SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Awards Program Announces Year 2001 Winners Pre-09/11 Afghanistan is Topic of Top Journalists

The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) announced today that broadcast journalists Saira Shah, Cassian Harrison and James Miller have been awarded the 2001 SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Award grand prize for their documentary, "Beneath the Veil."

The documentary included special footage provided by The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). "This courageous and daring documentary brings the terror of the lives of Afghan women right into our living rooms," said SAIS-Novartis Program Administrator Lynne Joiner. The grand prize winners, including a representative of RAWA, will be awarded a $15,000 cash prize. "Beneath the Veil" was first aired by Channel Four (U.K.) and by CNN Presents (U.S.).

The top three winners of the prestigious SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Awards all tried to sound the alarm about Afghanistan and the plight of its desperate people even before 09/11's terrorist attacks finally got the world's attention.

The second prize was awarded to David Finkel of The Washington Post (U.S.) for his series of reports, "Invisible Journeys: The Experience of Global Migration," that puts a human face on the global migration issue. "The series is brilliantly written with a wonderful narrative that makes the big picture plausible with its details," said SAIS Novartis juror Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of Die Zeit magazine. Finkel begins in Afghanistan and then travels alongside and in the footsteps of migrants to document the daily conditions of their lives, to detail the mechanics of illegal border crossings, to reveal the power of smugglers over their desperate charges, and to highlight the physical and emotional toll taken on the migrants who risk their lives to reach a better life.

The third prize is being given to Australian reporter Paul McGeough of The Sydney Morning Herald for his riveting series, "Afghanistan: Journey of Desperation." "These close-up, first-hand reports of people in despair are gripping and vivid," according to Dai Hua of Shanghai Television, one of the SAIS-Novartis Program jurors. The impetus for this four-part series of gritty reports was Australia's decision to ignore Afghanistan's refugee crisis and to make it as difficult as possible for refugees to land on Australian shores. McGeough's reports vividly profile the appalling life of the Afghan people, the outrageous degradation of women, the atrocities of war and politics, as well as the desperate and heart-breaking stories of families who resort to offering family members as hostages to guarantee the exorbitant price of escape of a relative will be paid to the "people smugglers." His last report was published the day before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

Seven other journalists from the field of 170 entries from 32 countries will also be honored on during an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on 04/11. The journalists include (in alphabetical order):

Rod Nordland and Jeffrey Bartholet, Newsweek (U.S.): "The Darkest Corner of the Internet"

Katarina Rejger and Eric van den Broek, Selfmade Films (The Netherlands): "The Making of the Revolution"

Tina Rosenberg, New York Times Magazine (U.S.): "Look at Brazil"

Sorius Samura, Insight News (U.K.) and CNN Presents (U.S.): "Exodus From Africa"

Sevda Shishmanova, Bulgarian National TV: "Unfinished War: Macedonia's Unresolved 'Albanian Issue'"

Craig Smith, The New York Times (U.S.): "China's New Wave Executions: Harvesting Prisoners' Organs for Transplants to the World's Wealthy

George Wehrfritz, Newsweek International (U.S.): "Death By Conformity: Suicide and Japan's Mental Health Crisis

All winners are being invited to attend the Year 2001 awards events being held 04/11 and 12 in Washington, D.C. The events will include video screenings and a "Reporters' Roundtable" open to the public, as well as an invitation-only awards dinner at the National Press Club.

In 1995, SAIS and Novartis created the SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Awards program to recognize outstanding achievement in the coverage of international affairs. The corporation plays no role in the judging process.