Associated Press images of migrants' struggle are recognized with a Pulitzer Prize
Well before the year began, Associated Press journalists knew that surging migration through the Americas was a major story
NEW YORK (AP) — The images, captured by Associated Press photographers throughout 2023 and recognized Monday with a Pulitzer Prize, spotlight the humanity of an unprecedented global migration story often overlooked in a storm of statistics and political rhetoric.
In the middle of the Central American jungle, a woman fleeing upheaval in her native Haiti struggles to cross a river while holding a girl on her shoulders. After weeks of desperation, migrants pass a toddler under a tangle of concertina wire strung across the edge of U.S. soil.
Well before the year began, AP’s journalists knew that surging migration through the Americas was a major story. But to tell it fully, they focused on showing that "migration is more than numbers. It has to do with people, with the stories behind the reasons for them to leave their countries,” said Eduardo Castillo, AP’s news director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
On Monday, eight AP staff and freelance photographers – six from Latin America and two from the U.S. – were awarded this year’s Pulitzer for feature photography for images documenting the anxiety, heartbreak and even the brief moments of joy that mark the migrants' journey.
