Best international reporting in the print medium showing a concern for the human condition
YEAR: 2003
AWARD NAME: The Madeline Dane Ross Award 2003
RECIPIENT: George Packer
AFFILIATION: The New Yorker
HONORED WORK: “The Children of Freetown”
Packer’s investigation of the children of Freetown, which tracks Sierra Leonean amputees from the special rehabilitation facility set up for them in Staten Island, N.Y., back to Freetown, is a sensitive and evocative depiction of the dilemmas faced by all the parties involved in the effort. It brings out the complex motivations and misunderstanding of victims and would-be helpers alike against a background of horror, contrasting the assumptions of Americans with the realities of life in Sierra Leone.
Citation for Excellence:
Sheri Fink, MD
PublicAffairs
“War Hospital: A True Story of Surgery and Survival”