Award for photo of Özgür Özel at Ferdi Zeyrek's grave: 'It was the hardest moment of my life'

Attending the award ceremony, Özel drew attention to the importance of photojournalists and press workers in his speech.

Emphasizing that the press plays a crucial role in politicians reaching the public, Özel stated the following:

"Ultimately, we are politicians, and regardless of what we do, photojournalists and all press workers are very valuable to us in terms of how it is conveyed.

Regardless of the institution they work for, the profession they perform contributes to all of us meeting with the public, explaining our troubles, and expressing ourselves.

I spoke with Rıza Bey; I think I only missed last year. Other than that, I have attended all the ceremonies as a member of parliament, as a group deputy chairman, and as the Chairman.

One of the awards I presented today is for a photo taken by my brother Orkun. It came in first place, and it is a photo of me. As a photo taken at the hardest moment of my life, I wish Orkun had never taken that photo, I wish I had not been the subject of that photo, I wish that farewell had never happened. But he immortalized such a moment that it has become a frame that will never leave my mind for the rest of my life."

"SOMETHING LIKE LIFE..."

"Being both the subject of an award and experiencing the greatest pain at the same time in a place where I present awards every year is probably something like life itself.

That is exactly what photography is. After such a good presentation, such a good organization, and such successful works, it fell to me to say something.

I would like to congratulate all the award winners, along with everyone who showed the courage to submit their work to participate in this competition. 41 times mashallah. I hope that from now on, these prestigious awards will be immortalized for better news, not with disasters or deaths—though they are all part of the job—but always with beautiful awards and beautiful moments. I congratulate you all and thank you once again. Thank you, long live."

News Source: 12punto