Hadi al-Abdullah
Hadi al-Abdullah | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 8, 1987 Al Qusair, Homs, Syria |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, citizen journalist |
| Known for | Reporting on the Syrian Civil War |
Hadi al-Abdullah (; born 8 May 1987) is a Syrian activist and citizen journalist recognized for his reporting on the Syrian Civil War.
Personal life
Al-Abdullah was raised in a lower-middle-class household in Al Qusair, located within the Homs region. He earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Tishreen University in Lattakia. At the onset of the Syrian uprising, he was enrolled in a master's program specializing in Emergency Room Nursing but discontinued his studies to engage fully in activism.
Career
Starting his involvement with humanitarian efforts and providing medical care to injured individuals, al-Abdullah transitioned to media activism due to its increasing necessity. Operating primarily out of Idlib Governorate, he works as a correspondent for various television networks and social media platforms.
His significant reports include the September 2012 coverage of the Farouq Brigades' tunnel assault on Al Qusair National Hospital and frontline footage during the May 2013 Battle of al-Qusayr, which involved combat against Hezbollah. In November 2013, he sustained injuries while reporting on clashes near Damascus.
In 2015, al-Abdullah documented occasions such as International Women's Day celebrations in Idlib for Al Jazeera Media Network. That August, he captured the Army of Conquest's use of tunnel demolitions during the Siege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya. Later that year, he covered the liberation of six Syrian nuns from rebel detention and conducted an uncommon interview with Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of al-Nusra Front.
In January 2016, following a raid on their opposition radio station, al-Abdullah and fellow activist Raed Fares were briefly held by Jabhat al-Nusra but were released after negotiations that included returning confiscated equipment.
He delivered a speech at a rebel rally in Maarrat al-Nu'man in March 2016. In June 2016, he was wounded by Russian airstrikes in Aleppo and suffered critical injuries days later during an assassination attempt alongside cameraman Khaled Al-Issa, who succumbed to his wounds.
Al-Abdullah was honored with the Reporters Without Borders/TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize in November 2016. Following this recognition, he conducted prominent interviews including one with Bana al-Abed after Aleppo's evacuation and another with Ali Abu Ammar al-Omar, Commander-in-Chief of Ahrar al-Sham.
At the beginning of 2018, he reported on counteroffensives by the Sham Legion and covered the shooting down of a Russian Su-25 fighter jet by Tahrir al-Sham using a MANPAD.
Awards and nominations
2016 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Prize – Recipient
Further reading
- Dying to Be Heard: Reporting Syria’s War, The New York Times, November 30, 2016
- Forgotten Syrian Voices: Interview with Hadi al-Abdallah
- Homs: The New Capital of Citizen Journalism, The Ambassadors, vol 15 no 22, August 2012