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Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Anas al-Sharif's mother: ‘My son was invited to Qatar, but he refused to leave Gaza'
Fawzia al-Sharif doesn't know where to begin when it comes to talking about her slain son, Anas al-Sharif. 'What can I tell you? There's no one like Anas,' she told Middle East Eye in a displacement camp in Gaza City. Since Israel's genocide on Gaza began in October 2023, her son had become one of the most famous journalists in Gaza. The Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent was loved and greeted by Palestinians everywhere he went. When he reported the announcement of a short-lived ceasefire in January, Sharif was hoisted onto the shoulders of a jubilant passerby. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'He was tender with his sisters and his brothers,' his mother said. 'He was kind to the people outside. To everyone, in everything. 'Everything he did was good. He never got involved in anything bad,' she added. A life spent helping people On Sunday night, Sharif was brutally killed alongside five of his colleagues when Israeli forces deliberately targeted their clearly marked media tent near al-Shifa hospital in central Gaza. Middle East Eye contributor Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed al-Khalidi were also killed. It brought the total number of journalists killed by Israel during the genocide to 238. Fawzia remembers fondly the last time she saw her son, 10 days ago. 'I hadn't seen him for a while, and suddenly he came to see me,' she recalls. 'We sat together. I was happy with his visit. Then he left, and I didn't see him again.' 'God willing there are young people to continue Anas's path, exposing the occupation' - Fawzia al-Sharif, mother His mother said that Sharif was offered the opportunity, along with his family, to leave Gaza, but he refused. 'They invited him to Qatar. He said, 'I can't go… I must leave Gaza only for paradise.' That was his mission,' she explained. The Israeli military claimed, without providing any credible evidence, that it killed Sharif because he "served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organisation". Israel has routinely made such unsubstantiated claims about journalists, which have been strongly rejected by Al Jazeera and by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Fawzia said that her son spent his whole life helping other people. 'If he saw elderly people, he'd take them. I'd ask him 'Who are these?' He would say 'These are for God, Mum. Take them.' He loved people. 'All his life, from when he was a child, through university, studying and learning, he stuck to this principle.' 'Daddy is in paradise' Sharif was married, and had two young children. Fawzia sat with her grandchildren, four-year-old Sham and one-year-old Salah, showing them a picture of the two of them with their father. He was wearing his press vest, while Sham proudly held his Al Jazeera microphone. BBC condemned for repeating Israeli narrative on slain journalist Anas al-Sharif Read More » 'Daddy is in paradise,' said Sham, as she kissed the screen of the phone. 'Who did he go to?' asked Fawzia, to which her granddaughter replied: 'He went to my grandfather and my uncle Shadi.' Fawzia said that as Israel's siege and war caused famine across Gaza, her son reported the situation while suffering through it himself. 'He worked with heart and dedication. He went straight to the point. 'God willing there are young people to continue in his place and continue Anas's path, exposing the occupation,' she added. Fawzia said she was proud of her son, and held her head high because of him. 'I am the mother of Anas al-Sharif. I send my message to the whole world.'
The Star
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Rare museum-quality clocks steal the spotlight at the Hong Kong Watch Auction
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo achieved a remarkable result for the Hong Kong Watch Auction: XX, realising over HK$212mil or US$27mil, which surpassed the pre-sale high estimate of HK$181mil (US$23mil) and marked a 30% year-on-year increase. The auction, held late last month, attracted enthusiastic participation of 1,800 registered bidders from 70 countries and regions. In addition to a packed saleroom and active telephone bidding, there was robust online engagement where 70% of the lots offered were sold to online buyers. Cartier Unique Mystery Clock with a coral sculpture. While wristwatches performed strongly, the spotlight was decisively taken by an extraordinary selection of museum-quality clocks, particularly the Art Deco Cartier masterpieces that garnered international attention and set new benchmarks in decorative horology. Auctioneer Perazzi selling lot 933. — Courtesy photos These achieved a 100% sell-through rate, with all 18 exceptional timepieces selling well above their pre-sale estimates. The collection drew keen interest and realised a total of over US$5mil. Among the top performers were rare and historically significant Cartier desk and mystery clocks, including 19th-century pieces made for the Chinese market, which ignited bidding wars and far surpassed expectations. Leading the pack was a Cartier nephrite lantern clock originally commissioned as a wedding gift for princess Fawzia of Egypt in 1939 when she married Iran's crown prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. An intense 20-minute contest involving 59 bids drove its final price to US$1.16mil, nearly five times its pre-sale high estimate, underlining the allure and provenance of exceptional Cartier creations. Another standout item, the extremely rare Cartier Coral Mystery Clock (circa 1930), also soared past estimates to achieve US$973,074. The clock features exquisite rock crystal, mother-of-pearl, diamonds, onyx, coral, platinum, yellow gold, and enamel, with delicate craftsmanship mirroring Chinese culture and style. Cartier's 1925 Modèle A Mystery Clock. Meanwhile, a circa 1925 Modèle A Mystery Clock in pristine condition fetched US$583,844, reflecting collectors' reverence for the intricate mechanics and recognition of Cartier's outstanding workmanship. The auctioneers' head of watches (Asia) Thomas Perazzi, and head of sale Gertrude Wong jointly said, 'Marking a decade of excellence in Asia, the various owner sale achieved the third highest result in our history in the region. 'The past three days have powerfully reaffirmed the strength and depth of the watch market, with passionate bidding and outstanding results for timepieces spanning over three centuries of horological excellence. Lot 933 – Patek Philippe watch. 'We are sincerely grateful to the global watch-collecting community and all participants who made this sale such a success.' At the auction, important Patek Philippe wristwatches continued to captivate collectors, with a possibly unique ref.5970P-013 in platinum leading the sale at over US$1.29mil. This fresh-to-market, factory double-sealed example features four stunning red hands, an English calendar and the inscription 'A Mon Fils' (To My Son) on its sapphire caseback, reflecting its profound sentimental value. The F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain. F.P. Journe timepieces also continued to get strong results, led by the Chronomètre à Résonance 'Black Label' which achieved more than US$583,844, nearly double its pre-sale high estimate. Other standout results include the Tourbillon Souverain from the brand's fourth generation, which sold for US$454,101, and a Centigraphe Souverain that garnered US$421,665, more than three times its pre-sale high estimate. Unique Cartier illuminated nephrite lantern clock. Vintage Rolex wristwatches commanded bidders' attention as well, with the Cosmograph ref.6263, featuring the UAE Quraysh Hawk emblem and the Arabic script signature of the ministry of defence, sold for over US$324,358. Following this Hong Kong auction was one held in New York on June 7 and 8.
Voice of America
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Yazidi woman enslaved by Islamic State relocates to Germany months after rescue
A Yazidi woman who survived rape and enslavement by Islamic State and was rescued from Gaza last October in a U.S.-led operation arrived in Germany on Tuesday, February 18. Fawzia Amin Saydo, 21, was kidnapped by IS militants from her hometown of Sinjar, northern Iraq, in August 2014, just a month before her 11th birthday. She endured a decade of suffering, including rape, enslavement and forced marriage to a Palestinian IS fighter in Syria before being sent to Gaza to live with her captor's mother. She was rescued from Gaza on October 1, 2024, during a secret U.S.-led operation that involved cooperation among human rights activists, as well as Israeli, Jordanian, Iraqi and United Nations officials. Saydo arrived about 5 p.m. local time at Hannover Airport in Langenhagen, Germany, where she was received by her lawyer, Kareba Hagemann, a group of relatives and human rights activists. "She has arrived in Germany safely, and she is very relieved," Hagemann told VOA. "The first thing Fawzia said upon her arrival was, 'Please make sure my family can also come join me and live here with me.'" The German consulate in Baghdad on February 10 issued Saydo a visa on a humanitarian basis. Her mother, grandmother and five siblings are still in Iraq. "Her family, except her two sisters, wanted to go as well, but the German government made it clear that they will only agree to take in Fawzia," Hagemann said. "There is no legal obligation to take her, but it is an act of humanity, which is why I was thankful to them to agree to take Fawzia at least." According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, Germany is the third-largest refugee-hosting country in the world and the largest in the European Union, with 2.5 million refugees from all over the world, including more than 1 million refugees from Ukraine. Since the 2014 Yazidi genocide carried out by Islamic State in northern Iraq, the number of Yazidi asylum-seekers in Germany has risen to more than 200,000. The ongoing debate within German society about deporting refugees, however, has put many asylum-seekers from the religious minority at risk of deportation. This is particularly due to some politicians arguing that the defeat of IS in 2017 has ended group-specific persecution in Iraq — a claim contested by human rights organizations. On Monday, German authorities announced the deportation of 47 Iraqis whose asylum applications had been denied. Among the more than 300,000 Iraqi refugees and migrants living in Germany, refugee organizations estimate that nearly 700 Iraqis were deported in 2024 alone, with about 10,000 currently facing the risk of deportation. Hagemann, who is also a Yazidi, told VOA the uncertainty has taken a psychological toll on many Yazidi asylum-seekers who fled Iraq due to persecution. While the exact number of deported Yazidis remains unclear, she estimated that at least five have been sent back to Iraq and the Kurdistan region. "Those Yazidis want to build their new life and integrate, even though some of them find it hard to learn a new language because of their trauma," Hagemann said. "Unfortunately, most of them are not as lucky as Fawzia to be supported, and [they] decide to come to Germany illegally, where they face deportation and have been held in captivity for years." In January 2023, the German Bundestag [parliament] passed a resolution that recognized Islamic State's crimes against Yazidis as genocide. Since then, the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein have enacted laws to protect Yazidi asylum-seekers from deportation. Hagemann argued that allowing Yazidi survivors, particularly those who have been victims of rape, to remain in Germany would provide them with a chance to heal — an opportunity, she said, they cannot find in Iraq. "We have been able to schedule a therapy session for Fawzia on Thursday, just two days after her arrival in Germany, to enable her start a self-determining life again," Hagemann said. Rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have reported that Yazidi survivors do not get adequate psychological support upon their return to Iraq. Activists from the Montreal-based Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq (CYCI), who assisted Saydo in relocating to Germany, stated that her return from Gaza to Iraq only marked a minor improvement in her life, as she continued to endure neglect and targeting from militants in her hometown of Sinjar. "She kept saying, 'I have been brought from one hell to another,'" said human rights activist and CYCI member Dawood Jajju, describing Saydo's dire situation in Iraq. Activists say Saydo and her family were threatened by Iraqi militants three weeks after her return to Sinjar after she appeared in a news article in which she praised Israel for its role in taking her out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. Iraqi officials tasked to work on her case were not available to comment. Steve Maman, founder of CYCI, told VOA that Saydo was summoned several times by Iraqi authorities "who mistakenly believe she is a Zionist and an Israeli-trained agent." "Fawzia did not receive any therapy at all. The country has not made any effort or gesture to help her. It seems that Yazidis are second-class citizens in their own country," Maman said. When Islamic State attacked the Sinjar region in 2014, the group killed nearly 10,000 Yazidis and enslaved more than 6,000 of women and children. Data from the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region show that some 3,500 Yazidis have been rescued or freed, with some 2,600 still missing.
