Issue

Conflict and Peace Building

Nearly 30 years after the Rwandan genocide, thousands of maimed amputees remind us of the war that took 500,000 lives in 100 days. War leaves marks that cannot be erased—not only in Rwanda, but on every continent.

Reporting from Conflict and Peacebuilding examines the roots of conflict, whether it be religious hatred, sectarian rivalry, a security vacuum, the struggle for natural resources, or the desperation that results from poverty.

Pulitzer Center journalists also cover war’s aftermath: the transitional governments that result in chaos, diplomacy that goes awry, peace talks that never end, and the people who suffer the consequences, young and old. We see the children who go hungry, lose their homes, leave school, become combatants, or join the jihad.

Often the end to conflict leaves turmoil in its wake while the road to peace seems circuitous: In South Sudan, rebel-commanders-turned politicians plunge the country into civil war. In the U.S., troops return home from one war only to be re-deployed to another. But everywhere, in every conflict, there are also voices crying out for peace, determined to heal the divide.

 

Conflict and Peace Building

Jason Motlagh interviewed by Kent State online newspaper

Jason Motlagh has only been out of college for six years, but he has already made a successful career for himself as a freelance journalist.

After graduating from college in 2004, he got a job as a fisherman on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska.

“I was looking forward to doing something more concrete after being in college and doing a lot of abstract stuff,” Motlagh said.

In Focus Question

Pulitzer Center Staff

This week, the Pulitzer Center is presenting five panels entitled "Afghanistan: The Human Factor" that will focus on the ramifications of human casualties in Afghanistan.

To coincide, the Pulitzer Center will spotlight important news and issues in the series In Focus: Afganistan. We would like to hear your feedback on these issues as much as possible.

For the following question, please respond in the comments section below. We will feature select comments in a post on this site.

Afghanistan: The Human Factor, 2/22-2/25

Moderated by Jon Sawyer, Executive Director, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Panelists:

Vanessa Gezari's forthcoming book assesses the US military's Human Terrain program, which embeds social scientists and anthropologists with troops in Afghanistan. Her reporting has been featured on NPR and in The Washington Post Magazine.

Afghanistan: Virtual Tour

The Pulitzer Center is presenting five panel discussions February 22-26, featuring Pulitzer Center journalists who have reported from Afghanistan. Entitled "Afghanistan: The Human Factor," the panels will be held at George Washington University, Columbia, Yale, Harvard and Wellesley.

The video presents a virtual tour through Afghanistan, taking you to the areas from which the journalists reported.

Nir Rosen responds to critics

Nathalie Applewhite, Pulitzer Center

In his Boston Review article, "Something from Nothing: U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan," Pulitzer Center journalist Nir Rosen argues that counterinsurgency doesn't make sense. It asks soldiers, concerned primarily with survival, to be Wyatt Earp and Mother Theresa.