Pulitzer Center Update

Stephanie Strasburg Takes Over @PulitzerCenter Instagram with Project in South America

April 28, 2017 | General news, Project news
By
Jordan Roth
Osyanda Misidjan, 17, washes dishes on the banks of the Coermotibo River in her village of Adjuma Kondre, Suriname. Once surrounded by rainforest, the green palm trees and valley soccer field of the village are now surrounded by stony, bauxite-red plains left over from Alcoa's mining operations that ceased in 2015. Image by Stephanie Strasburg. Suriname, 2017.

Osyanda Misidjan, 17, washes dishes on the banks of the Coermotibo River in her village of Adjuma Kondre, Suriname. Once surrounded by rainforest, the green palm trees and valley soccer field of the village are now surrounded by stony, bauxite-red plains left over from Alcoa's mining operations that ceased in 2015. Image by Stephanie Strasburg. Suriname, 2017.

What happens when a multinational company that has been the bedrock of a small country's undiversified economy for years decides to leave? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporters Rich Lord and Len Boselovic, and photographer Stephanie Strasburg, spent a week in Suriname exploring the problems and issues created by Alcoa's decision to leave the South American nation of Suriname after 100 years. They found concern over whether the aluminum maker will live up to its obligations to clean up the environment, jungle clans that progress left behind, and an economy and country in turmoil. 

This week, Stephanie Strasburg takes over the @PulitzerCenter Instagram account to share her work from the project.