Pulitzers for Rohingya photography

Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Mohammad Ponir Hossain became the first Bangladeshi to share the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for journalism as part of Reuters photography team which won the award for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to Reuters.

Three photographs taken by Ponir were among the 16 photographs of the Reuters photo story on Rohingyas. One of Ponir's photos that featuers Rohingya refugee Hamida weeping as she holds her 40-day-old son after he died as their boat capsized before arriving on shore in Shah Parir Dwip in Bangladesh got attention of all.

Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J Adler said it was the first time Reuters has won two prizes in one year. The Reuters photography staff was honored for images of the violence endured by the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, as they fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, he said.

Reuters won Pulitzer Prizes on Monday for international reporting and photography while the New York Times and the Washington Post shared honours for exposing sexual harassment in America and detailing the US investigation of Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

The Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, recognised Reuters in international reporting for exposing the methods of police killing squads in Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, and for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.