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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Uitreiking World Press Freedom prijs aan Amira Hass



lennart
05-05-03, 22:22
ISRAELI JOURNALIST, Amira Hass, who for the last decade has been living and fearlessly writing stories from the Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, was honoured with the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom prize at King's House on Friday.

Hailed as "a beacon in the field" and a "true role model for aspiring journalists", a teary-eyed Ms. Hass accepted her medal and the accompanying US$25,000 first prize, to sustained and thunderous applause.

The award, named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano, who was murdered in 1987 for daring to criticise the activities of his country's powerful drug lords, was created to honour the work of an individual, organisation or institution that has best defended freedom of expression anywhere in the world, especially in dangerous situations.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner afterwards, the soft-spoken Ms. Hass said she was touched by the recognition and was pleased that the work she has done in the occupied territories over the past decade has been well-received by the rest of the world.

"People in general are not truly aware of what takes place in these refugee camps in Gaza and other parts of the occupied territories," Ms. Hass said, her eyes revealing the pain of someone who has seen and experienced terror firsthand. "People do not begin to understand the system of control which is practised by Israel...to restrict the freedom and movement of Palestinians...to get them to surrender."

She noted that in her 12 years living in Palestine and working for one of Israel's most respected newspapers, Ha'aretz, she has come to have a better understanding of the daily plight of the Palestinian people.

"There are restrictions everywhere," she said."The roadways are manned...very difficult to cross...people at times have to wait for permits...the Palestinian communities are very much under siege."

The child of Holocaust survivors, Ms. Hass was born in Jerusalem in 1956 and studied history in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. After working as a teacher, she started her journalistic career in 1989 as a staff editor at Ha'aretz and began writing about the Palestinian territories in 1991.

ISRAEL, MY COUNTRY

Asked whether her strong criticism of the Israeli Government wasn't tantamount to treason in her own country, Ms. Hass said she had no control over what others might feel.

Pressed on whether she would go back to Israel to live, she said: "Israel is my country... everything is so mixed but that is my home. I have been privleged as a journalist to have had the opportunity to live in both societies."

And has she ever had any close shave with death while on the job?

"I have been in dangerous situations but nothing where I could say my life was in danger," she said. "One has to be careful... always...it is never peaceful... people have to always be on the alert."

ON ROAD MAP FOR PEACE

And America's seeming unwavering support for Israel?

"The United States by having invaded Iraq has endorsed the methods of Israel," she said. "Israel has always been pushing for a change in leadership in Palestine and the Americans did exactly that in Iraq...it's exactly the same thing and it has not been lost in the Arab world."

Ms. Hass said that the recent unveiling by the U.S. of the so-called road map for peace in the Middle East was nothing more than "another theatre", noting that "unless you understand the issue of occupation then what they are doing there is
meaningless."

And Jamaica?

"Bob Marley is a big hit in the refugee camps in Gaza," she said. "I have to go to the stores to get some of his music to take back," she said. "Everybody there talks about Bob...the universal message in his music...the Palestinians can identify with the struggles he speaks of."

Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, thanked Ms. Hass for what he said was her inspiration, telling her that "despite the threats, even from your own people, you have persevered. Your reporting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict has helped the world to better understand what is truly happening...I thank you...we all thank you."

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030504/lead/lead5.html

Amira Hass :duim:

Hier staat een artikel van haar, van vandaag over de als maar voortschreiende Transfer:
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/Feature/terror_on_other_side.htm