WARS, GENOCIDES, FAMINES, CRIME AND CHILD EXPLOITATION IN THE FINALIST
REPORTS OF THE 22nd EDITION OF THE MARCO LUCHETTA INTERNATIONAL PRESS AWARD.
REPORTS FROM ITALY AND AROUND THE WORLD BEARING WITNESS TO THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF CHILDREN, MARKED BY RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, VIOLENCE AND A LACK OF FUTURE PROSPECTS. THE JURY, CHAIRED BY MARCO DAMILANO, HAS SELECTED THE SHORTLISTS FOR THE SEVEN CATEGORIES SET OUT IN THE CALL FOR ENTRIES.
THE AWARD CEREMONY WILL TAKE PLACE IN NOVEMBER, AS PART OF THE “LUCHETTA AWARD DAYS”
Not only the genocide in Gaza, but also child exploitation in the mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, Ukrainian orphans disputed between Rome and Kyiv, the plight of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children forced to live on the streets in Kosovo, the conditions in Italian juvenile prisons, irregular international adoptions, and the “soda children” of Africa, victims of artisanal soap production. And again: South Korea, the most stressed society in Asia; young girls in Kenya given in marriage to save their families from hunger; the Balkan Route with kidnappings for extortion, the nameless dead and the invisibility of those who reach Trieste.
It is a dramatic global portrait that emerges from the finalist reports of the 22nd edition of the Marco Luchetta International Press Award, denouncing with professionalism and rigour the consequences of wars being fought around the world, irregular migration flows, and the violence and illegality increasingly affecting the youngest. More than 160 works were evaluated by the technical jury, chaired by Marco Damilano, host of Il cavallo e la torre on Rai Tre and columnist for Domani, who selected the shortlists of authors competing in the seven categories of the Award. It was a meticulous job by the jurors, who, as every year, focused on children’s rights to honour the memory of Marco Luchetta, Alessandro Saša Ota and Dario D’Angelo, from Rai Trieste, killed in East Mostar in January 1994 while reporting on child victims of the Balkan war, and of Miran Hrovatin, also from Trieste, murdered in Mogadishu together with Ilaria Alpi less than two months later. The Marco Luchetta International Press Award once again amplifies the call for justice in the face of the many cases of violations and denial of children’s rights worldwide: “We are living through one of the most dramatic moments in history – underlines Damilano – the Marco Luchetta Award helps us to change perspective. From the red carpets of the world’s powerful who trample on peoples, to the darker corners of the planet: the children of Gaza and Congo, the young brides of Kenya, the minors in Italian detention centres, the invisible, nameless dead. Extraordinary works that highlight the need for information, the role and the value of a profession that many would like to erase, and the intelligence, passion and sensitivity of journalists who continue to tell the world starting from its most defenceless.”
The finalists – In the TV News category the finalists are: Daniele Bellocchio, Sky Tg24 Mondo, author of “Bombe sulle macerie”, dedicated to the civil war in Myanmar, where more than 5 million children urgently need humanitarian assistance and 7.8 million adolescents have no access to education; Marina Sapia, In Mezz’ora RAI3, author of “Mani nude”, an undercover investigation into illegal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where children dig toxic materials
with their bare hands; Fergal Keane, author for BBC World News of “Gaza’s children starve as Israel withholds all food supplies”, reporting on the extreme hunger and desperate health conditions imposed on the Palestinian population by Israel.
For the Reportage category, the jury selected “Leaving Gaza”, by Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò, a documentary showing how those who left Gaza never truly severed their ties with the Strip; “Myanmar: la guerra civile dimenticata” for InsideOver, in which Daniele Bellocchio documents youth resistance to the country’s bloody dictatorship; and “La cattiva strada”, broadcast on Sky Tg24, in which Gaia Mombelli investigates the rise in juvenile crime.
The finalist trio in the Radio category are: Alessia Cerantola, author for Tre Soldi Rai Radio3 of “La bambina numero 12”, a documentary on thousands of irregular adoptions organised by Alice Honegger after the Second World War; Gianluca Diana with “Africana soap, i bambini della soda”, broadcast on RSI Rete Due, reporting on the severe health consequences for children in Sierra Leone exposed to caustic soda in artisanal soap production; and Eleonora Tundo and Davide Rinaldi, authors for RAI RaiPlay of “The Korean game”, a report on the most competitive country in the world, South Korea, where those who cannot keep up often take their own lives.
In the Italian Press category, the finalists are: Raffaella Calandra, with “Mai così tanti ragazzi in carcere. Affollati anche gli istituti per minori” (Il Sole 24 Ore), a report on young detainees burdened with a heavy past and long sentences ahead; Stefania d’Ignoti, Davide Maria De Luca and Cecilia Butini, who published in Domani “Ucraina, la diaspora dei bambini: gli orfani contesi tra Roma e Kiev”, an investigation into the fate of children initially entrusted to Spanish and Italian families and later “claimed” by Ukrainian authorities; and Federica Iezzi, who in Il Manifesto wrote “Tutto il dolore del mondo tra i bambini feriti di Gaza”, recounting her experience among the young victims.
Finalists in the International Press category are: Xhorxhina Bami, who in Balkan Insight wrote “Reality check: Kosovo still failing, children forced into street work”, dedicated to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian children in Kosovo, unprotected by authorities and forced to beg or work on the streets; Tom Parry, for Al Jazeera, author of “In Kenya, girls are sold into marriage to stave off starvation from drought”, denouncing child marriage as a desperate response to hunger; and Lorenzo Tondo (with Malak A Tantesh from Gaza), who published in The Guardian “One afternoon in Gaza, two families’ tragedies: the childhoods cut short by Israeli airstrikes”, recounting the final moments of children killed in Gaza just hours and kilometres apart.
In the Balkan Route section, the finalists are: Alessia Candito, with “I fantasmi della rotta balcanica” (La Repubblica), on the new threats facing migrants on the route, from kidnappings for ransom to frequent disappearances; Anna Piuzzi, with “I morti senza nome lungo la rotta balcanica” (La Vita Cattolica), describing the daily tragedy and the effort to give a proper burial to those who die along the way, often by people who themselves lived through war and ethnic cleansing in the same places 30 years ago; and Anna Vitaliani and Renato Orso, authors for RAI TGR FVG of “Tra speranza e paura”, documenting the night in Piazza Libertà in Trieste, among the “invisible” from the Balkan Route, lacking everything, and the volunteers who bring food and blankets.
The photographs of Haitham Imad (EPA images) — “La guerra in prima persona”, published in Io Donna (Corriere della Sera), and “UN Says Israel Preventing Deliveries from Reaching Gaza”, published in Asharq Al-Awsat, Arab World — and of Mohammed Saber (EPA images) — “Gazans anxiously await ceasefire, fearing last-minute catastrophes”, published by BBC News — have been chosen for the Photography section.