Zakaria Abu Harbid

2006 Winner of the Rory Peck Award for Hard News

Palestinian
Shot in Gaza,  9th June 2006
For Ramattan News Agency, broadcast worldwide

“Gaza Beach”
This piece shows scenes broadcast around the world of 12 year old Huda Ghalia after an explosion which killed her father, her step-mother and five siblings. The distraught young girl is seen running along the beach then weeping beside her father’s body. Zakaria had been filming another incident in the nearby village of Beit Hanon. As soon as he heard about the incident on Gaza Beach, he left and arrived at the scene just minutes later.

“This goes to the heart of what freelancers do. He got to the scene very quickly and he got the story. What he came across at the beach must have been very difficult emotionally. It would have been overwhelming but he carried on shooting and captured these incredibly powerful scenes.”
Judge's Comment

Biography
Zakaria Abu Harbid was born in the Gaza Strip. In 1999 he began freelancing for the Ramattan News Agency as a photographer and cameraman. He has witnessed and filmed most major incidents in the Gaza Strip since then. After being injured in 2001, and suffering serious damage to his wrist, Zakaria received financial help from The Rory Peck Trust’s Beneficiary Programme, which also enabled him to have surgery in the UK. He has since been able to return to work as a cameraman.


 “When I arrived at the beach, it looked totally different than any beach in the world. It was full of dead bodies instead of people enjoying their time. I saw Huda Ghalia running between her dead family till she arrived at her father’s dead body crying “father, father”. She looked at me and shouted loudly “film, film”. At this moment I recognised what a big humanistic message I am committed to deliver to the whole world with my small camera.”
Cameraman's Comment