The prize, which honours the memory of Rudaw Media Network’s anchor Shifa Gardi who was killed in Mosul while covering a mass killing by Islamic State (ISIS) militants, is given annually to a female journalist for their brave conflict reporting.
The Shifa Gardi Award Committee said in a statement on Saturday that Yeung from Vice News is the winner of the fifth edition of the award.
In a video message, Yeung said it is “an incredible honour to be receiving the Shifa Gardi journalist of the year award. Just to be walking in the footsteps of someone as talented as Shifa feels like an incredible privilege.”
There will be no ceremony this year as the winner is working in the field, the committee said.
“I really, really wish I was there, receiving this award in person. And I would say that my heart and I think everyone’s heart at the moment just goes out to everyone who has been affected by the earthquakes or whose loved ones have been affected. It’s just devastating and heartbreaking to see what’s happening there at the moment,” said Yeung.
Over 50,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria since twin strong earthquakes hit the neighbouring countries on February 6.
“You know, our job as journalists is to create empathy, to create understanding, and most of all, to uncover the truth, and I wholeheartedly believe in that mission and I can promise that for as long as I am in this industry and as long as I have got this career, I will continue to do that, so thank you,” she added.
Adrian Wells, a member of the award’s jury and Managing Director at ENEX, said in a video message that Gardi “was one of Rudaw network’s most accomplished reporters. A journalist, just 30 years old, who was equally at home in the television studio or in the field, where she brought her talents of storytelling and compassion to her assignments.”
“This award, in Shifa’s name, each year goes to a female reporter who embodies the skills and attributes of Shifa herself. Rudaw has always been passionate about promoting young, female talent among their newsroom teams, and it is fitting that this international award also seeks to highlight the role of female journalists who produce outstanding journalism, often at great personal risk,” he added.
Wells also said that this year’s anniversary comes at a time when a new conflict has “dominated news schedules,” referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“This year’s winner has been intensively involved in covering the war in Ukraine. In particular, she has focused on those buffeted by the effects of the conflict. Her work has demonstrated great empathy for those at the mercy of events beyond their control. It’s fitting that this year’s winner has reported on the plight of refugees, often women and children, fleeing from conflict. This, of course, is exactly the same story as Shifa last reported on as refugees fled the fighting in Mosul in 2017,” said the jury.
Rob Beynon is another member of the jury.
“Isobel has worked in Afghanistan since the takeover by the Taliban, and she’s concentrated especially in her work on the role of women and how they face special difficulties in some of these conflict areas, no more so than in Afghanistan. She reported from schools, hospitals, and ordinary homes with an intimacy, and a care, and a humanity, which is really impressive, according to the judging panel. She has also reported extensively from the war in Ukraine, a war that has been covered by almost everyone but her reporting again showed kindness, humanity, and access to people which many could only dream of,” he said.
Beynon recalled that his company DMA trained Rudaw’s producers, reporters and presenters before the broadcaster went on air and noted that “it was obvious that Shifa would become a shining star among her peers.”
Journalists and media workers are facing increased risk in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and around the globe. According to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of 117 journalists killed between 2020 and 2021.
“Most killings occurred outside their newsrooms. Some journalists were murdered in the street or in their vehicles, and some were kidnapped to then be found dead. Several were killed in front of family members, including their children,” it added.
Hassan al-Ubudi, Secretary of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, told Rudaw that the condition of journalists in the country reflects the condition of the country as a whole.
“The state of journalism in Iraq as a whole and Kurdistan Region in particular is not much different from the general state of Iraq. After 2003, there was a considerable opening towards media work. There used to be only one state media which consisted of television, newspaper and radio,” he said.
He added that a large number of journalists have been killed during bloody events in the country in the last two decades.
Handren Ahmed, Secretary of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, told Rudaw that freedom of expression is stronger in the Kurdistan Region than in Iraq. Rahman Gharib, head of the Metro Center for Journalists Rights and Advocacy, disagrees.
“Iraq is on the top when it comes to lack of accountability regarding crimes against journalists while it is on the bottom of the list [of countries] when we talk about freedom of press and expression,” he said.
He pointed out that international reports used to sing praise about the Kurdistan Region when reporting about violations against journalists in Iraq, but this is no longer the case, highlighting the arrest of tens of journalists and activists in Duhok province in recent years.
“The freedom of press in the Kurdistan Region further regresses every year,” he said.
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