THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE welcomed Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza to Dalymount Park in Dublin yesterday evening.
Azaiza (25) became a household name after the conflict broke out in Gaza last October. He documented the first three months of the violence via his Instagram page, quickly amassing around 18 million followers.
For many people in the West, he was one of the main sources of information about what was happening on the ground.
“If you cannot lift the injustice, at least tell everyone about it”
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) August 20, 2024
Free Palestine🇵🇸
Dublin—Ireland 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/CwacTZdU7a
Azaiza was evacuated from Gaza in late January. Since then, he has travelled to various countries raising awareness of the situation.
Several of his relatives, friends and colleagues are among the more than 40,000 people killed to date.
At the start of the evening, the names of all the journalists and photographers who have been killed since October were read out. This took several minutes.
Ibrahim Muharab’s name was added to the list yesterday.
Estimates vary but it’s believed that around 160 media personnel have died in the region in the last 10 months.
Azaiza noted that part of the reason some counts are lower is because people who didn’t have official press credentials started to work as journalists and photographers after the conflict began.
When he became a photographer, he said he wanted to document everyday life in Gaza and happy events. Life there was, of course, difficult long before the recent conflict broke out but everything changed last October, he noted.
Like him, many people previously had no intention of becoming a journalist but felt compelled to document what was happening.
International journalists are not allowed to enter Gaza. He recalled:
No one from the West is coming. We can do the job. It’s our home.
He said he felt powerless, then picked up his camera.
“Unfortunately, like anyone here my age, I don’t have any power, [I was] trying to find myself.
“And when the war started, I didn’t even have the Press jacket. I borrowed it from a friend… I love this Press jacket.
“I decided to be a voice for people who don’t have voices, to be the voice of people, to be like an open live camera for the world to see.”
Azaiza initially had no idea how famous he had become. He would post footage to Instagram, then lose WiFi or his phone battery would run out.
“I didn’t know how many people were following me. I would meet people on the street, I was running here and there. In Gaza, we don’t have data, mobile data, we just have WiFi.
So people would say to me ‘Motaz, have you seen what’s happening on Instagram? There’s a million followers.
Azaiza received a standing ovation when he arrived and there were chants of “Free, free Palestine!” and “Ceasefire now!” throughout the evening.
@azaizamotaz9 got a rapturous welcome at @bfcdublin tonight.
— Órla Ryan (@orlaryan) August 19, 2024
He told the crowd we cannot look away from what's happening in Gaza.
The evening started with the names of the journalists who have died since October being read out. It took several minutes. pic.twitter.com/SH56MrIstp
The conflict broke out after a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also abducted 251 people, around 100 of whom are still held captive in Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 40,173 people in Gaza.
Earlier this year, Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh told the International Court of Justice the conflict in Gaza is the “first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real-time in the desperate and so far vain hope that the world might do something”.
Israel, which continues to receive support from the US, denies that a genocide is taking place. Ceasefire negotiations are continuing, but a breakthrough is yet to be made.
Yesterday’s event was organised by Uplift and Bohemian Football Club. Azaiza was in conversation with journalist Sally Hayden and actor Jamie O’Donnell.
In May, the Palestinian women’s football team came to Dublin to play a match against Bohemian FC.
Azaiza last night thanked the crowd, saying he was overwhelmed by the support. He also thanked Ireland in general for its long-standing support of Palestine, noting this dates back to well before last October.
He said it is difficult to understand why the conflict is still happening nearly 11 months later, despite the world seeing in great detail what is happening thanks to journalists risking their lives on the ground in Gaza.
Azaiza said people must not look away. He asked the crowd to imagine how they would feel if this was happening to their country, their family, and nobody cared or intervened.
“Why do we call ourselves human beings? Because we care about each other, that is humanity.”
Contains reporting from © AFP 2024
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