The XX edition of Tiziano Terzani International Literary Award was assigned to the Irish journalist Sally Hayden for his investigative book “And the fourth time we drowned” (Bollati Boringhieri).
The reportage, which tells the dramatic conditions of migrants in Libyan concentration campswon over the jury for his “rigorous and powerful human testimony”.
An uncomfortable but necessary report
“Sally Hayden – stated the president of the jury Angela Terzani Staude – 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”.
Hayden’s book points the finger at the hypocrisies of the European Union and the role of international bodies, accused of being complicit in governments’ anti-immigration strategies.
“I am extremely honored – said Sally Hayden – to be the winner of the 2024 Terzani Prize. My reportage aimed to bring to light the abuses that are carried out in our name and make the voices of the vulnerable people who suffer in those places heard. 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.”
Special mention to Ai Weiwei
On the twentieth anniversary of the award, the jury also decided to award a Special Mention toChinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei for the memoir “A thousand years of joys and sorrows” (Feltrinelli). A book which, as Angela Terzani Staude underlined, “is a heartfelt, programmatic and obstinate appeal to protect at all costs, even in the “democratic” West, where worrying signs of censorship towards free thought are beginning to appear, the right to the freedom of artistic expression and any other type of expression”.
Awards ceremony in Udine on Saturday 11 May
Sally Hayden will receive the Terzani Award on Saturday 11 May in Udine during the evening event of the Vicino/Lontano festival, scheduled from 7 to 12 May.
Angela Terzani: understanding the tragedies of our time
“Titian – underlined Angela Terzani Staude – always said that we must insist in 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 »
