Syrian photojournalist wins ‘Young Reporter’ award in France

At the 27th edition of the Bayeux Clavadoes-Normandy Awards that took place on October 9 and 10, Syrian photographer and activist Anas Alkharboutli, from the German agency DPA, won the Young Reporter Trophy for his report entitled “The War in Syria.”

 Instituted in 1994 on the annual anniversary of the liberation of the city of Bayeux by the Allied forces during World War II, the awards honor war correspondents and the journalists work in times of unrest and conflict to reveal the truth.

The winning report tells, through a series of photographs, of the military campaign on Idlib, the bombing of its hospitals and residential areas, and the displacement of its people. One of Kharboutli’s most expressive photographs is of a 6-year-old girl receiving treatment for her injuries after an airstrike by regime forces on Idlib, visible wounds and signs of panic appearing on her face.

Al-Kharbotli, originally from Eastern Ghouta, studied energy engineering at the University of Damascus, but dropped out in 2011 after his classmates were arrested by the regime. He started taking photos in 2014 to document the siege and massacres committed in Eastern Ghouta, and was wounded by shrapnel in his foot in 2016 while covering the bombing of the Damascus countryside by regime forces.

Al-Kharboutli later worked as a photographer for the DPA and Anadolu Agency and won the Picture of the Year award in 2019. He said that he sees photography as his means to write the history of the Syria revolution, focusing on documenting the small details of daily life under siege to show the world that there is more than tragedy and death, there is strength and creativity, inventing ways to live and survive despite the massacres of war.

Al-Kharboutli was unable to attend the award ceremony due to the situation in Idlib and the Coronavirus, so his colleague, photographer Abdel Moneim Issa received it in his stead. He explained that his joy for winning the awards is mixed with sadness for the continued suffering and struggle of the Syrian people, who are still paying the price for demanding freedom.

In addition, Bilal Bayoush and Abdul Razzaq Madi won third place in the Television Trophy category for the “Civilians Under Bombing” report.

Fadi Al-Halabi and Yaman Khatib won the Grand Format Television Trophy for their film “In the Idlib Trap,” which reported on the displacement of civilians from their homes as a result of the regime's and Russia’s recent bombing campaign.