The 33-year-old photojournalist committed to conveying suffering of civilians with ‘rare honesty and courage’
As has now become the norm for journalists working in Gaza, Mariam Abu Dagga prepared her will despite being just 33 years old. She left behind two sets of instructions: to her colleagues, do not cry at her funeral; to her 13-year-old son, Ghaith, make her proud.
Despite her instructions, Dagga’s colleagues could not help but weep over her body on Monday. She was killed by Israel, alongside four other journalists, while rushing to check on a colleague struck by Israel in al-Nasser hospital, where she had often reported throughout the war in Gaza.
“Mariam had left us instructions not to cry for her when we bid her farewell. She wanted us to spend time with her body, speak to her and take our fill of her before she left,” said Samaheer Farhan, a 21-year-old freelance journalist and close friend of Dagga.
The 33-year-old photojournalist was an inspiring figure to Farhan and many other journalists in Gaza who admired her relentless reporting, despite the often deeply personal losses she suffered throughout the war.
