Daniel Berehulak, a photographer based in New Delhi, won a Pulitzer for feature photography last week for his coverage of Ebola. He worked for the New York Times as a freelancer for about four months. I really enjoyed the articles in the New York Times and The Guardian about his award because of what he says about why he did the work and why he stayed so long in the epicenter. He remained in Monrovia for 67 days without taking a break. Despite his own internal fears, he could not pull himself away from what was happening in the streets. Treatment centers were overflowing with people and the collection teams couldn't pick up the bodies fast enough. He was based in Monrovia and traveled out to other regions to document the lives of the health center staff, the burial teams, the survivors, the victims and even the father of the first person thought to have died of Ebola. The whole world was frightened of this disease, he said. He was also shocked that more media organizations didn't step up to send staff.
He told the Guardian that Ebola scares the hell out of him because it preys on our humanity and our caregivers. The people who came to the aid of the ill were the ones who got sick next. But he said it was the strength and resilience of the people he witnessed that kept him going. I love that the Times article closes with a discussion about resilience.
In addition to a photography award, the New York Times staff also won a Pulitzer for international reporting on Ebola. As I scrolled through some of the coverage, I remembered where I was when I first read these articles. Most were written last fall in the throes of the epidemic. Some were written earlier and some more recently.
I noticed one article in the list that I never saw back in October. The article is about a container of medical supplies worth $140,000 that had not been cleared by the Sierra Leonean government for two months. Health care workers were dying of Ebola and often working without protective gloves or gowns and these supplies were just sitting near the dock waiting to be unloaded while government officials bickered about protocol. It's a great investigative story about systems not working. It explains that supplies are available but were not sent to the right place at the right time because of corruption, confusion and lack of coordination. It reminded me of the chaos following Hurricane Katrina. Health care workers all over the country, including in Oregon, wanted to go to Louisiana to help, but in the first few hours and days, were told that their health licenses would not be valid across state lines. The bureaucratic red tape prevented people from going to help. I think stories like this one are immensely important in identifying issues and the systemic problems. I wonder if I didn't see it initially because the narratives about people dying were getting more attention from readers, including me.
He told the Guardian that Ebola scares the hell out of him because it preys on our humanity and our caregivers. The people who came to the aid of the ill were the ones who got sick next. But he said it was the strength and resilience of the people he witnessed that kept him going. I love that the Times article closes with a discussion about resilience.
In addition to a photography award, the New York Times staff also won a Pulitzer for international reporting on Ebola. As I scrolled through some of the coverage, I remembered where I was when I first read these articles. Most were written last fall in the throes of the epidemic. Some were written earlier and some more recently.
I noticed one article in the list that I never saw back in October. The article is about a container of medical supplies worth $140,000 that had not been cleared by the Sierra Leonean government for two months. Health care workers were dying of Ebola and often working without protective gloves or gowns and these supplies were just sitting near the dock waiting to be unloaded while government officials bickered about protocol. It's a great investigative story about systems not working. It explains that supplies are available but were not sent to the right place at the right time because of corruption, confusion and lack of coordination. It reminded me of the chaos following Hurricane Katrina. Health care workers all over the country, including in Oregon, wanted to go to Louisiana to help, but in the first few hours and days, were told that their health licenses would not be valid across state lines. The bureaucratic red tape prevented people from going to help. I think stories like this one are immensely important in identifying issues and the systemic problems. I wonder if I didn't see it initially because the narratives about people dying were getting more attention from readers, including me.
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