Three journalists have received Kurt Schork Awards for their coverage in crisis zones. The 2009 winners were announced at a ceremony in London on November 12, hosted by Thomson Reuters Foundation at the Thomson Reuters building at South Colonnade, Canary Wharf.
A joint award went to freelancers Manon Quérouil (France) and Nir Rosen (USA) while the local reporter award went to Maqbool Ahmed (Pakistan).
The media prizes specifically recognise freelance reporters working in the developing world and local journalists working in areas of crisis and transition. They are organised by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) in association with Thomson Reuters Foundation and are named after Kurt Schork who was killed while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone in 2001.
Manon Quérouil has worked widely abroad and has lived in both Iran and Afghanistan. Her latest work on rebels in Niger Delta was published in Paris Match and she is currently writing a book on the life of an Afghan policewoman for publication in 2010. Her award cited her reportage on Somali pirates for Le Figaro and on contract killing in Colombia, published in the magazine Marie Claire.
Nir Rosen is a New Yorker based in Beirut who moved to Iraq in 2003 to cover the early years of invasion. He has reported widely from conflict zones and has filmed for documentaries and been a consultant for humanitarian organisations. His articles "How we lost the war we won: a journey into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan" for Rolling Stone and "We run the road" and "The gathering storm" for the National Newspaper earned him the award.
Maqbool Ahmed's articles "Inside Swat", "Sold in haste" and "The long shadow of the North" - all for Pakistan's monthly current affairs magazine Herald - were cited for his award. He has worked for news agency Pakistan Press International, the English-language daily The News, and helped launch the Daily Times in 2001. He joined the Herald in 2006 where his report on the plight of people displaced from Balochistan was recognised by the Islamabad office of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
After the ceremony there was a panel discussion on Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond: covering conflict in hostile states. The panel was moderated by journalist and broadcaster Sheena McDonald and included Martin Dickson, Financial Times Deputy Editor; Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News; Bill MacLean, Reuters Security Correspondent; and award winner Nir Rosen.