Caroline Hayek of the French-speaking Lebanese daily L’Orient-Le Jour, this year received the prestigious Albert-Londres Prize. The distinction honors the journalist but also indirectly all the editorial staff who fight every day for the independence of their newspaper.
Walk in a failing Beirut to read here. And other pages to turn to discover The first days of the rest of their life, this article which tells the fate of the Syrians who fled the war, and who came to die in the explosion of the port of Beirut:
“Who will remember those miserable lives? They thought they had escaped the worst by fleeing war in their country, sometimes in unbelievable conditions.”
Caroline hayekto franceinfo
These articles, these inquiries, these themes challenged the jury which reports “evocative titles, – That’s it, Beirut no longer exists – which take the reader to the end of humanity. ” But of this humanity which makes sense, not this easy emotion which aims to soften.
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This surgical precision that is often attributed to drone and missile fire, Caroline Hayek also uses it to describe the devastation of a war, a crisis, an explosion in the heart of summer on bodies, on lives, on human relations, on the capacity to hope, to foresee a better tomorrow, at all costs.
Caroline worked for six years on the Syrian conflict. It was as logical as it was human that she should be affected by the deaths of those who fled the bombs and torture to perish in an explosion in Beirut. What an injustice!
“To say that after all they had been through, they thought they were safe here. It is important to give voice to these refugees. More and more Lebanese are saying that they should go home. , that the war in Syria is over. The worst thing is that the Syrian refugees would like to leave but they want to leave in good conditions. ”
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On the BNF stage, last November 15, Caroline Hayek dedicates her prize to the Lebanese and Syrians who are suffering. In a voice shortened by the joy of recognition, the reporter explains why this award is as important to her as it is to the entire editorial staff who are fighting for the independence of their newspaper and the information they provide. ‘she delivers.
Later on social networks and in the interviews he will give, Michel Helou the executive director of L’Orient-Le Jour will not say anything else:
“Long considered the richest and freest in the Middle East, the Lebanese press today is desolate. With this award, we show that it is still possible to do quality journalism in Lebanon and in the region.”
Michel Helou, executive director of ‘L’Orient-Le Jour’
well done L’Orient-Le Jour. Well done Caroline Hayek. In these troubled times, and what is more, from a country in crisis, the prize salutes the journalistic force of writing and field reporting.
“Handing over L’Albert-Londres to a Lebanese newspaper is to establish the universality of the French language, which for us is also a Lebanese language.” Michel Helou