Interview with Mohammad Abu Shahma"

How does it feel winning the Samir Kassir Award?

Certainly, it is a joy mixed with sorrow, as we have been living in a continuous war for nine months, and this war has taken a lot from me. For instance, my brother, sister, cousins, and aunt were bombed and killed in this ongoing war, and I am now displaced in tents. This award is very important and adds significantly to the professional record of any journalist who receives it. It is the most prestigious and professional award in the Arab region. I am very happy and proud of this award, and I dedicate it to the souls of the martyred journalist colleagues who were killed in the war, especially my colleague Bilal Jarallah, Chairman of the Press Board.

Can you tell us more about your piece? What inspired you to write about the topic?

My journalistic investigation was about the exploitation and trafficking of people in Gaza by governmental and non-governmental entities. People were paying large sums of money even though their homes were targeted, and they were living in a state of displacement. They paid these bribes from their own pockets while living in a state of war. The investigation was very important and highlighted the theft. Conducting the investigation under war conditions was extremely difficult. There were challenges such as fear of retaliation from the entities being investigated, obtaining sources, gathering information, and even finding a place to write or access to the internet and electricity. I consider this investigation very important in my professional life because it came under very difficult circumstances, and we proved our uniqueness through this investigation.

How does it feel to be a journalist and/or writer from a region where freedom of speech is compromised?

The targeting of journalists by the Israeli army is systematic. More than 146 journalists have been killed either in their homes or at their workplaces. At any moment, you are at risk of being targeted. There is a constant fear that the price of your words could be your life. There is no real freedom. When you speak, you become a target. They want you to stop conveying the image and the word. The Israeli army did not allow any journalist to enter Gaza, even though journalists are obliged to cover everything happening in Gaza amidst this great suffering. It is not just freedom of expression that is violated, but human freedom as well. Journalists are killed, and their families are annihilated. I have a great fear of being exterminated. We die for this word, but we continue.