AFP reports that its reporters (one text freelancer, three photographers and six video freelancers) still on-site in Gaza are currently dying from hunger.
They write: "Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us has the memory of having seen a collaborator die of hunger."
_________________________
Translation of the full text:
"AFP works with one text freelancer, three photographers and six video freelancers in the Gaza Strip since the departure of its staff journalists during 2024.
Along with a few others, they are today the only ones reporting what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering this territory for nearly two years.
We refuse to let them die.
One of them, Bashar, has been collaborating with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then as a freelance photographer, and since 2024 as principal photographer.
On Saturday July 19, he managed to post a message on Facebook: "I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can no longer work."
Bashar, 30 years old, works and lives in conditions equal to those of all Gazans, going from one refugee camp to another at the mercy of Israeli bombardments. For more than a year he has been living in complete destitution and working while taking enormous risks for his life. Hygiene is a major problem for him, with periods of severe intestinal illnesses.
Bashar has been living since February in the ruins of his house in Gaza City with his mother, his four brothers and sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is empty of all furnishing and comfort, apart from a few cushions. Sunday morning, he reported that his older brother had "collapsed, because of hunger."
Even if these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, there is nothing to buy or else at totally exorbitant prices. The banking system has disappeared, and those who practice currency exchange between online bank accounts and liquid cash take a commission of nearly 40%.
AFP no longer has the possibility of having a vehicle and even less gasoline to allow its journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car is equivalent in all ways to taking the risk of being a target for Israeli aviation. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart.
Ahlam, she survives in the south of the enclave. And insists on "bearing witness," as long as possible. "Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, conduct an interview or document a fact, I don't know if I will come back alive." The biggest problem, she confirms, is the lack of food and water.
We see their situation getting worse. They are young and their strength is leaving them. Most no longer have the physical capacity to travel the enclave to do their job. Their heartbreaking calls for help are now daily.
For the past few days, we have understood from their brief messages that their lives hang by a thread and that their courage, dedicated for long months to informing the entire world, will not help them survive.
We risk learning of their death at any moment and this is unbearable to us. This Sunday, Bashar wrote: "For the first time, I feel defeated." Later in the day, he told one of us that he thanked him "for explaining what we experience daily between death and hunger." "I would like Mr. Macron to be able to help me get out of this hell."
Ahlam still stands. "I try to continue practicing my profession, to carry the voice of the people, to document the truth in the face of all attempts to silence it. Here, resisting is not a choice: it is a necessity."
Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us has the memory of having seen a collaborator die of hunger.
The outgoing Board of Directors of the SDJ"