The 19th edition of the Samir Kassir Award took place in Beirut. The war in Gaza was a central theme in the speeches of various personalities, including jury members, representatives of the Samir Kassir Foundation, Skeyes and journalists. Several selected articles also focussed on the war, highlighting its destruction and the tens of thousands of deaths. The ceremony took place at Sursock Palace, which still bears the scars of the August 2020 explosion in Beirut port, and gathered a large number of diplomats, political figures, intellectuals and journalists. This year, the award ceremony took place in the absence of Gisèle Khoury, journalist, wife of Samir Kassir and founder of Skeyes, who passed away last October after a long illness.

Honouring the Freedom of Press 

Established and funded by the European Union, the Samir Kassir Award is internationally recognised as a flagship prize for press freedom and is the most prestigious award for journalism in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. Since 2006, the award ceremony has been held annually to commemorate the anniversary of the murder of Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir on 2 June 2005 in Beirut, to celebrate his life, his values and his memory.

The Ambassador of the European Union to Lebanon, Sandra De Waele, said: “The European Union created the Samir Kassir Award to honour his life and what he stood for, and to remind us that he paid the ultimate price for his work. Far too many journalists have lost their lives at work or for simply expressing their opinions. Allow me to take this opportunity to honour the brave men and women who have been killed or injured in recent months to bring us news from Gaza or southern Lebanon. We cannot say it often enough. Journalists are not targets. ”

The award is open to professional journalists from eighteen countries in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf region. This year, a record number of 354 journalists from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen took part in the competition.

Malek Mrowa, Acting President of the Samir Kassir Foundation, emphasised that the Samir Kassir Award brings together some of the brightest young men and women in the region who “demonstrate their outstanding maturity and awareness and pave the way for a future of tolerance”, despite the unfolding tragedy journalists are experiencing in the region, particularly in Palestine.

The prizes are awarded in three categories: investigative article, audiovisual news report and opinion piece.

Samir Kassir Award Winners: Investigating Forced Puberty, Historic Encroachment, and Expatriate Struggles

In the investigative article category, Hadeel Arja from Syria won for her investigation titled “The Shocking Practise of Forced Puberty in the Camps of Northern Syria”, published in Daraj Media and Tiny Hands. This report sheds light on one of the least known abuses girls are subjected to in the camps for internally displaced persons in northern Syria: the administration of hormones to accelerate menstruation and forced marriages.

In the audiovisual news category, Aseel Sariah from Yemen won for his report “Encroachment on Historic Sites”, which was broadcast on Yemen Today with the support of the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ). The report deals with the illegal seizure of historical religious sites belonging to various minorities in the Yemeni city of Aden.

In the opinion piece category, Abdelrahman el-Gendy, 29, from Egypt won for his article titled “Is there life before death?”, which was published in Al Manassa. This article reflects the struggle of people of Arab origin living abroad in the West, who stand up for human rights and defend the values that are important to them. As the author says, they are caught between the oppression of autocratic regimes in their homeland and the racism they encounter in exile.