Journalists in combat zones are no stranger to perilous situations, and often have to think outside the box to survive. Two journalists in Syria, in need of medical attention and transport, have issued a YouTube plea in the hopes that someone—anyone—will help them.
As the world mourns the passing of Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik, both of whom were killed by a Syrian blast, two fellow journalists, also injured by the same blast, are running out of time. Along with the two journalists, 80 people died in the most recent bombardment of Homs.
In this video, Edith Bouvier, a reporter for the French newspaper Le Figaro, looks into the camera and says she needs urgent medical attention. She asks to be evacuated quickly, through Lebanon, as she is at a risk of bleeding to death, before pleading for a ceasefire.
“The doctors here have treated me very well, as much as they are able, but they are not able to undertake surgical procedures,” says Bouvier, wrapped in a blanket and propped up by pillows on a worn couch.
A man in medical scrubs affirms her statement in English and Arabic, as does Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy in French. Conroy was also injured by the same blast. The sound of explosions throughout the six minute video at times makes the audio difficult to understand.
Created and uploaded some time early today, the fate of the two journalists is currently unknown.
According to UK’s Telegraph, Adnan Mahmum, Syrian’s information minister asked the governor of Homs to evacuate Western journalists following the deaths of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik.
“For humanitarian reasons, and although they entered the country without a permit to go to an area controlled by terrorists, the governor of Homs has been told to exert every effort possible to evacuate the journalists,” Mahmum, said to the AFP news agency.
YouTubers were quick to point out the doctor in the video is the very same one who was in Marie Colvin’s last video, with some calling him a “hero.”
Other commentators, besides the trolls and cynics, wondered if being transported to Israel would be faster. They also wondered if the issue would be raised in the upcoming French elections and how the recent incidents would affect French Presient Nicolas Sarkozy’s re-election.
( Sarkozy called the death of the two journalists an “assassination.”)
“She is not the only one who needs help. The Syrian people needs our help!,” wrote HPBrowningBoy in a top comment on YouTube
