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Mahmoud El Ajrami
Palestinian
Beth Lahia School
Shot in Gaza, January 2009
Self funded
Broadcast internationally
Mahmoud El Ajrami’s footage shows the panic and distress at the UN-run school at Beth Lahia in Gaza when it is hit by white phosphorous shells.
Mahmoud reached the school, where civilians were sheltering, while the attack was still going on and witnessed shells landing in the central courtyard as emergency crews struggled to extinguish the flames and lead people to safety.
In a separate sequence filmed a few days earlier, Mahmoud captured the terrifying image of a tank shell being fired along an alley-way almost directly towards his camera.
The judges praised the “powerful, iconic” images he captured. One said, “It is important to remember that local cameramen working in Gaza don’t go home to safety at the end of a shoot. Not only do they have to get the good story-telling pictures but they have to do it with an eye to their own safety and to the safety of the families who are living there.”
Biography
Mahmoud El Ajrami is 34. He has been working as a cameraman since 1996 in news, documentaries and drama. He has been shot and injured several times and this year was given a Palestinian journalism bravery award.
