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He won this year in Perpignan the ICRC's humanitarian visa. In 2018 during the siege of Eastern Ghouta, the young Syrian photojournalist Abdulmonam Eassa followed the daily life of local residents. Then he joined Paris at the end of the year, and began to cover the yellow vests, without transition. On RFI, our colleague talks about his first impressions when he arrived in France.
From our special correspondent in Perpignan,
RFI: You covered the war that undermines your country, Syria, for years. Then, after a journey complicated by Turkey, you arrived in France in 2018. And you have studied the movement of yellow vests. Explain us!
Abdulmonam Eassa : I came to France to rebuild my life and pursue my ambition in photojournalism. The first two months, I had to fight with the administration to obtain my refugee status, until the end of November 2018. And it was at that time that I learned about the existence of yellow vests. I spoke to a friend, then we went to cover the movement at the beginning of December.
You were surprised by what you saw?
I did not expect all this violence in Paris. The cars burned in the street, the clashes between the police and the protesters. So, it interested me to live it. I wanted to know more about the needs of people here, their reasons for taking the street. We worked together with two other Syrian friends. We had all three covered the war, we necessarily have a different photographic identity.
It is therefore by covering the yellow vests that you have discovered the French capital ...
That's how I discovered Paris, yes, with the Yellow Vests. From December 1st, we spent every three, three and a half months following the movement every Saturday. Every week, I had to do 20 to 24 kilometers. I went everywhere: Hotel de ville, Bercy, Champs-Elysees, Opera ... For me it was an experience. I worked a little with AFP, we started to write a blog to compare Syria and Paris.
It's comparable?
It was like a flashback of the beginning of the crisis in Syria, with the demonstrations of 2011. So obviously, the comparison has its limits. Here, I saw the police using gas, grenades, flashballs. It's not acceptable at all, huh, but it was not a real bullet, no one dies here. Some have been hurt, I have seen people lose an eye, but I can not really visualize a connection between this situation in Paris and what is happening in Syria.
You are over-qualified to cover the situation in France!
Work on yellow vests, I can not say it's easy. But I can not say that it's difficult either. It's dangerous: I was injured on the Champs-Elysée, a grenade exploded near my leg. But we keep our freedom of movement, just be careful all along. In Syria, we can not look into the next hour, we do not know if we will still be alive. With my colleagues here, we smoke cigarettes, we drink. I could stop at a coffee shop, open my computer and send my photos quietly. In Syria, I did not do that.
You have discovered Paris, but you have also discovered the French. You could do portraits! Do you keep a photo in mind in particular?
I took a picture at the Champs-Elysées. Protesters were trying to throw stones at the police. And when one of them throws his stone, a car on fire explodes. And at the same time, a helicopter flies over the scene. In my head, I told myself go! It's not Syria here, what's going on? This struck me. It was new for me to work on a field with foreign photojournalists. Some, I knew them by name, some covered the war. But yes, beyond the few very violent acts that I lived, it was not all violence to photograph in this movement.
Do you come to understand the French demonstrators where the contrast is too much with what you experienced in Syria?
Between France and Syria, there is no photo (he says in French, Ed). But I can not go and tell the French that this is ridiculous. People live here, their life is here, they have big tax problems, it's my problem too now, every month. Their life is not necessarily easy. But the good thing here is that people can talk, express what they want, the government has to listen. Here, we have seen in Perpignan, it is possible to speak freely of the weapons that France sells in Yemen for example, and I find very inspiring in a personal capacity.
► Abdulmonam Eassa was awarded the ICRC Humanitarian Visa
► In pictures, his exhibition in Perpignan: The unexpected end of the seat
► See also : Visa for the image, a place to transmit the flame of photojournalism
A big thank you for @CICR_fr and thank you to the jury for its fidelity! @Visapourlimage @lucasmenget, @CyrilDrouhet, @ magdah2_herrera, @JeromeHuffer, @ClaudeGuibal, @AlyonaSynenko @ICRC_bxl, Benoît Schaeffer https://t.co/Ar9WzEPtTv @ComWBorders
Abdulmonam Eassa (@ abdfree2) June 27, 2019