Considering the circumstances, both journalists are doing well, reports DPG Media, the parent company of VTM News. Ramaekers is still waiting for some investigations on Thursday afternoon. De Smet was treated for a gunshot wound in his leg and was allowed to leave the hospital. The two Belgian journalists got through the eye of the needle last night, according to a reconstruction VTM News.
Around half past one last night, an Israeli rocket attack took place on a building believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah in the center of Beirut. Six people were killed and several injured. The district is not known as a stronghold of the Shia militia and is seen as relatively safe. In consultation with a fixer (a local resident who helps the press with assignments and acts as a translator), VTM journalists Robin Ramaekers (49) and cameraman Stijn De Smet (37) decided to shoot a report at the site of the impact. Their hotel is nearby and they estimate the situation to be safe enough.
Things were chaotic on site. While the journalists were interviewing witnesses, a crowd of about twenty people suddenly turned against them. They accuse them of being spies for Israel. Soon shots were fired. De Smet ended up on the ground, Ramaekers and the fixer were beaten up and taken away and interrogated for hours in a cellar. There they were hit again.
Four hours later they were put back on the street, not far from the site of the bombing. A man on a moped, claiming to work for the Lebanese army, took them back to their hotel. There was no trace of De Smet at that time. He was located several hours later at a hospital, where he was treated for the gunshot wound to his leg. According to HLN he was hit by two bullets, but none in a vital place. Ramaekers and the fixer also had to go to the hospital. The Flemish journalist has several facial fractures, his local assistant has a broken nose.
“The past 24 hours have been very intense and have turned out very differently than we could ever have imagined,” Ramaekers responds by telephone. VTM News. “I am happy that we have tried to tell the stories of the Lebanese people even in difficult circumstances and I am especially happy that I will soon see my cameraman Stijn De Smet alive again. No story is worth your life.”
Experienced journalists
That message also repeats VTM Newseditor-in-chief Kim Herbots. She points out that Ramaekers and De Smet have more than ten years of experience. They have been working together as a tandem for several years and have also reported from Ukraine. “They follow international training courses where they learn to deal with war situations. This is not just about first aid, but also about what happens and what to do if you are kidnapped,” she says. The journalists also had bulletproof vests with “press” written on them in large letters. So there could be no doubt about their role.
Ramaekers has been active as a war correspondent for 22 years and has been working for VTM News. He started his journalistic career in the newsroom of VRT. De Smet has also been traveling to war zones as a cameraman for more than ten years. Nicholas Lataire, director of News City, the umbrella newsroom of HLN and VTM, indicate that everything is being done to help them. “We are in contact with Robin and Stijn and their families. The Belgian embassy has also been involved and is supporting our colleagues on site. We are doing everything we can to get them home as quickly as possible. Our full attention is now on them.”
Flemish Association of Journalists condemns violence
The Flemish Association of Journalists (VVJ) condemns the violence against the two journalists. “The dire lack of security and respect for the critical role of the press is nothing short of mind-blowing. The VVJ would like to support Robin Ramaekers and Stijn De Smet and hopes that they will be home soon,” it said.
Since the war in Gaza broke out almost a year ago, more than 136 Palestinian journalists, four Israeli and five Lebanese journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the VVJ. “In three and a half years of war in Ukraine, 18 journalists were killed. The enormous death toll in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes the VVJ and colleagues suspect that journalists are particularly targeted,” it said. And the violence is now also spreading to Lebanon.
The VVJ also criticizes the climate of insecurity and censorship. Israel has denied all journalists access to the area since the start of the invasion of Gaza. “TV channel Al Jazeera, for which many murdered journalists worked, is confronted with intimidation. The channel was recently ordered to leave its office in Ramallah,” says the VVJ. According to the association, they are only “daredevils who want to be the eyes and ears of the world in this conflict.”
Finally, the VVJ calls for a ceasefire and demands that Israel immediately respect press freedom.
