This morning, Barcelona's Sant Jaume Square was the scene of a rally to denounce the systematic murder of journalists, photographers, cameramen and communication professionals who try to report from Gaza on the war in dramatic conditions. The event brought together fifty information and communication workers who staged, leaving their work material on the ground, solidarity with Palestinian colleagues and protesting the death of more than 50 journalists and media professionals. communication.
The event was organized by the Feminist Communicators collective, where the Union of Journalists of Catalonia, the Image Union-UPIFC, the CGT, the European Network of Women Journalists, SICOM, the FeSP, the Association of Women Journalists also participated. and the Ramon Barnils Group of Journalists.
The event began by reproducing the real sound of the bombings and posters were raised with the name and the environment where the 37 dead professionals who have been identified by international journalistic associations work. The Union of Palestinian Journalists in Gaza, however, puts the death toll at 52. Cameras, notebooks, microphones, helmets and press vests have been placed on the ground in protest of these murders and the impediments to journalism. to the Gaza Strip.
The journalists Maria Alba Gilabert and Mònica Terribas have read a manifesto in which it has been denounced that “the State of Israel prevents testimonies from taking place” since “it does not allow independent access to the international press.” For a month, journalists have been prevented from entering the Gaza Strip and the few who are just beginning to gain access do so embedded in the Israeli army.
“In many cases, Israeli bombs have deliberately fallen on the homes of journalists working from Gaza and have killed their entire families,” the journalistic organizations have explained.
In addition, there has been a deliberate destruction, total or partial, by the Israeli army of the premises that house the editorial offices of more than 50 media outlets in Gaza, according to Reporters Without Borders. The International Federation of Journalists warns that the number of media workers who have lost their lives in the month of conflict is unprecedented.
The event included a few words from Nasser Abu Bakr, president of the Palestinian Journalists Union in Gaza. In an emotional testimony recorded in an audio recording, Abu Bakr thanked them for the act of support and recounted the dramatic conditions in which they work under bomb fire.
“We are still under fire, under war, under airstrikes. Journalists from Palestine are being killed daily. 32 journalists and 20 media workers have been killed. At least 35 journalists are injured. 60 media offices have been demolished in Palestine, Gaza. There are two journalists about whom we have no information, nothing. Many families of journalists have been killed by the Israeli army; Many journalists' houses have also been demolished,” he said.
According to Nasser Abu Bakr, more than a thousand journalists have lost their homes under fire and airstrikes. “On the west side the situation is also very dangerous. In east Jerusalem there have been more than 85 attacks against journalists by the army, police and security forces. More than 25 journalists have been arrested and are in prison,” he stated. The Palestinian Journalists Union in Gaza has called for the help of the international community, governments and parliaments and urged the defense of human rights.
During the event, a message of support and denunciation from the journalist Maruja Torres could also be heard. “Journalists are the eyes of the people. They have to have access to the places where things happen. And there is no need to kill them,” Torres claimed. “Freedom of expression must be extended everywhere, even Gaza, which no one seems to care about,” added the veteran journalist.
