Deceased freelancer Ali Mustafa helped establish York campus paper
Credit: Zack Helwa
Ali Mustafa was in Aleppo, Syria photographing the destruction caused by a government barrel bomb and assisting Syrians who had been hit by the explosion, when the fatal blow was inflicted that ended his life. Mustafa, who was 29 years old at the time, was killed after government forces dropped down a second barrel bomb on March 9, 2014.
Following the death of the Toronto-based freelance photojournalist, Mustafa’s friends came together to create the Ali Mustafa Memorial Collective to preserve and celebrate his life and work. The collective is now announcing the establishment of a photojournalism award to memorialize the student reporter, freelance photographer and social activist.
As a student at York University, Mustafa helped launch the YU Free Press in 2008. Mustafa was also involved in independent media as an editor of New Socialist Webzine and advisory board member of Upping the Anti.
Between 2008 and 2014 Mustafa travelled to Brazil, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Egypt and Syria documenting the resistance of social movements and struggles for social justice. His work has been featured in The Guardian, The Times of London, Le Nouvel Observateur, The Dominion andBriarpatch Magazine.
The Ali Mustafa Memorial Award for People’s Journalism seeks to support freelance photojournalists like Mustafa who lack institutional backing, by providing one-time funding to carry out a photojournalism project that helps expand public understandings of a contemporary social issue or contributes to social justice activism.
“Ultimately, the award seeks to honour Ali’s unwavering belief in a journalism that both popularizes and contributes to social justice struggles around the world,” said a statement from the collective.
To be eligible for the annual award, which will be valued at a maximum for $3,000, applicants must reside in the Greater Toronto Area, be under 30 years old and not be employed on a full-time permanent basis by a media organization.
The award is funded by the Canadian Media Guild, News Photographers Association of Canada, Canadian Journalists For Free Expression, Mayworks Festival of Working People and The Arts, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, No One Is Illegal – Toronto and individual donors.
Applications for the inaugural award will be accepted starting on Sept. 1 until Nov. 1. Visit rememberingalimustafa.org for more information.
