ZARCO KAIC (42 yrs old)
Kaic believed that "a camera is the only weapon of the unarmed". He paid for this belief with his life. On 28th August 1991, whilst filming for Croatian TV near the front-line position in Osijek, he was shot by a soldier who claimed to have mistaken the camera for a rocket launcher. He left a wife and four children under the age of nine. His widow was forced to rely entirely on the £200 she earned each month as a pharmacist.
The Trust awarded
the family a grant of £5,500 which enabled them to survive after
the death of their main breadwinner. This case is due for review.
"My children and I appreciate very much the grant received from your Trust. For us it has meant more than a donation. It has meant acknowledgment of Zarco's courage, of his work. It has meant that Zarco's life was not laid down in vain." Mrs. Lidia Kaic
OLIVIER QUEMENER (33 yrs old)
Olivier Quemener became the tenth journalist to be killed in eight months
in the Algerian conflict. On February 1st 1994, while working for ABC
News in the Kasbah neighbourhood of Algiers, he was shot by unknown gunmen.
Olivier died before reaching hospital. He had no life insurance and his
death left his wife and two children, aged six and one, dependent on French
Social Security.
The Trust's grant of £3,500 helped his widow care for her children.
LABIB IBRAHIM
Freelance cameraman, Labib Ibrahim, was killed on 17th September 1994
when the UNICEF convoy he was filming was attacked in Khuzam, 520km south
of Cairo. His death left a wife and two children, a boy of thirteen and
a girl of eight. The staff of UNICEF donated part of their salaries to
try to help the family, but apart from a small donation from UNICEF itself,
this was the only relief the family received. When the Trust contacted
them in 1997, the family was relying on handouts from a relative in Canada.
The Trust awarded a grant of £3,500 to help with the education of his two children.
Farkhad
Kerimov was murdered on May 22nd 1995 while filming for Associated Press
on the rebel side of Chechnya. No motive has ever been established for
the killing. Kerimov was a highly regarded freelance cameraman. He had
a reputation as an accomplished journalist with an intricate knowledge
of the complicated Caucasian region. In 1995, he was posthumously awarded
the first Rory Peck Award. Although the family received a grant from Associated
Press following the death, they were still unable to manage financially.
His widow works as a librarian in Moscow, earning 600 roubles a month.
She lives in a two-roomed apartment with her mother, daughter and young
son, who has suffered health problems since his father's death.
The Trust's grant of £3,000 enabled the family to meet his medical costs. This case is due for review.
MUSHTAQ
ALI (27 yrs old)
On September 8th 1995, a parcel bomb exploded fatally injuring Kashmir-based
freelance photographer and cameraman Mushtaq Ali who was working for ANI.
As a member of the beleaguered press community in Kashmir, he had already
been the victim of several kidnap attempts and the target of several attacks.
When he died, Mushtaq Ali was unmarried, the only surviving son of elderly
parents. He was the sole breadwinner for both his parents and his divorced
sister.
The Trust gave the family a crisis-relief grant of £1,000. This case is due for review.
South
African freelance, Tony Vincent, died in January 1999 when the microlite
from which he was filming crashed. Vincent's high reputation as a cameraman
was made by his coverage of the apartheid era. He was married with 3 sons.
There was no insurance nor compensation and his widow Timmy was left with
heavy debts. Her main concern was for the future of her two youngest sons
who, at the time of their father's death were both just about to begin
new schools.
In 1999, the Trust awarded a grant of £7,600 to cover Ashley and Bradley's school fees for two years. A further grant was made in 2001.
"…the grant given to me by the Trust was a true godsend. The boys have all done well at school this year and are looking forward to moving on next year…I want to pass on my appreciation once again for all that the Rory Peck Trust has meant to my family. All who are involved should be commended for their contribution to society." Mrs. Timmy Vincent
Freelance
cameraman, Henry Ford, was injured in an ambush in West Uganda in March
1999. Although he survived the attack, his injuries have left him severely
disabled, unable to walk or work. His left hip was shattered, he is on
crutches, and he has been unable to earn his living since the ambush.
Due to lack of funds, a hip replacement operation in South Africa, scheduled
for September 2001, did not take place. As a result, Henry lost the opportunity
for several work contracts that would have earned him money. He is the
sole breadwinner for his wife and three daughters, one of whom was so
severely traumatised by her father's injury that she has been unable to
speak.
In 2001, the Trust made a crisis-relief grant of $2,500 which enabled Henry Ford to cover his mortgage arrears and keep a roof over his family's head. Unfortunately it is currently beyond the Trust's means to cover the full costs of hip surgery. We are considering a grant that would cover some of the expenses and are working with medical professionals to try and find alternative ways of funding the operation.
"My bank called me this morning to inform me that the money you sent ($2,500) had been remitted to my account. I have no words to express my thanks to you. There are very few people with your kind of kindness. I will be happy if you could please send me more information about Rory Peck. I wish I could know how to reciprocate to such a magnificent gesture." Henry Ford
In
August 1999, newspaper headlines shrieked that a cameraman had been struck
down by the Ebola virus. In fact, Olaf Ullman, a well-known and respected
cameraman in East Germany, had contracted yellow fever whilst working
on the Ivory Coast. Ullman was the sole breadwinner for his wfe, stepson
and disabled sister. At the time of his death, he and his wife, Kordula,
had just bought an old house which they were in the process of renovating.
Kordula was left with two mortgages (only partly covered by her husband's
life insurance) and other outstanding debts.
The Trust's grant of £7,656 paid the mortgage on her home for two years, relieving the immediate financial strain and enabling Kordula to concentrate on training for a new career.
Freelance
cameraman, Ramzan Mezhidov, was killed on 29 October 1999, when the Chechen
refugee convoy he was travelling with from Grozny was bombed by the Russian
Air Force. Unharmed in this first attack, Mezhidov began to film what
was happening. While filming he was shot from the air. He died in hospital
hours later from shock and blood loss. Prior to his death, Mezhidov's
Grozny home had been destroyed, and he had moved his wife and two young
daughters (aged 3 and 18 months) to his sister's flat in Moscow. When
the Trust contacted the family, they were still there, living in a two-roomed
apartment, with a total of three families and five children.
The Trust made a crisis-relief grant of $10,000 enabling Lisa Mezhidov to buy her own flat in Moscow. With the security of a roof over her head, Lisa has begun to find the work she needs to support her young family.
LEONARDO FABIO RESTREPO VESGA (18 yrs old)
On 5 February 2000, Colombian widow Bernarda Vesga Rodriguez suffered a double tragedy - she lost both her sons in an ambush. One, Leonardo Fabio Restrepo Vesga was a freelance cameraman. His brother was a journalist. Their contributions had been her only source of income. She received no form of compensation and lives in abject poverty in rented accommodation.
The Trust's crisis-relief grant of USD$3,000 is for Bernarda's subsistence. This is an example of a small amount of money which, in a situation of such poverty, will go a long way.
ZAKARIA ABU-HARBEED (31 yrs old)
Freelance
cameraman, Zakaria Abu-Harbeed, was injured in April 2001 in a shooting
incident in Gaza. A bullet penetrated both his forearms severing a nerve
in his right arm. So far, surgery has not been successful and although
he continues to try to earn a living doing studio based work for Ramattan
Studios, he is unable to continue his main career as a cameraman. As the
sole breadwinner for his wife and eight children, the ongoing costs of
physiotherapy and medical treatment are stretching his resources.
In 2002, the Trust
made a crisis-relief grant of $1,200 to cover his medical costs for a
year.
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The Rory Peck Trust
2 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7730 1411
Fax: +44 -(0)20 7730 1428
e-mail: info@rorypecktrust.org
Limited Company No.
35524586 Registered in England and Wales
Charity Reg. No. 1071844