Marcus Bleasdale - The Unravelling: Central African Republic
Together with Human Rights Watch Marcus uses his work to influence policy makers around the world. His work on human rights and conflict has been shown at the US Senate, The House of Representatives, The UN and the Houses of Parliament in the UK.
As the world media was focusing on more high profile conflicts, the Central African Republic became deadly and hateful, where thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands fled the country, but the international media largely ignored it. Marcus reported next to the violence on a daily basis for many months in between October 2013 and February 2015.
The environment was highly charged with killing on a daily basis, throughout the country, this was a hatred not seen on this continent since Rwanda in 1994. Neighbors killed neighbors regularly burned them on fires built with tires and other body parts. As people were being killed the next round of reprisal attacks would start immediately.
It is vital that this conflict is not forgotten and there is a record of the abuses, which is why it is such an honor to receive this award to create that document, which will hopefully be a formal and comprehensive document on this conflict.
This was the most brutal and hate filled conflict I have covered in over 15 years of reporting and it will rest in my memory for many more years to come.
A member of the Christian population around PK13 on the outskirts of Bangui runs through looted and burning homes of the Muslims who have fled after the Seleka President Michel Djotodia resigned and left the country in disarray The country was ruled by a minority Muslim government after the coup in March 2013. After months of oppression by the Muslim Seleka Government the local population take out their anger and frustrations on the largely innocent Muslim population.
A funeral of a young man 24 years old who died due to the security situation in Bangui.