Christina Assi
Christina Assi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995 (age 29/30) Lebanon |
| Alma mater | Notre Dame University–Louaize, Lebanon |
| Occupation | Photojournalist |
| Known for | Campaigning for journalists' safety |
| Awards | BBC 100 Women 2024 |
Christina Assi (born 1995) is a Lebanese photojournalist and photo editor. After losing her right leg in an Israeli tank attack in southern Lebanon, she became campaigning for journalists' safety.
Biography
Christina Assi was born in Lebanon. Growing up there in the 1990s, she lived through the instability of the civil war that she documented in multiple stories. In 2005, she moved to Doha, capital city of Qatar, with her family.[1] Assi graduated from the Notre Dame University-Louaize in Lebanon with a degree in journalism. In 2018, she began to work for Agence France-Presse (AFP) as a photo editor in Cyprus.[1]
In February 2022, she was wounded when covering the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was able to continue working.[2] In October 2023, while live reporting on a column of smoke on the Israeli-Lebanese border,[3] she was victim of an Israeli tank shell attack in Alma Chaab,[4] which resulted in her losing a leg. The same explosion killed her best friend, Reuters correspondent Issam Abdallah. Five more of their colleagues were wounded.[1] All journalists were wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, clearly marked as press.[3]
Since then, Assi became a campaigner for journalists' safety, giving numerous interviews and propelling a rehabilitation programme for people with similar life-altering injuries.[1] On 21 July, she carried the torch during the 2024 Paris Olympic, representing the journalists who died in the line of duty.[5][6] She carried the torch with a colleague, journalist Dylan Collins.[2] Assi demands that the attack would be considered a war crime.[1][7]
Acknowledgement and awards
In the end of 2024, the BBC included Assi in its list 100 Women, which recognises the most influential women in the world each year.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e Atallah, Nada Maucourant. "'I will go back behind the camera': Christina Assi's fight for justice over Israeli attack". The National. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ^ a b "Los periodistas de la AFP Christina Assi y Dylan Collins, heridos en Líbano, llevan la antorcha olímpica | AFP.com" (in Spanish). AFP. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ a b "It was 6 a.m. | Christina Assi". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
- ^ "Christina Assi". Doha Forum. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ "BBC 100 mujeres: quiénes son las 15 latinoamericanas seleccionadas entre las 100 mujeres del año". BBC News Mundo. 2024-12-03. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
- ^ "Meet the Journalist Who Lost Her Leg in Israeli Strike & Carried Olympic Torch for Slain Colleagues". Democracy Now. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ "Journalist wounded in Israeli strike on Lebanon carries Olympic torch in France". Sky. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (2024-12-03). "La fotógrafa de AFP Christina Assi, entre las 100 mujeres del año, según BBC" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-01-02.