by Martin Agius
When the Arab Uprising began in 2010, I was still at the beginning of my journey as a photojournalist with Media.Link Communications Ltd., and I was only working on a part-time basis.
At first, not much happened in Malta, but in early 2011, things started to happen in Malta too, with Libyan Protestors, protesting in front of the Libyan Embassy in Balzan. I remember exactly the first day that I was called to cover these protests. It was the 22nd of February 2011, which happens to be my birthday, so I will never forget this date.
I was astounded by these protestors, many of whom were waving banners with writing on them, some of whom were holding printed photos of the Muammar Gaddafi regime's massacre in Libya, some of whom were crying, and even children were brought to these protests.
What amazed me most was that when it was time to pray at noon, they stopped the protest, faced Mecca, and started their ritual praying. Muslims first pray standing up, then kneeling or sitting. They recite from the Quran and glorify and praise Allah.
People residing in Libya started fleeing the country, especially Europeans, Americans, and Asians. They started arriving in Malta since it is the first land in Europe, around 355 km.
The Maltese government at the time really had a big headache trying to keep up with all that was happening, helping people get over to Malta from Libya and then arranging for them to fly to their respective countries.
One fine day, two Libyan Air Force Mirage Jet fighters arrived in Malta. At first, there was a bit of panic as it was thought that they were attacking Malta. But after negotiations and confirming they were not attacking Malta, they were allowed to land in Malta. The pilots informed Maltese authorities that they fled Libya after being ordered to attack civilian protestors who had taken over Benghazi.
We had to work very long days as many things were happening, and sometimes we couldn’t keep up with everything that was happening. We also had to keep up with other work like sports, Government events etc.
This historical event influenced me greatly. It made me a better photographer first of all; I learned to see things faster and even anticipate them; it made me learn journalism better; and it also taught me that when people have enough, they will rise to the occasion, and no matter what the circumstances, be it life or death, they will get to their goal, which most of the time is freedom.
Some of the images that I took during these events won me many awards, from Gold to Silver Awards to the prestigious "Press and News Photographer of the Year" award in 2011” with the Societies UK.
Giurnalist InglizÌ Guy Martin
