On Kurdish Press Day, "Mazloum Bagok" Awards for Hard Work distributed

The Free Media Union held a ceremony on Wednesday to distribute the Martyr Mazloum Bagok Awards for Hard Work at the Mohamed Sheikho Center for Culture and Art in Qamishlo, with the attendance of representatives from media institutions, unions, and associations in Rojava, along with journalists, the family of the martyred journalist Mazloum Bagok, the father of the martyr Saad Ahmed (a correspondent for ANHA agency), the Martyrs' Families Council, the Photographers' Union, the Culture and Art Authority, the Democratic Society Movement, Rojava University, the Higher Institute of Media, the Kurdish Journalists Network, the Union of Intellectuals, and a number of writers and novelists.

During the ceremony, the Free Media Union honored several journalists by awarding them the Martyr Mazloum Bagok Awards for Hard Work. The awards were distributed across three levels. The award at the global level was given to journalist Düzen Tekkal; a writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker and war correspondent, a German citizen of Kurdish Yazidi origin, who played a role in conveying the Kurdish voice to international forums and exposing the massacres against the Yazidi Kurds, and played an important role in the platforms of the Munich Conference and the halls of the United Nations.

At the Kurdistan level, the award was given to journalist Mohamed Raouf; a journalist from South Kurdistan who currently serves as the director of "Daraw Media," an independent media organization. He answered the call to arms between January 20th and 29th, 2026, and went to Rojava to cover the attacks on the ground and monitor the situation of refugees, particularly in the cities of Qamishlo and Hasaka.

At the Rojava level, the award was given to journalist Hiba al-Fatih; a field reporter for Ronahi TV, who followed the suffering of displaced people from Afrin and Shahba in the city of Tabqa and participated in covering events on the front lines in several areas.

It was also given to journalist Serbest Abdo, who witnessed and documented the first phase of the resistance in Afrin, documenting the suffering of the forcibly displaced people of Afrin in Shahba and the crimes and violations committed by the Turkish occupation.

In addition to journalist Leyla Abdi, who works as a reporter for Ronahi TV, and with the escalation of Turkish attacks on Ras al-Ayn/Tel Abyad region, she effectively turned to field work and became a field reporter for the channel.

She covered the attacks on the city of Ain Issa, and while documenting the resistance of the residents at the Tishrin Dam, she was injured by shrapnel in her leg as a result of an airstrike carried out by a Turkish drone.

The ceremony also included the presentation of certificates of appreciation to Professor Shoresh Derwish, journalist Diyar Kurda, journalist Suleiman Tawil, journalist Avin Sheikhmous, correspondent Sidar Mamo, correspondent Suzdar Serê Kaniyê, journalist Berivan Beyar, journalist Nujan Nodem, Rustem Mahmoud, Mahmoud Abbas, Kadar Beri, Sivan Saeed (East Kurdistan), journalist Mohamed Amer, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Tigris and Euphrates Journalists Syndicate, the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, and the Suroyo Media Foundation.

Furthermore, several speeches were delivered at the ceremony. Amal Mohamed; the spokesperson for the Women's Media Union, stated, "At this stage, conveying the voice of the Kurdish people is a fundamental duty, and we must be a unified voice to convey their cause, especially in light of the ongoing attempts to erase Kurdish culture and identity, which journalists have resolutely confronted."

For his part, the head of the Media Department of the Autonomous Administration, Jwan Mala Ibrahim, said, "Kurdish journalism has gone through difficult and pivotal stages, and the media has always been at the heart of these challenges, striving to be the voice of the people despite attempts to silence it. In Rojava, the revolution was not only political and military, but also a media revolution, despite the restrictions and arrests targeting journalists."

He added, "Today, Kurdish media has been able to achieve significant progress and unify the voice in the face of genocidal policies," emphasizing that the Kurdish journalist who once dreamed of freedom of speech is now steadfastly expressing it.

Rahman Gharib; the representative of the Metro Center in Southern Kurdistan, also delivered a speech addressing the reality of the media and the challenges it faces.

Maria Hanna delivered a speech on behalf of the Suroyo Media Foundation in Syriac, congratulating the community on Kurdish Press Day and highlighting the role of media in conveying the voice of the peoples.

Hassen Qusho; the lecturer at the Higher Institute of Media, stated, "128 years ago, the first Kurdish newspaper was a spark that lit the way. Despite attempts to eradicate Kurdish journalism, the determination to develop it persisted. Today, we bear the responsibility of preparing a new generation of media professionals capable of keeping pace with developments and conveying the voice of the people."

The martyr Mazloum Bagok (Ahmed Saado) was the first journalist martyred while covering the battles in Rojava against ISIS mercenaries. He was born in Qamishlo in 1992 and was the third son in his family. He started working in the media field since his youth, through some websites, and worked on preparing many documentaries, including a film about the Qamishlo uprising of March 12, 2004. Later, he joined the media center of the People's Protection Units (YPG), and covered many battlefronts, until he was martyred on September 28, 2014, while covering, as a journalist, the campaign to open the humanitarian corridor between Rojava and Shengal.

ANHA