Photojournalists Forum “A picture is worth a thousand stories”
Ethical visual storytelling has a key role in addressing issues. In Syria, despite the lack of competencies and detailed techniques in taking pictures that address the public, the pictures changed the world’s view of what happened
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, of at least 101 journalists killed in Syria since 2011, 88% were local and 27% were classified as photographers. Many others have been intimidated, kidnapped, maimed or exiled. According to the Times,
Syrian photojournalists risked their lives, they were witnesses, they were part of the event, some of them were the event. The list of victims who lost their lives in Syria since 2011 is long, both Syrians and foreigners. Or they survived, but at a high price
On the other hand, many Syrians succeeded in imposing their distinguished expertise in this field. In 2014, "Baraa Al-Halabi", a twenty-three-year-old Syrian photojournalist, won the International Competition Award for Photojournalism awarded by the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority with the support of France 24 and RFI. He said at the time: "I am the son of the revolution. Only four years ago I was ignorant of photography."
In 2016 Samer Al Doumani, a photojournalist contracted with the French news agency AFP, won first prize in the “Topical News Stories” category for a series of photographs following the Syrian government's air strikes on rebels in the cities of Douma and Hammouriyeh. At that time, he was still living in the city of Douma in the Damascus countryside. He started working as a video journalist for local media at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, according to the agency
In the same competition, “Abdul Doumani” won the second prize in the “General News Stories” category for his photos of child victims of Syrian government air strikes on the town of Douma, and he was 25 years old, having started his career as a photographer in 2013. He has been with AFP since 2014. In 2015 he won the silver prize at the China International Press Photo Contest in the “Wars and Disasters” category.
Between the high price and distinction there are many questions, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression tries, on May 2, 2022 and coinciding with the World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3 of each year, to discuss them with the guests over a two-hour period via the Zoom borrowing platform.
