Reporting from Syria: embedded with the rebels
The latest in our series of testimonies from Rory Peck Awards finalists comes from Syrian freelance filmmaker Salam Rizk. Here Rizk describes travelling to the city of Jisr al-Shughour where he filmed an important rebel victory in April
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Your support makes all the difference.With this film I wanted to show a different side to the Syrian conflict, beyond what was happening with Islamic State. I wanted to show the Syrian civil war from the perspective of the civilians caught up in it.
The town of Jisr al-Shughour carries symbolic resonance for Syrian rebels because it was the first place to see defections from Assad's army after the uprising in 2011. It is tactically important, too. Situated on the road between Aleppo and Assad's Mediterranean stronghold of Latakia, its capture paves the way for a rebel advance toward the coast and the Ghab plain. Many saw its fall as a sign that Assad's hold on the country was weakening.
It was a very difficult shoot. The border was closed and the only way to enter Syria was a three-hour mountain trek. I arrived in Jisr al-Shughour hours after rebels had taken it. When I got there, I found a lot of jihadist and rebel fighters. I used to live in the city but I hadn't been there for three years. Everything had changed.
On the second day I went to Jisr al-Shughour hospital where Syrian army troops were still holed up. There was heavy fighting around and inside the hospital – it was a very dangerous place with airstrikes and snipers shooting anything that moved. When I got to the outskirts of the complex, I found many rebel fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra. They told me that the regime troops had massacred their prisoners as they pulled back and took me to see for myself. There were holes in the walls from bullets and pools of fresh blood on the floor. I was told that when the regime leaves a place, they kill the people in their jails. I thought it was important for the world to see this, so I did my job and filmed what I saw. When I came out of the hospital, the fighting had increased – a bullet just missed my leg.
I don't have a specific filming technique. I just try to stay calm and focussed on my job. I am just a journalist. I'm not part of any war between anybody. I just try to report the reality of what I see.
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