestinian father and Lebanese-Syrian mother, Mr Kassir went on to become a prominent intellectual and journalist. As well as criticising the Syrian occupation, he was a vocal opponent of Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese armed group and political party.
His assassination was one of a series of killings that targeted critics of the Assad regime and its influence abroad. The perpetrators have never been held accountable.
Mr Kassir's death has been widely blamed on Hezbollah, which was a key ally of the Assad regime before the president was toppled last December.
For a second year, the awards ceremony was held without Gisele Khoury, the Lebanese journalist and widow of Mr Kassir, who died of cancer in October 2023. Ms Khoury founded the Samir Kassir Foundation.
A panel of seven judges from the Middle East and Europe selected the winners.
The prize for best opinion article was awarded to Palestinian journalist Badar Salem for her piece headlined The Normalisation of Resilience in Gaza. The best investigative story was Egyptian journalist Marina Milad's investigation into Syrian women imprisoned under the Assad regime.
The award for best video went to Syrian journalist Khalil Al Ashawi for his portrayal of a childhood lived 'in an endless war' in Syria.
'It's very important to receive a prize named after someone who was killed because of the Syrian regime, the same regime that forced us to flee,' Mr Al Ashawi told The National. 'It shows that we're back. I returned to my country for the first time in 14 years, and I did this report after the fall of the regime. I would never have dreamt of doing so before.'
The judges were The National 's Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi, French writer Jean-Pierre Perrin, BBC Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab, Antoine Haddad – vice-president of Saint George University of Beirut and the Samir Kassir Foundation's representative, Paul Radu, co-founder of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Spanish journalist and communications expert Natalia Sancha and Ali Amar, Editor-in-Chief of Moroccan news outlet Le Desk.
The jury paid tribute to Ms Khoury, and Lebanese journalists and intellectuals who had been killed, including Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim and Gebran Tueni, former editor of An-Nahar, a leading newspaper in Lebanon. The judges also paid tribute to the people of Gaza and Syria.
'We cannot talk about the Arab world today without pausing to acknowledge the brutal war on Gaza and the unjust occupation of Palestine,' Ms Al-Oraibi said in a speech. 'And yet, amid all the challenges, we are witnessing a glimmer of hope, after a long and dark period. Hope shines through in beautiful Lebanon, in Syria and, God willing, in my beloved homeland, Iraq.'
Mr Mhanna said the ceremony was a message of defiance to anyone attempting to stifle freedom of expression in Lebanon.
'They are pathetic if they believe that a country capable of producing journalism of this calibre, like Samir Kassir did, and embracing the kind of work represented by this year's nominees, actually cares about them,' he said. 'Where else other than Lebanon can journalists banned from their own countries come to be recognised?'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Iran's Khamenei vows to continue Israel attacks as Trump hails 'monumental' strikes
Iran's supreme leader delivers first remarks since US bombings Trump says damage to Iran nuclear sites 'monumental' US urges China to deter Iran closing Strait of Hormuz UN Secretary General warns against 'rat hole of retaliation' US State Department issues 'worldwide caution' travel alert Iran says US bases could be legitimate target
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
India will ensure domestic fuel supply despite Middle East tension
NEW DELHI: India will take measures to safeguard domestic fuel supplies, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday, after U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites raised the risk of disruption of Middle Eastern oil and gas and soaring energy prices. Energy markets and investors were already on high alert since Israel launched airstrikes across Iran on June 13, fearing disruption particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. Around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows through the Strait that Iran has long threatened to close it to exert pressure on the West. "We have been closely monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East since the past two weeks... we have diversified our supplies in the past few years and a large volume of our supplies do not come through the Strait of Hormuz now," Puri said on social media platform X. "Our Oil Marketing Companies have supplies of several weeks and continue to receive energy supplies from several routes. We will take all necessary steps to ensure stability of supplies of fuel to our citizens," he said. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, gets less than half of its average 4.8 million barrels per day of oil imports from the Middle East. Separately Puri told local news agency ANI that India would increase crude supplies from other sources if required. "We are in touch with all possible actors... It is our hope, and we all expect that the situation will result in calm and de-escalation rather than further escalation," he said. Earlier in the day Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in which he was briefed about the conflict between Iran and Israel, India's foreign ministry said.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
Syria announces 200% public sector wage, pension increase
Damascus: Syria announced on Sunday a 200 percent hike in public sector wages and pensions, as it seeks to address a grinding economic crisis after the recent easing of international sanctions. Over a decade of civil war has taken a heavy toll on Syria's economy, with the United Nations reporting more than 90 percent of its people live in poverty. In a decree published by state media, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a "200 percent increase to salaries and wages... for all civilian and military workers in public ministries, departments and institutions". Under the decree, the minimum wage for government employees was raised to 750,000 Syrian pounds per month, or around $75, up from around $25. A separate decree granted the same 200 percent increase to retirement pensions included under current social insurance legislation. Since war broke out in 2011 with former ruler Bashar al-Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, Syria has faced a painful economic crisis that has persisted even after his December ouster by Islamist-led forces. The war ravaged the country's infrastructure and industry, while sanctions compounded Syria's economic woes. Last month, the United States and European Union announced they would lift economic sanctions in a bid to help the country's recovery. Also in May, Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said Qatar, a key backer of the new Islamist-led government, would help it pay some public sector salaries. The extendable arrangement was for $29 million a month for three months, and would cover "wages in the health, education and social affairs sectors and non-military" pensions, he had said. Barnieh had said the grant would be managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and covered around a fifth of current wages and salaries. Sunday's decrees did not specify the source of funding for the new wage and pension increases or mention any foreign support. Syria has some 1.25 million public sector workers, according to official figures. Many Syrians wait long hours at banks or ATMs to withdraw money due to cash shortages, while prices for basic goods have continued to rise. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
