The 2024 edition of the Tiziano Terzani International Literary Prize, a recognition established twenty years ago, goes to the Irish journalist Sally Hayden for the investigative book “It’s the fourth time we drowned”, published in Italy by Bollati Boringhieri (translation by Bianca Bertola). by the Vicino/Lontano cultural association of Udine together with the Terzani family, in the name of the Florentine journalist and writer.
This was announced by the president of the Jury Angela Terzani Staude, wife of Tiziano Terzani.
«Sally Hayden – he stated, making the motivation known – has given us a rigorous reportage, and at the same time of very powerful human truth, which presents us with the detailed picture of what is happening beyond the Mediterranean in the concentration camps of the Third Millennium, forcing us to question ourselves about a humanitarian scandal which sees us responsible as European citizens and Italians and which from now on none of us will be able to pretend to ignore without feeling guilty of indifference.”
His book points the finger – writes the jury – at the hypocrisies of the international bodies that the European Union has set up, officially to protect the victims, but in fact to support the governments’ anti-immigration strategies, so that all of us, born by pure chance in the world of freedoms, we can turn the other way.
«I am extremely honored – declared Sally Hayden – to be the winner of this year’s Terzani Prize. My reporting, over the years I worked on the book, focused on highlighting the abuses that are carried out in our name and on raising the voices of the vulnerable people who suffer in those places.
It has shown that we are involved in crimes against humanity, and I hope that this Award will bring more people in Italy to know about this tragic reality.
I dedicate this award to all those who risked their lives to send information from Libya and North Africa.” On the twentieth anniversary of the Award, the Jury decided to award a Special Mention to the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei for the memoir A Thousand Years of Joys and Sorrows, published in Italy by Feltrinelli (translated from English by Katia Bagnoli), a heartfelt, programmatic and obstinate appeal – we read in the motivation – to protect at all costs, even in the “democratic” West, where worrying signs of censorship against free thought are beginning to appear, the right to freedom of artistic expression and of any other kind of expression.
«Titian – underlined Angela Terzani Staude – always said that we must insist on demanding everyone’s right to information and free expression of thought, otherwise democracy dies. Twenty years after his death, the jury wanted to honor this fear, which is unfortunately very current, by choosing to award two books that help us better understand the collective tragedies of our time, which disturb our thoughts and disturb our vision of the future ».
Recognizing the great value of all the nominated works, Angela Terzani also wanted to remember the other three volumes included in the five finalists for 2023: Benjamín Labatut for Maniac (Adelphi), Leila Mottley for Passeggiare la notte (Bollati Boringhieri) and Damir Ovčina for Preghiera in the siege (Keller). Sally Hayden will receive the Terzani Prize on Saturday 11 May in Udine (9pm, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine). She will be the protagonist of the evening-event which has always been the central moment of the near / far festival, this year scheduled from 7 to 12 May in its 20th edition.
The Jury that awarded the 2024 Terzani Prize is composed of Enza Campino, Toni Capuozzo, Marco Del Corona, Andrea Filippi, Milena Gabanelli, Nicola Gasbarro, Carla Nicolini, Marco Pacini, Paolo Pecile, Remo Politeo, Marino Sinibaldi, Mario Soldaini.
Tags: investigative book Irish journalist Sally Hayden wins Terzani prize
