An investigation project into unmarked graves of migrants in Europe, which included a BIRN investigation, has won a top journalism prize.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/p>\nPhoto: Investigative Journalism for Europe<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A major cross-border journalism project that identified hundreds of unmarked graves of migrants has won the Impact Award at the annual Investigative Journalism Award for Europe (IJ4EU).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Border Graves Investigation, a cross-border project that confirmed over 1,000 unmarked graves of migrants across Europe over the last ten years, included a story by journalist Barbara Matejcic for BIRN about state-linked refugee deaths in Croatia.<\/span><\/p>\n The ceremony was held on September 26th at IJ4EU\u2019s annual UNCOVERED Conference, hosted at the iMEdD International Journalism Forum in Athens.<\/span><\/p>\n Barbara Matejcic\u2019s investigation, <\/span>\u2018Nomen Nescio: Dying En Route to Europe, Buried Without a Name,\u2019<\/span><\/a> was published on BIRN\u2019s flagship outlet, <\/span>Balkan Insight<\/span><\/a>. She worked on it with seven freelance journalists in countries along the European Union\u2019s borders. The team wanted to investigate how these deaths occur, especially when they are the result of the EU border regime.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s important that the research for which we were awarded raises the question of the causes of death at the borders of the European Union,\u201d Matejcic said BIRN.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople die not because of impassable rivers or mountains, but because of border regimes. If your life is threatened in Afghanistan or Pakistan, you have no other way to claim protection in the European Union than to go on a deadly journey.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is also important to me that it is known that the violent behaviour of the police at the borders is directly responsible for some of these deaths, as I showed in my part of the investigation that concerned Croatia and the Croatian police. Professionally, this award is a confirmation that even small research teams of freelancers can win this kind of award in competition with large media houses and significant funds invested in their research.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n An independent jury consisted of Maltese investigative journalist Paul Caruana Galizia, pioneering documentary maker Christopher Hird, deputy director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network Gabriela Manuli, award-winning Kosovo journalist Saranda Ramaj, and media freedom advocate Nik Williams, who co-chairs the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis project is a perfect example of how to do investigative journalism with boots on the ground, while shining a light on individual stories and humanising victims,\u201d Manuli said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes it more exemplary, is that it was conducted by a very small cross-border team. Out of the eight reporters, six of them are full-time freelancers, and the other two are affiliated with small newsrooms. And all this significant reporting was done with very little resources, in a period of over six months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The jury was unanimous in its decision. The winning teams received cash prizes of \u20ac5,000 each.<\/span><\/p>\n The award is organised by Investigative Journalism for Europe, a fund that supports cross-border watchdog journalism in and around the European Union.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/birn.eu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/461506185_10163702847693128_7383642789316771526_n-e1727880095587-300x225.jpg\")
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