Perpignan., Palestinian AFP photographer Mahmoud Hams won the Visa Gold News Award on Saturday, the most prestigious prize at the Visa International Photojournalism Festival for Images, awarded in Perpignan (south) for his work on the war in Gaza.
The 44-year-old photographer, who has worked for AFP since 2003 in the Palestinian territory, thanked the jury for the award in a video broadcast during the ceremony.
“I hope the photos we took will tell the world that this war and suffering must end,” Mahmud Hams said in a statement issued by the agency.
Because of the delay in obtaining a visa, he was unable to come to Perpignan to receive the award in person, but he will come to France in the coming weeks, said Stéphane Arnaud, deputy head of the AFP central editorial office for the photo, who received it on his behalf.
The other nominees for the Golden Visa News Award were Ziv Koren for his work on the Hamas attack on October 7, which sparked the war; Corentin Fohlen for his reporting in Haiti on the “power of the gangs” and John Moore for his work on the relentless war on drugs in Ecuador.
Mahmoud Hams left Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip with his family in February 2024 and has been working for AFP in Qatar ever since.
“Mahmud and his colleagues, AFP photographers and journalists in the Gaza Strip, did an extraordinary job from every point of view,” said Eric Baradat, AFP deputy director of information in charge of photography.
Visa for Image, the leading international event dedicated to photojournalism, offers free exhibitions, screenings, meetings with photographers and debates every year during a professional week that begins on Monday and ends on Saturday.
The 26 exhibitions that were open to the public on August 31 will remain open until September 15.
#Palestinian #photographer #Mahmud #Hams #wins #Golden #Visa #Award
– 2024-09-08 04:52:46
