CaptionThe mother of a Mexican immigrant family makes piñatas to support herself and her children. The family numbers among the millions of 'uncounted' Americans, people who for one reason or another have been missed by the national census and so don't exist in population records. Census records determine where new schools, hospitals, firehouses and basic social services are needed. Areas like Las Colonias, where this family lives, thus lack many amenities and have high illiteracy rates.
Organization / PublicationLookat Photos for Artsen Zonder Grenzen
CategoryChildren's Award
PrizeIndividual awards
Date00-11-2000
CountryAfghanistan
CaptionA young landmine victim leaps a stream near Bala Morghab. The country, locked in a civil war between ruling Taliban and opposition forces, is stricken by drought. The youth became a soldier for the Taliban and had lost his leg three months previously after stepping on a landmine. Of no further use as a combatant, he was then sent home.
CaptionA suitcase bomb exploded in a pedestrian underpass near Pushkin Square, a year after a wave of bombings had rocked the city killing hundreds. It was rush hour and hundreds of commuters and shoppers were using the underpass, which connected with the metro. Panic broke out as smoke filled the passageway. Local authorities initially put the blame for the attack on Chechen separatists, but no evidence was produced and no arrests were made. The final death toll was twelve, with many more people injured.
CaptionCuban Elian Gonzalez (6) is seized by US federal agents during a dawn raid on his relatives' home in Little Havana. Elian was found off the coast of Florida in November 1999, after the boat carrying him from Cuba sank, killing his mother and ten others. The US Immigration and Naturalization Service ruled that he should return to his father in Cuba, but a Florida family court granted Elian's great uncle temporary custody and a legal battle followed. The dispute sparked mass demonstrations and propaganda campaigns both in Cuba and among anti-Castro Cuban Americans. Elian's father came to the US in early April, and federal agents took custody of the boy two weeks later. Further lawsuits prevented them from returning to Cuba until the end of June.
CaptionAn Israeli soldier gesticulates in argument with a Palestinian policeman during an anti-settlement protest near the Kfar Yam Jewish settlement. A settler points his gun at a second Palestinian police officer. The stand-off was triggered when around 50 settlers erected a tent on a beach near Kfar Yam. Israeli troops fired rubber-coated bullets at protestors, but no injuries were reported.
CaptionChechen rebels drag a fellow fighter into Alkhan-Kala. After several months of fighting the Russians, Chechen separatists withdrew from Grozny in February. The fighters used a 'safe corridor' to the west, towards the village of Alkhan-Kala. Russian soldiers did not open fire, but the corridor turned out to be mined. Several hundred were killed or lost limbs. Casualties included a number of the rebel commanders. Alkhan-Kala became overcrowded, and days after the fighters arrived, the Russians attacked the village.
CaptionNasrin Sultana Dulali worked as a nurse in a private clinic. She refused the advances of ward assistant Haider, who was later sacked for misconduct. After work one evening, Dulali had acid thrown at her. People alerted by Dulali's screams said they caught Haider red-handed. They tied him to a lamppost, beat him and handed him over to police. Haider was apparently burnt by his own acid when throwing it. He confessed to the photographer, but later denied involvement to the police. Dulali had to wait for two hours before being taken to hospital, where she died 32 hours later.
CaptionPalestinian youths take cover behind sheets of corrugated iron during clashes with Israeli troops. The confrontation took place in the area that separates the Palestinian city of Khan Yunes from the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif. Conflict between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces had so far left over 140 dead and 4,000 wounded. All but eight of the fatalities had been Palestinian.
CaptionChinese police break up a Falun Gong demonstration on Tiananmen Square on China's National Day. The Falun Gong movement first attracted international attention in April 1999, when 10,000 silent protestors surrounded the Chinese government compound in Beijing. The group says it is a peaceful spiritual sect with no political motives. But three months after the initial April protest, the government banned the practice of Falun Gong and launched a crackdown on the sect, maintaining it was trying to undermine the state.
CaptionPalestinians attempt to escape Israeli tear gas during clashes. A month earlier, Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon had visited Jerusalem holy sites, including Temple Mount, venerated by both Jews and Muslims. The visit sparked off a spiral of violence in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian casualties included large numbers of young men and boys. Palestinians accused Israelis of deliberately targeting children, while Israel countered that children were being sent to the front line to get international sympathy.
CaptionAn Israeli border policeman argues with a Palestinian in the Old City of Jerusalem. The man had been refused entry to the al-Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers during Ramadan. Israeli security forces prevented Palestinian men under the age of 45 from attending prayers following unrest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
CaptionHundreds of members of a religious cult died in an explosion in a church. The cult had predicted the end of the world for midnight on December 31, 1999. Members were told to sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the movement. On March 17 a bell summoned them to the church. Half an hour later an explosion was heard and a fire broke out, killing everyone in the building. Ugandan authorities issued arrest warrants for the cult leaders on charges of murder. Evidence of further mass deaths was found at other sites around the country. Officials found it difficult to assess the total number of victims, the final toll was given as between 500 and 1,000.
CaptionJanuary-February. Russian troops round up suspected rebels. The Russian campaign against the breakaway republic had been renewed in the autumn of 1999, and early in the new year the capital Grozny was taken. The Russians began clean-up operations known as 'zachistka'. Suspects, especially men without documents or with marks of fighting on their bodies, were arrested and taken to 'filtration camps' outside the towns. Here it was decided whether or not they belonged to rebel forces.
Organization / PublicationThe Associated Press for Sunday Times
CategoryGeneral News stories
Prize2nd prize
Date22-02-2000
CountryMozambique
CaptionA man helps his wife across a river near ai-ai, north of the capital Maputo, past a bus that was swept away when a bridge collapsed. In January a cyclone hit Mozambique, causing water levels to rise six meters in 24 hours. Continuing rains led to a flood that was the worst to hit the area in thirty years. A quarter of arable land was lost, and damage was estimated at US $100 million. Hundreds of people who had taken refuge on a high bridge near ai-ai, north of the capital Maputo, were stranded when waters rose overnight.
CaptionMarch - April. Russian artillery opens night fire on rebel positions in the mountains. By March the Russians were established in Chechnya, though groups of rebel fighters had consolidated position, mainly in mountain districts.
CaptionDemonstrators arrive by bus to protest in front of the parliament. In October, a revolution in Serbia toppled President Slobodan Milosevic. The opposition had claimed victory in the September elections, but a Federal Election Commission called for a second ballot, claiming neither side had an outright majority. A general strike and mass protests followed. On October 4, Yugoslavia's constitutional court annulled the election; by dawn on October 5 people were converging on Belgrade. By 16h00 protestors had captured the parliament building, and at 18h30 opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica addressed a rally of some half a million people and declared himself president.
CaptionA young boy hangs on the back of a truck during a funeral procession for Zyad Khalil Abu Jazr (22), who had been killed the day before during clashes with the Israeli army.
Organization / PublicationMagnum Photos for The Independent on Sunday
CategoryPeople in the News
Prize2nd prize
Date00-05-2000
CountryBosnia-Herzegovina
CaptionClothes from an exhumed grave are laid out in a village. Later, the garments would be shown to friends and family for clues as to the identity of the owner, a victim of ethnic cleansing. Eighteen people from this village were killed during a Serb raid in 1992. The Bosnian commission for missing persons is carrying out many such investigations to identify remains, but there are still thousands missing following the years of conflict.
CaptionRussian soldiers sunbathe on a rooftop while a sniper stands guard. Street fighting during the final stages of the capture of the city from Chechen rebels had taken its toll, but by the spring Russian troops had established themselves. Although the Chechen capital was razed and most citizens had fled, the rebels consolidated in the surrounding hills and still posed a threat.
CaptionA woman waits for food on the main road. The floods that ravaged the country at the beginning of the year had practically destroyed the town. At one time the main road was the only dry point, but by now the waters had begun to subside. Although South African army helicopters had helped with rescue operations and delivering medical supplies in February, it wasn't until March that further international aid arrived.
CaptionAn immigrant observes Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar. An estimated 500,000 people entered the European Union illegally in 2000. The short passage from Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar to the Spanish coast was a frequently used route. Small, overladen open boats often sunk during the crossing; hundreds of people drowned in this way. Immigrants who relied on illicit traffickers had to pay up to US $3,000 to be smuggled in to Spain, often crowded into the backs of trucks. Spain tightened its immigration laws during the year. The authorities revealed that in two years they had arrested 70,000 illegal foreigners, but some estimates are that three quarters of the people who reach Spain are not detained.
CaptionThe civil war between government and rebel forces in Sierra Leone continues to disrupt the country's economy, and has led to internal displacement of the population. As rebels looted and burned down country villages, many people fled to the capital Freetown.
Organization / PublicationNetwork Photographers for The New York Times Magazine
CategoryPeople in the News stories
Prize3rd prize
Date00-11-2000
CountryUganda
CaptionAn outbreak of the Ebola virus: Ambulance workers have to wear protective clothing and dare not touch victims. Their job is to transport the sick and bury the dead. The virus causes massive hemorrhaging, and is highly infectious. There is no cure, and it kills around half the people infected.
CaptionAmy Martin (8) suffers from Crigler-Najjar Syndrome, a rare inherited disease in which the liver lacks a key enzyme. The effects are toxic and often fatal. Phototherapy, especially with light in the blue spectrum, has proved effective in managing the disorder. Amy has to spend eight to 14 hours a day under special lamps, usually as she sleeps. She is soon to be given a newly developed gene therapy.
CaptionThe Shola family stands outside their temporary home in the Konik refugee camp, near Podgorica. Together with most other Roma, the family were forced out of Kosovo in mid 1999, when ethnic Albanians were returning. The Kosovo Roma had been accused of siding with the Serbs. The wave of anti-gypsy violence in Kosovo was the most severe since the holocaust of the Second World War, and thousands were displaced. By March there were around 8,000 Roma estimated to be living in Montenegro. Western European countries generally gave them only temporary protection rather than full refugee status.
CaptionRoma beachcombers at the Black Sea. Just before sunset, when the beach empties of bathers, Roma families arrive to pick up what they can for recycling.
CaptionOne of the most influential men in the village with his wife and their family photo. High on the Bjelasnica mountain, at the edge of a ravine, the hamlet has been untouched by any of the wars of the 20th century. There is no electricity or running water, and the 16 inhabitants live on what they can produce. The village is often under heavy snow and is isolated for much of the year. Most of the young people have left. Nearly everyone is over 60.
CaptionForgotten refugees from Chechnya. Following the Russian bombardment of Chechnya, many people fled to neighboring Ingushetia. The eighty old or mentally ill residents of Katayama House in Grozny were left behind. Journalists and Chechen separatists made two buses available for their escape, but the buses were fired on and three people died. Once in Ingushetia the refugees were housed in an asylum for mentally ill children. Some were chained to the walls, and those who were Russian were sent to Russia. Many of the others have now returned to Grozny.
CaptionAmerican athlete Marion Jones wins the 100m dash at the Sydney Olympics. The world's fastest woman completed the race in 10.75 seconds with a victory margin of 0.37 seconds, the second largest in Olympic history. Jones had said that she would win five gold medals at the Sydney Games. She didn't reach her goal, but with three golds and two bronzes she did better than any female track athlete ever at a single Olympics.
CaptionA young fan gets an up-close look at a Cleveland Lumberjacks ice-hockey player in the opening stages of a playoff game. The minor league team originated in the lumberjacking town of Muskegon, Michigan, but kept their nickname when they relocated to Cleveland in 1992.
Organization / PublicationHollandse Hoogte for Nieuwe Revu
CategorySports
Prize3rd prize
Date13-07-2000
CountryFrance
CaptionLance Armstrong glances back at fellow rider Marco Pantani at the summit of Mont Ventoux, during the Tour de France cycle race. Mont Ventoux rises 1,619m in 21km, and is known as one of the most grueling parts of the Tour. Later it was suggested that Armstrong had allowed the Italian, who fans hail as the strongest climber in the world, to win this stage of the contest. Armstrong went on to become the overall winner.
Organization / PublicationHollandse Hoogte for Trouw
CategorySports stories
Prize1st prize
Date00-11-2000
CountryBurkina Faso
CaptionWith no reserve bicycle, Ibrahim Alzouma (Nigeria) has to walk after getting a puncture. The Tour du Faso is one of Africa's most important cycle races. The race is second in popularity only to soccer in Burkina Faso. The route runs from a small village in southwest Burkina Faso for over 1300 km through countryside that basks in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius. This year 66 cyclists from Africa and Europe took part.
Organization / PublicationCorbis Saba for Independent Magazine
CategorySports stories
Prize2nd prize
Date00-05-2000
CountrySierra Leone
PlaceFreetown
CaptionAn athlete runs up the terraces of the national stadium. Athletes of the Sierra Leone Olympic squad work to qualify for the Sydney Games. Sierra Leone first attended the Olympics in 1968, but is yet to win any medals. Many of the hopefuls trained and slept in the national stadium in Freetown, with only one cold-water tap and no electricity.
CaptionAn instructor lectures a group of 10-year-old gymnasts. The state-sponsored Shichahai sports school in Beijing selects and coaches young athletes to become future Olympians. Training is rigorous. Medical screening and X-rays keep track of the children's physical development, and discipline is taught at an early age. The gymnastics regime is one of the most demanding. Days begin at 7.00 am and end at 9.30 pm, with academic work in the morning and gymnastics in the afternoons.
CaptionActors from the Italian television series La Piovra (The Octopus) take a break after a Mafia assassination scene. La Piovra attracts millions of viewers across the country. Its focus on the relationship between organized crime and politics has in the past brought fiction close to reality, with some episodes uncannily foreshadowing the future. Both Church and Government have previously expressed displeasure with the series.
CaptionA girl prepares to have her portrait taken in celebration of her 15th birthday. 'La fiesta del quince' traditionally marks a girl's initiation into womanhood. Her family will go to great lengths to ensure that she has a glamorous and memorable day.
CaptionA video installation at the Wener Center for the Arts. The installation, 'Clock' by Iñigo Manglo-Ovalle, took the form of a countdown clock running from January 1 2000 to the start of the millennium in 2001. Human portraits were substituted for digits on 16 monitors, representing year, month, day, hour, minute, second and fractions of a second.
CaptionEvery Saturday night, 'swankas' gather at Jeppe Hostel in downtown Johannesburg. They compete in a style contest for a prize that is a portion of pooled entrance fees. Smart suits, hats, and handkerchiefs in breast pockets are very much part of the image. Competitors are also judged on the moves and turns of their performance. A snappy American style was popular among black South Africans when the competitions began in the 1950s, and still characterizes swanka culture. Although they are poorly paid workers, swankas may invest in a number of expensive suits and shoes. Accessories, such as lapel brooches and tie-pins, are important, as are things that match: tie, socks and handkerchief. After the show, swankas don dustcoats and leave for the next venue.
CaptionDuring the annual restoration festival, women converge on the mosque carrying water. The great mosque of Djenné is considered a masterpiece of traditional adobe architecture. Djenné itself is one of the oldest towns in Africa, and has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1988. The re-plastering of the mosque is an annual event. Each year during the rainy season the thin outer layer is washed away, and has to be replaced to protect the building from deterioration.
CaptionOn the Staten Island Ferry. The photographers spent three weeks crossing the US as 'Elvis & Presley'. Along the way they photographed each other, with Presley (Vanfleteren) pictured in black-and-white and Elvis (Huber) in color.
Organization / PublicationBlack Star for Verdens Gang
CategoryScience & Technology
Prize1st prize
Date00-03-2000
CountrySierra Leone
PlaceFreetown
CaptionA man and a child embrace in Murray Camp. The camp is supported by Médecins Sans Frontières and functions specifically to help amputees. Thousands of civilians have had their limbs cut off by rebel fighters in the course of Sierra Leone's civil war. The camp helps teach victims how to fit artificial limbs and how to be as independent as possible.
CaptionTrainee cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov gets ready to climb into his space suit at Star City cosmonaut training center, just outside Moscow. The undersuit he is wearing has a complex network of water pipes sewn into it that will help regulate his body temperature when he is in space.
CaptionScientist Jürgen Bachl observes a genetically manipulated mouse. The four-day-old rodent glows green under specially filtered light. Researchers had injected a green-florescent-protein gene (GFP) from a deep-sea jellyfish into fertilized mouse egg-cells. The GFP spreads through all cells and tissue of the embryo. Scientists hope to use this discovery to further research into cell differentiation and tumor growth.
CaptionIntense ultra-violet light at high altitudes in Nepal causes cloudy cataracts and eventual blindness. Over 70 per cent of blind people in Nepal suffer from cataracts but the condition is easily treatable. Eye Camps have been set up in remote parts of the country to alleviate the problem, and in the capital Kathmandu an eye bank co-ordinates cornea donation.
Organization / Publicationfor The Independent Magazine
CategoryScience & Technology stories
Prize2nd prize
Date06-06-2000
CountryUnited Kingdom
PlaceCheshire
CaptionRadio telescopes are some of the most sensitive scientific instruments known to man, yet they are also among the largest. The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Obsevatory in northern England is the oldest such telescope in the world, and the place where radio astronomy was invented. Some 3,500 tons of steel support a dish 76m in diameter, making an instrument that is more powerful than the famous Hubble telescope. Without the annual application of 5,200 liters of weatherproof paint, the telescope on the exposed Cheshire Plain would rust away. Scaffolding cannot be used, as the telescope remains operative at night after daytime maintenance work. Instead, specially trained painters use ropes and harnesses to do the job.
Organization / PublicationFranck Goddio / Hilti Foundation / Discovery Channel
CategoryScience & Technology stories
Prize3rd prize
Date00-05-1999
CountryEgypt
PlaceAbu Qîr Bay
CaptionOver 2,000 years ago the port of Herakleion, at the mouth of the River Nile, was the maritime gateway to Egypt. Now the city lies beneath the waters of the Bay of Abukir of the Egyptian north coast. It is not yet known whether what caused Herakleion to sink was a cataclysmic or a gradual subsidence. The lost city was uncovered by Frank Goddio, founder of the European Institute of Underwater Archeology.
CaptionA traditional whaler harpoons a sperm whale in waters off the village. The men hunt using wooden boats and hand-held harpoons. They put their entire weight behind the harpoon, jumping on to the whale's back to spear it. This does not kill the whale. Instead, a number of boats harpoon the animal, and it swims around dragging the boats behind it until it is tired out. Then the men pull it alongside and kill it with knives. Whaling is not only a means of subsistence, but is part of the local belief and ceremonial system. The villagers are exempt from the international ban on whaling under clause that allows similar aboriginal communities to follow traditional practices.
