Lebanese photographer Christina Assi (center), assisted by AFP video journalist Dylan Collins (left), waves after receiving the Olympic flame during the Olympic torch relay in Vincennes, near Paris, on July 21, 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Credit: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)
Christina Assi, a Lebanese photographer for AFP who was seriously injured while reporting from south Lebanon in October 2023, carried the Olympic flame in Vincennes (Val-de-Marne), France, on Sunday, as preparations for the Olympic Games get under way in Paris.
"It's incredible and heart-warming to see all these people applauding after we survived a targeted attack as journalists," she said, after walking, in a wheelchair and helped by her American colleague Dylan Collins, the 200 meters with the flame that they had to cover in the streets of Vincennes. "I hope that what we have done today is a tribute to all the journalists, our colleagues and friends who have been killed this year," she added.
Assi, aged 29, was the victim of shellfire on Oct. 13, 2023, while she and six other colleagues were covering cross-border clashes between the Hebrew state and armed groups in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah, in the wake of the Gaza war. The shell, fired by an Israeli tank according to an in-depth investigation by AFP, killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured the six other journalists present, including Christina, who has since had her right leg amputated. Collins, 36, was also injured that day. He had already been injured shortly before in the conflict in Ukraine.
"I wish Issam [Abdallah] and all the colleagues we've lost could have been here today to see this. And I wish it hadn't taken such an attack to get involved and represent journalists," she said, with tears in her eyes. Around 50 AFP journalists were on hand on Sunday to support them on Sunday, cheering as Assi and Collins went by.
Next step for Assi: "Concentrate on my rehabilitation, so that I can stand on my own two feet again: that's how I'll get justice."
"It was extremely moving to see Christina and Dylan carrying the flame. Their courage in the face of unimaginable adversity is an eloquent expression of the Olympic spirit. Everyone at AFP is very proud of them,’ said AFP news director Phil Chetwynd.
This article was originally published in French on L'Orient-Le Jour.
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