Written By Rihab Abou Hassan
Translated by Lynn Waked
"This is life...Our existence was never a purpose, but a path toward true glory. What we accomplish is a message on which we beseech God to praise us in the eternal life."
This is the job of journalists not only in Lebanon but in the whole world. Not taking due thought of possible dangers, journalists perform their duty shaped with fatigue and go after their news or photographs even if it costs them their lives.
Our fellow martyrs journalists were aware that their great words were launched in a small space, they were aware in their minds that truth is not acceptable in a place full of hearsay, they were also aware that an article in a newspaper, a story on a satellite channel, a photographer in a magazine or on a television might be their last.
Perhaps they feared not demise, nor have they realized it would be so near, so quick, reaping their souls on their journalistic ground when the word and the camera are their sole weapon.
Yesterday, 22 February 2011, the photojournalists' syndicate celebrated the "Photojournalist Day" at the Martyrs Square to commemorate fellow martyrs especially photographers, not only in Lebanon but in the whole Arab world.
Gathered crowds held signs saying "Let us remember our martyrs and stand during a moment of silence in the memory of the journalist photographer, of the living conscience registering latest events despite major difficulties hindering his path toward truth."
Fellow journalists at the Syndicate also said that "Their work and great devotion created a true memory, a memory distant from the passing and current prejudices, to forever mark the minutes and details of the moment."
Shedding warm tears, gathered people wholeheartedly remembered martyr Photographer George Semerdjian who was highly regarded among his peers and within the realm of professional photography, as well as martyrs Elias Jawhari, Khalil Douheini, Ahmed Haydar, Abdel Razzak El-Sayyed, Habib Diya, Rabih Fahes, Adnane Karaki, Ali Moussawi, Bahjat Dakroub, Layal Najib and Assaf Abou Rahal.
In the Arab world, let us recall the journalists of occupied Palestine and its photographers who encounter the Israeli war machine on a daily basis. Fadel Shana, 23, was covering events in the enclave for the international news agency and had stepped from his car to film an Israeli tank dug in several hundred meters away. Shana and got killed when an Israeli tank opened fire.
Also, we shall not forget Tarek Ayoub, Al-Jazeera correspondent who was killed during a U.S. air raid on Baghdad. Layal Najib, a freelance photographer for the Lebanese magazine Al-Jaras and Agence France-Presse, became the first journalist to fall victim for an Israeli raid against Tyre, during July war 2006.
During the event, the syndicate's chief Karim Hajj said "we move about from place to place, work with all parties, convey the people's sufferings throughout heavy bombing and sniper shooting, we carry out the children's fears and hopes for a new peaceful life. We pay the price of political quarrels and conflicts as we pay the price of consensus and peace. We seem to be responsible for our institutions' policies when, as it is known, we convey news and do not own them."
Still, despite the job's difficulties, traces photographers and journalists leave are of an eternal duration, as the Lebanese poet and writer Michael Naimeh once said "Human marks in stones vanish as stones do, but those engraved into a soul are everlasting."
