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AWARD WINNERS
CJFE is delighted to announce this year's winners of the International Press Freedom Awards:
and the winner of the Tara Singh Hayer Award:
A dedicated reporter who knew her life was in danger, Sahar al-Haideri was the third female journalist killed in Iraq in a single deadly week in early June 2007.
The mother of four held a BA degree in Media, participated in numerous journalism training courses and workshops provided by international organisations in Iraq and actively worked for a number of news agencies. These include the National Iraq News Agency (NINA), the Voices of Iraq (VOI) and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
For about a year before her death, Haideri's published articles in IWPR were printed under a pseudonym, and she had moved her husband and four children to Syria to escape persecution.
She was shot and killed on June 7, 2007 by four unidentified gunmen, during a visit to Mosul. In her last interview, Sahar told the US Press Gazette, "Our psychological state is unbalanced because we live and think in fear and worry and always think about our destiny and that of our family members, relatives and friends, but I have never thought about quitting, as journalism is my life and I really love it."
The IWPR, who nominated Sahar Al-Haideri for this award, has established a fund in honour of Sahar al-Haideri to help support and train exiled and disabled journalists, as well as the families of murdered journalists around the world.
Farida Nekzad is strongly committed to press freedom and women's rights in Afghanistan. She is the current editor in chief of the Pajhwok News Agency, the sole independent news agency in Afghanistan.
She has also reported and taught media clinics for a number of news outlets, such as the Center for International Journalism and the Institute of War and Peace Reporting in Kabul, and has presented on topics such as women in journalism at a number of international conferences. A significant contributor to the blossoming independent media in the country, Nekzad encourages women to work in media and take advantage of the opportunities available to them as a result of the ousting of the Taliban.
Recently, however, there have been many attempts to quash the advances of women in Afghanistan and Nekzad has become the target of a series of harassments and threats. She has received several menacing emails and phone calls threatening the same fate as Zakia Zaki, a female radio broadcaster killed as a result of her work in media. Nekzad lives in constant fear, changing her schedule daily and sleeping in a different room of her house each night. Nonetheless, she is committed to staying in Afghanistan.
Farida Nekzad was nominated for the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists
Ali Iman Sharmarke, Somalia/Canada
Ali Iman Sharmarke is the recipient of the Tara Singh Hayer Award, which recognizes Canadians for courage in journalism.
Ali Sharmarke returned to his homeland of Somalia in 1999 to help rebuild the media in the war-shattered country. Along with Mohamed Elmi and Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, he was one of three founding members of one of Africa's great media success stories, HornAfrik.
He was killed on August 11, 2007, when his car drove over a remote-controlled landmine as he was returning from the funeral of another journalist, Mahad Ahmed Elmi.
Ali Sharmarke came to Canada in the 1990s and built a new life here. He became a Canadian citizen, completed a Masters in Public Administration at Carleton University and got a job in the federal Finance Department in Ottawa. But he responded to the need he saw in Somalia to have a radio station that would provide the people of Somalia with access to information and the ability to tell their stories.
Although Ali Sharmarke learned the profession of journalism on the job, he earned the respect of all who worked with him for his vision of what a radio station could achieve. Under his watch HornAfrik became known for its fair and objective coverage.
In the documentary film, "A World of Difference" Sharmarke is quoted "We see the media as a means to do a social change, and probably I can say now Horn Afrik is one of the best instruments for social change in Somalia," Sharmarke says. It is a legacy that he will be long remembered for.
Ali Sharmarke's friend and colleague, Sahal Abdulle was in the car with him when it was bombed, and survived. His 11-year old son Liban, wrote this about his 'Uncle' Ali Sharmarke.
Tribute by Photojournalist, Peter Power
Each year, two International Press Freedom Awards are given in recognition of the courage and determination of foreign journalists who regularly face obstacles in order to get the news out. Whether the threats be judicial, physical or otherwise, these dedicated and principled individuals continue to work tirelessly - often risking their lives - so that the news media remain free.
When merited, the Tara Singh Hayer Press Freedom Award is also given to a Canadian journalist who, through his or her work, has made an important contribution to reinforcing and promoting the principle of freedom of the press in Canada or elsewhere. This award was named in honour of the Canadian journalist and editor of the Vancouver-based Indo-Canadian Times, who was assassinated in November 1998. His murder demonstrated that protecting freedom of expression is a matter of concern not just beyond our borders.
SOME OF THIS YEAR'S OTHER NOMINEES
Arash Sigarchi, Iran
Aung Zaw and Soe Myint, Burma
Fatima Tlisova, Russia
Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez , Cuba
Oumarou Lalo Keita , Niger
Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism, Philippines
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury , Bangladesh
Sun Lin, China