Alessio Romenzi, winner of the Lucas Dolega Award

The jury of this second edition has awarded Italian photojournalist Alessio Romenzi, for his great work in Syria : “Surviving in Syria”.

The report

The civilian unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic has been ongoing since March 2011 and is continuing to affect civilians, particularly in the most vulnerable segments of the population. The situation keeps on deteriorating in villages and cities in the country, leaving people without protection, shelter, food and water. Many civilians have been killed while many others are facing fear every day. While large numbers were able to leave Syria and take refuge in neighboring countries, many have not been able to leave and are constantly exposed to conflict and violence. 

SYRIA - Al Qsair. Anty-regime demonstration in Al Qsair, on January 27, 2012. Al Qsair is a small town of 40000 inhabitants, located 25Km south-west of Homs. The town is besieged since the beginning of November and so far it counts 65 dead. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Al Qsair. A Syrian man is seen as is praying during the funeral of Mohammad Baakour, 14 y.o. shot dead by a Syrian Army's sniper on January 27, 2012. Al Qsair is a small town of 40000 inhabitants, located 25Km south-west of Homs. The town is besieged since the beginning of November and so far it counts 65 dead. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, HOMS, Baba Amro: A Syrian boy hugs a seriously wounded man in a house used as hospital in Baba Amro, southern neighbouhood of Homs on February 06, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Al Qsair. A child (c) mourning his father, who was kidnapped by shabiha (militias of the regime) during three days with other two men. He was tortured and they abandoned the bodies in a main street of Al Qsair, on February 14, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Homs province: Five dead bodies of civilians killed by a mortar lie on a refrigerator used by the resistance as a morgue in Homs province, among them two children, on February 20, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Homs province: One mother and her son cry the lost of the her other two sons, killed by a mortar attack launched by Al Asad forces, in Homs province on February 20, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Al Qsair. Relatives mourn the body of Mohammad Baakour, 14 y.o. shot dead by a Syrian Army's sniper on January 27, 2012. Al Qsair is a small town of 40000 inhabitants, located 25Km south-west of Homs. The town is besieged since the beginning of November and so far it counts 65 dead. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, ALEPPO : A civilian escapes from mortar shelling in Aleppo, on September 26, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, Idlib province: Children walk down a street in Killi, a town in Idlib province, a few days after troops of the Al Assad regime entered the village to destroy and burn houses of allegedly pro revolution activists on April 11, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, HOMS, Baba Amro: Syrian women and children are seen in an underground room in Baba Amro, southern neighborhood of Homs, after Al Assad Army bombed their houses, on February 07, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, Syria-Turkey Border : Syrian refugees walk through barbwires as they attempt to cross the northwestern part of the Syrian border with neighbouring Turkey, on April 14, 2012, a year after a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted. . ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA - Al Qsair. The old Syrian flag now waves on the roof of the building of the former police station in Al Qsair, on February 10, 2012. After a one day battle the Free Syrian Army manage to take the building. In the battle, 11 member of the Syrian police have been killed. ALESSIO ROMENZI

Syria, Zabadani. Heavy shelling on the restive village of Zabadani. At night Al Assad army shot "flares" to localise Free Syrian Army positions on August 8, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, Idlib province, Taftanaz: A Syrian woman walks nearby the ruins of a house destroyed by Al Assad forces shelling, on April 12, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, ALEPPO : A Syrian rebel from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is about to pass through a hole in the side of an apartment in the northern restive city of Aleppo on September 25, 2012. The FSA have created a series of hidden routes to combat regime positions, where they continue to fight following a major offensive by the government army. ALESSIO ROMENZI

. ALESSIO ROMENZISYRIA, ALEPPO : Hospital attendans clean the road next a covered body layed out in front to a hospital entrance, in the eastern sector of the city of Aleppo, on September 23, 2012. Army shelling and air raids killed dozens more civilians including children in Syrian flashpoints, a watchdog said, while rebels and loyalists fought close-quarter battles in Aleppo's main souk.

SYRIA, ALEPPO : Syrian rebel fighters help a wounded comrade during fighting with government troops in the old city of Aleppo on September 23, 2012. Syrian rebels advanced on several fronts in their campaign to seize Aleppo, but without a significant breakthrough after hours of fierce fighting. ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, ALEPPO. A Syrian rebel take position to fire toward regime forces, in the Old City of Aleppo on September 24, 2012 ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, ALEPPO. A Syrian rebel fires toward regime forces in the Old City of Aleppo on September 24, 2012 ALESSIO ROMENZI

SYRIA, ALEPPO. A man, allegedly Shabbiha (Regime civil militia), is shown by rebel forces after they arrested him on September 25, 2012. ALESSIO ROMENZI

Prev|Next

Biography

Alessio Romenzi, born in 1974, is currently based in the Middle East. He has been extensively covering the so-called Arab Spring since the beginning, with a special focus on Egypt and Libya. He later moved to Syria, one of the first photographers to be smuggled in the country when the regime of Bashar al-Assad started to resort to heavy fire against the opposition, and to deny entry to journalists.

His shots regularly appear in major magazines worldwide as well as in major international organizations’ media outlets – including Amnesty International, Fao, Unicef, International Red Cross, Save the Children, Terres des Hommes, War Child International among others. When asked about the motives underlying his work, however, he never has something conclusive to say. He simply thinks a camera is the best way he has not to forget what’s going on out there. »

« I was interested in Syria since the beginning of the uprising of the Arab world and the ensuing civil war caught my attention right from the start. However, having access and being able to get inside the country was difficult: with the accelerating violence and unstable situation, it became almost impossible for journalists to know when and how to access hot spots of the conflict. At a crucial and defining moment for myself, I decided to go to Lebanon and wait for the right moment to get into Syria. It took me a lot of time to find a way in and it was not without hazards. Once inside, I had the chance get to the very heart of the conflict and to share with civilians their own tragic and hazardous experiences. I spent more than two months with Syrian families as well as with members of the Free Syrian army, trying to understand what they were thinking, feeling and experiencing. This is how I happened to be invited to capture their lives in very private moments. The purpose of this work is to raise awareness on what is happening in Syria and to make people reflect on the destruction and pain that war brings to people’s lives. »