Abwaan Posted November 13, 2007 THE RORY PECK AWARDS 2007 Sponsored by Sony Farah Roble Aden - Somali Somalia Reports Finalist: The Rory Peck Award for Hard News This footage shows very close-to-the-action fighting in Mogadishu, after the Islamic courts militias were ousted by Ethiopian backed Somali Government troops. Subsequent attacks forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes while even more were injured and killed in the fighting. Farah Roble Aden was arrested several times and his camera was confiscated. After the murder of three of his colleagues from HornAfrik, Reuters asked Farah to stop covering this story until they could work out whether the killings were deliberately targeting journalists. The judges felt that this piece of work clearly showed the human misery that comes in the wake of fighting. “This is what good, frontline, war coverage can be like. It is calm, clearly-shot, good quality footage from a place that is so dangerous we don’t get to see much that is happening there.” Cameraman's Comment “This was very dangerous. On some shots you can hear bullets ricocheting off walls as the camera is rolling. I hope that my coverage would show the world the real situation inside Somalia. I have lost friends and relatives over many years here. Two colleagues at HornAfrik were injured in April 2007. Three months later – Ali Iman Sharmake – founder of HornAfrik was killed in an explosion.” Biography Farah Roble Aden was born in 1965 in Kismayu, Somalia. He started working in television in 1997 as a researcher/assistant producer for UNESCO in Nairobi. In 2001 he returned to Mogadishu to freelance as a producer for HornAfrik and two years later began to freelance for Reuters. When Ethiopian troops joined the Somali Army and started taking back towns from the Islamic Courts militias, he was one of the few journalists who covered the situation from the beginning, filming the aftermath of mortars, roadside bombs and rockets into civilian areas as militiamen attacked government forces. more on this website:http://www.rorypecktrust.org/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Abwaan Posted November 16, 2007 Good News Farah has won the Award. Congratulations to him and Somali journalists. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nephissa Posted November 16, 2007 Kudos to Faarah and the freelance journalists who do risk their lives to report fairly and accurately. Adeero haduu nin fiican yahay [as they claim] than journalists should have the right to tell the stories they see. If innocent civilians are killed, then that's a valid story to cover. If not, that story should be told too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blessed Posted November 16, 2007 Kudos to the brother, he's doing a great service for our people. I'm glad he's got some recognition for it. May Allah protect him and all those who stand for truth from the wrath of the warlord scum! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Abwaan Posted November 18, 2007 Farah Roble Aden & Sean Langan Win The Hard News & Features Awards At The 2007 Rory Peck Awards Industry Awards, Content Creation, News & Journalist Fri, 16th, Nov 2007 Somalia’s Farah Roble Aden was awarded the Rory Peck Award for Hard News for his footage Somalia Reports and British-Irish Sean Langan won the Rory Peck Award for Features for Fighting the Taliban at last night’s annual Rory Peck Awards ceremony. The Rory Peck Awards is the only ceremony of its kind to celebrate freelance achievement in television news gathering around the world. Through The Rory Peck Trust’s expansive reach, freelance cameramen and women are honoured for their enterprising spirit and integrity in raising awareness of critical issues. “Through these reports we are able to gain insight into issues that impact millions of lives across the globe. The images captured by freelancers remind us of the need to keep a wider news agenda. Despite the often harrowing circumstances under which the footage is shot, these individuals remain calm and composed, to deliver well executed and thought provoking reports. The Trust exists to ensure that freelance news gatherers have the support they need to protect and promote this vital resource,” said Tina Carr, Director of the Rory Peck Trust. Hard News Award Winner Farah Roble Aden, Somalia Reports Broadcast by World News Service Somalia Reports captures close-to-the-action fighting in Mogadishu after the Islamic courts militias were ousted by Ethiopian-backed Somali Government troops. The subsequent attacks and street demonstrations impacted thousands of civilians, with people forced to flee their homes before ultimately being injured and killed in the chaos. This year’s judging panel was impressed with Farah’s skillfully shot footage that provided insight into an enormously significant story. The raw pictures offered local insight into a region of the world that is often unrepresented in the press. Enduring huge risks to be there, Farah remained very calm to capture the immediacy of the situation. Eventually asked by Reuters to suspend coverage in the interest of safety, Farah was arrested and had his camera confiscated during the filming. Farah commented, “It was difficult to see relatives and friends suffering and dying during the fighting and even losing their homes. Even journalists have been killed, but I knew that my coverage would show the world the real situation inside Somalia.” Winner of the Features Award Sean Langan, Fighting the Taliban Broadcast by Channel 4 Fighting the Taliban captures the experience of the British forces effort to re-take the town of Garmser from the Taliban. Filmed over the course of a week-long battle, Sean Langan took great personal risks to capture the combat footage. “I spent a week embedded with UK forces. Normal embed conditions applied, sleeping and eating where soldiers did, while under almost constant fire or threat of attack,” said Sean. The Rory Peck Award for Features recognises freelance footage that demonstrates originality and depth of approach.Filmed alone, the judges selected Sean’s Fighting the Taliban for its unique approach to non-conventional current affairs programming as a standard-setting achievement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Abwaan Posted November 18, 2007 Extraordinary courage behind the camera Palestinian wins Rory Peck Award Murderers of shot freelance 'will be caught' Rory Peck award journalist Adler shot dead in Somalia Film-maker shot dead in Gaza wins Rory Peck Award Peck Award contenders announced Friendly fire' Main Page Content:Local fixers honoured at Rory Peck Awards 16 November 2007 By Colin Crummy Fixers for news and documentary makers were honoured at the Rory Peck Awards, which acknowledge the work of freelance cameramen and women in television newsgathering in London last night. The Martin Adler Prize, a discretionary award which honours a freelancer who has told or played a vital part in telling a significant news story, was awarded to Ugandan fixer and freelance journalist James Bitek Oketch. Announcing the award, the co-founder of the Rory Peck Trust, Tira Shubart, said that journalists owed “a debt of gratitude to fixers”. She said: “What we call a story, they call their lives.” Shubart said of Oketch: “He’s the real deal. He simply wants the story to be told truthfully.” Oketch dedicated his award to those, he said, hardly see their contribution to international news and documentary making. The Martin Adler Prize commemorates the Swedish freelance journalist and cameraman who was murdered in Somalia in 2006. Australian-born Elizabeth Tadic won the 2007 Sony Impact Award for her film Malaria, Money and Murder which investigated the impact of the global drug counterfeiting industry. The self-funded investigation into the illegal drug racket fuelling a malaria crisis in Africa was based on research of Robert Cockburn, the Oxford University team and the Nigerian health unit. Somalia’s Farah Roble Aden was awarded the Rory Peck Award for hard news for his footage Somalia Reports and British-Irish Sean Langan won the award for features for Fighting the Taliban at last night’s ceremony at the British Film Institute on London’s Southbank. Somalia Reports captured close-to-the-action fighting in Mogadishu after the Islamic courts militias were ousted by Ethopian-backed Somali Government troops. Roble Aden was arrested and had his camera confiscated during the filming. He said: “It was difficult to see relatives and friends suffering and dying during the fighting and even losing their homes. Even journalists have been killed, but I knew that my coverage would show the world the real situation inside Somalia.” The judges selected Langan’s Fighting the Taliban for its unique approach to non-conventional current affairs programming as a standard-setting achievement. The film, broadcast by Channel Four, shows the experience of the British forces effort to re-take the town of Garmser from the Taliban over the course of a week. The Rory Peck Trust, which exists to support freelance newsgatherers and their families worldwide in times of need, and to promote their welfare and safety, also launched an appeal to raise funds for the Trust to continue its work internationally. You can watch the program on BBC World, Sunday 18th Nov 20:10 GMT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted November 18, 2007 Well done to Farah Aden. I remember that clip and thinking how could he hold and fire off such rounds and not fall back considering his frame LoL. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-Nomadique- Posted November 19, 2007 God bless him. I came across the BBC program about the awards and was taken by how dedicated and selfless he was. He truly deserves it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharmarkee Posted November 19, 2007 Good job welldone! Farah Aden, hope the tfg snippers wouldn't get him so soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
