Monday, May 4th

AP wins feature photography Pulitzer for Kashmir coverage

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

A Kashmiri man walks on a snow covered footbridge as it snows in the interiors of Dal Lake in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Dec. 13, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

NEW YORK (AP) - The story of India's crackdown on Kashmir last August was difficult to show to the world. The unprecedented lockdown included a sweeping curfew and shutdowns of phone and internet service.

But Associated Press photographers Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand found ways to let outsiders see what was happening. Now, their work has been honored with the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in feature photography.

Snaking around roadblocks, sometimes taking cover in strangers' homes and hiding cameras in vegetable bags, the three photographers captured images of protests, police and paramilitary action and daily life - and then headed to an airport to persuade travelers to carry the photo files out with them and get them to the AP's office in New Delhi.

"It was always cat-and-mouse," Yasin recalled Monday. "These things made us more determined than ever to never be silenced."

Yasin and Khan are based in Srinagar, Kashmir's largest city, while Anand is based in the neighboring Jammu district.

Anand said the award left him speechless.

"I was shocked and could not believe it," he said, calling the prize-winning photos a continuation of the work he's been doing for 20 years with the AP.

"This honor continues AP's great tradition of award-winning photography," said AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt. "Thanks to the team inside Kashmir, the world was able to witness a dramatic escalation of the long struggle over the region's independence. Their work was important and superb."

Opposition Senator Ralph Fethiere fires his gun outside Parliament as he arrives for a ceremony to ratify Fritz William Michel's nomination as prime minister in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 23, 2019. Opposition members confronted ruling-party senators, and Fethiere pulled a pistol when protesters rushed at him and members of his entourage. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In a year when protests arose across the globe, AP photographers Dieu Nalio Chery and Rebecca Blackwell were Pulitzer finalists for the breaking news photography award for their coverage of violent clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators in Haiti.

Bullet fragments hit Chery in the jaw while he documented the unrest. He kept taking pictures, including images of the fragments that hit him.

"All five of these photographers made remarkable, stunning images despite dangerous and challenging conditions, sometimes at great personal risk," said AP Director of Photography David Ake. "Their dedication to getting up every morning and going out to tell the story is a testament to their tenacity. The result of their work is compelling photojournalism that grabbed the world's attention."

AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee called the Kashmir prize "a testament to the skill, bravery, ingenuity and teamwork of Dar, Mukhtar, Channi and their colleagues" and lauded Chery's and Blackwell's "brave and arresting work" in Haiti while many journalism outlets were focused elsewhere.

"At a time when AP's journalism is of more value than ever to the world, these journalists' courage and compelling storytelling show the absolute best of what we do," Buzbee said.

Kashmiri Muslim devotees offer prayer outside the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Dec. 9, 2019. Hundreds of devotees gathered at the shrine for the 11-day festival that marks the death anniversary of the Sufi saint. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

The honor for the photographers is the AP's 54th Pulitzer Prize. The news cooperative last won a Pulitzer last year for stories, photos and video on the conflict in Yemen and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

Conflict has flared for decades in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan area that is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both.

The tension hit a new turning point in August, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist-led government stripped Indian-controlled portions of Kashmir of their semi-autonomy.

India poured more troops into the already heavily militarized area, imposed a curfew and harsh curbs on civil rights, laced the area with razor-wire roadblocks, and cut off internet, cellphone, landline and cable TV service in the region.

A deserted street is seen through barbwire set up as a blockade during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 6, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

India said the moves were needed to forestall protests and attacks by rebels seeking independence or Pakistani control for the region. Thousands of people were arrested.

With communications shut down, AP journalists had to find out about protests and other news by finding them in person. Khan and Yasin took turns roving the streets in and around the regional capital of Srinagar, Yasin said, facing mistrust from both protesters and troops. The journalists were unable for days to go home or even let their families know they were OK.

"It was very hard," Khan said, but "we managed to file pictures."

After spotting luggage-toting people walking toward the airport, he said, the photographers decided to ask travelers to serve as couriers. Yasin also recalled how a relative of his, who was also a photojournalist, had told him about delivering film to New Delhi in person as the conflict in Kashmir raged in the 1990s.

So the AP photographers went to the Srinagar airport and sought out strangers willing to carry memory cards and flash drives to New Delhi and call AP after landing in the Indian capital.

Some flyers declined, fearing trouble with the authorities, Yasin said. But others said yes and followed through. Most of the memory cards and drives arrived.

Yasin says their prize-winning work has both professional and personal meaning to him.

"It's not the story of the people I am shooting, only, but it's my story," he said. "It's a great honor to be in the list of Pulitzer winners and to share my story with the world."

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard as Kashmiri Muslims offer Friday prayers on a street outside a local mosque during curfew like restrictions in Srinagar, India, Aug. 16, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Flames and smoke billow from a residential building where militants are suspected to have taken refuge during a gun battle in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Feb. 18, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri men shout freedom slogans during a protest against New Delhi's tightened grip on the disputed region, after Friday prayers on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 23, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri villagers grieve near the body of an 11-year-old boy, Aatif Mir, during his funeral procession in Hajin village, north of Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir, March 22, 2019. Indian security forces killed five militants and the 11-year-old hostage in three separate clashes in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A wounded woman is carried on a stretcher for treatment after she was injured in a bus accident, at a local hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, June 27, 2019. A minibus carrying students to a picnic fell into a gorge along a Himalayan road in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing more than 10 and injuring several others. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Kashmiri boy tries to take out a bullet from the wall of a damaged house after a gunbattle in Tral, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, May 24, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

An elderly Kashmiri man sits outside a closed market during a strike in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Feb. 17, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A churchgoer drops to the ground and prays in the street near burning tires lit by protesters, during a march called by religious leaders in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 22, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Family and friends transport the coffins containing the remains of protesters recently killed, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Nov. 19, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A protester who was hit in the leg by police fire is helped onto a motorcycle to be taken to the hospital, as police clash with demonstrators in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 30, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A moto-taxi driver takes two women past a burning barricade set up by people protesting fuel shortages in Petion-ville, Haiti, Sept. 15, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Protesters and passerby look at images on a wall of people said to have been injured or killed during the past month of protests calling for the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 15, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A man uses a hammer to remove pieces of a coffin to make it fit inside the grave during the burial of a person killed during a month of demonstrations aimed at ousting Haitian President Jovenel Moise, at a cemetery in central Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 16, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A street vendor hides during clashes between protesters and national police officers as the protestors demanded the resignation of President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 9, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

People take cover after presidential guards opened fire to disperse mourners after clashing with protesters attending a public funeral for two people killed in recent protests, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oct. 16, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Gang members stand guard and hold guns six months after a massacre in the La Saline slum of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 31, 2019. "Gangs are multiplying because the government is weak," said Paul Eronce Villard, Haiti's general prosecutor, who estimates there are more than 50 gangs now operating in the country. "It's a real challenge for police." The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A relative of Rigueur Pierre Richard, who was killed in a drive-by shooting two blocks from the national palace, is overcome with grief during a protest against fuel shortages and demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sept. 20, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

A masked Kashmiri protester jumps on the bonnet of an armored vehicle of Indian police as he throws stones at it during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, May 31, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Associated Press photographer Channi Anand celebrates with his family Tuesday, April 5, 2020, following the announcement that he was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo)

Associated Press photographer Channi Anand watches the announcement of the Pulitzer Prizes via video conferencing from his home in Jammu, India, Tuesday, April 5, 2020. Anand was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo)

Associated Press photographer Mukhtar Khan celebrates with his family at his home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 5, 2020, following the announcement that he was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Afnan Arif)

Associated Press photographer Dar Yasin celebrates with his family at his home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 5, 2020, following the announcement that he was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Rifat Yasin)

Associated Press photographer Mukhtar Khan hugs his children Mohammad Zehran, left, and Tazkiya, right, at his home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 5, 2020, following the announcement that he was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Afnan Arif)

Associated Press photographer Dar Yasin, second from right, celebrates with his family at his home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 5, 2020, following the announcement that he was one of three AP photographers who won the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography for their coverage of the conflict in Kashmir and in Jammu, India. (AP Photo/Rifat Yasin)

Kashmiri Muslim children attend recitation classes of the holy Quran on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, May 7, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier keeps vigil near the India Pakistan border at Garkhal in Akhnoor, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Jammu, India, Aug. 13, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Women shout slogans as Indian policemen fire teargas and live ammunition in the air to stop a protest march in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 9, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri men dismantle a portion of a house destroyed in a gunbattle in Tral village, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, March 4, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Masked Kashmiris shout slogans during a protest after Friday prayers on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Oct. 4, 2019. The image was part of a series of photographs by Associated Press photographers which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)