Get Guy back to work and help Gaza's journalists

My name is Sylvia Mann, and I am from London. I want to raise funds for my friend Guy Smallman, an accredited London-based photojournalist who has specialised in covering social and political issues for over 25 years. He is well known for his work with trade unions, campaigning organisations, and social movements, as well as his coverage of conflicts in countries like Lebanon and Afghanistan.

On Tuesday June 25th 2024, Guy was covering a peaceful, theatrical protest in the north of England when he was arrested (despite showing his press card) and had all his work equipment confiscated. The police have refused to return his belongings and look set to retain them until at least mid-September, effectively preventing him from working until then. The items they hold have a collective value of over £14,000, much of which has been recently purchased.

However, if we can raise £4,500, Guy will be able to purchase some basic second hand camera equipment and combine it with some borrowed kit to return to work immediately.

When the police return his property, the temporary equipment will be donated to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS), which represents and trains journalists in Gaza and the West Bank. This will be done via the International Federation of Journalists, which is already funding solidarity centres for journalists in Gaza.

Guy said: “I’m extremely grateful to friends and colleagues for organising this temporary solution to my dilemma, which will also benefit colleagues abroad in the long term. I intend to be thrifty and resourceful in replacing my regular kit. Any money raised over and above what I spend on my interim equipment will be donated to the PJS, which assists colleagues in the most extreme circumstances imaginable and is starved of resources. Then, when my property is returned, I will send my temporary equipment directly to the PGS via my trade union”.

Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, said: “Journalists in Gaza are facing the most extreme conditions imaginable. A gesture like this could make all the difference to a Gazan journalist trying to get back to work to document the unfolding catastrophe.”

The National Union of Journalists

Palestinian Journalists Syndicate

International Federation of Journalists