Catherine Norris Trent

Agence France-Presse on X: "⚫️ La Direction de l’AFP partage l’angoisse exprimée par la SDJ quant à la situation effroyable de ses collaborateurs dans la bande de Gaza. Depuis des mois nous assistons, impuissants, à la détérioration dramatique de leurs conditions de vie. Leur situation est aujourd’hui" / X ⚫️ La Direction de l’AFP partage l’angoisse exprimée par la SDJ quant à la situation effroyable de ses collaborateurs dans la bande de Gaza. Depuis des mois nous assistons, impuissants, à la détérioration dramatique de leurs conditions de vie. Leur situation est aujourd’hui

You’re welcome.
Here is the statement by AFP management if you need it:

x.com/afpfr/status...

The statement was published in full by the Société des Journalistes, or SDJ (Editorial Committee) of AFP on X.
It’s been backed by AFP management.
Here is the full statement in French, I translated it into English.

This Sunday, Bashar wrote: “For the first time, I feel defeated.” Later that day, he said he would thank us “for explaining that we live day to day between death and hunger.” “I wish President Macron would help me get out of this hell.”
/11

For the past few days, we have only received very brief messages from them, when they have the strength to send any. Their courage, considered heroic by the rest of the world, is now their only hope of survival.

We may hear about their deaths at any moment, and this is unbearable.
/10

We are watching their situation get worse. They’re young but their strength is leaving them. Most are no longer physically able to get around the enclave to do their work. Their heartbreaking cries for help are now daily.

/9

Ahlam, located in the south of the enclave, is holding on “to testify” as long as she can. “Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, do an interview or document a story, I don’t know if I’ll come back alive.”

Her biggest issue, she confirms, is the lack of food and water.
/8

AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart.
/7

Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%.

/6

Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.”
/5

Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness.
/4

One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th 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’t work anymore.”
/3

since its staff journalists left in 2024.

Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years.

We refuse to watch them die.

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Here's the link to our Haiti documentary, please watch:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3op...

Honoured to receive a Gold Award and the Audience Choice Special Award for our documentary Haiti: The Iron Grip of The Gangs at the World Media Festival in Berlin.
(filmed with Roméo Langlois and Jean Mendel)

We must keep Haiti in the headlines, the situation there is getting even worse.

Ekaterina told me of the painful decision to leave behind her 96 year-old mother, knowing she will probably never see her again. But she also has a son and grandson living in Kyiv, and hopes one day they will be able to meet for the first time in more than 3 years.

Fearing jail time, Ekaterina considered poisoning herself, but instead, with the help of RSF (Reporters Sans Frontières) and a network of volunteers, she sawed off her electronic tag, disguised herself, and fled through forests and over the border.

“Death is better than a Russian prison.” The words of Ekaterina Barabash, an exiled journalist I had the privilege to interview shortly after her extraordinary escape from house arrest in Moscow. She'd written Facebook posts denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine and faced up to 10 years in prison.