Around the world: 2013 World Press Photo Winners 2

1st Prize Contemporary Issues Single

Micah Albert, USA, Redux Images for Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

03 April 2012, Nairobi, Kenya

A woman sits on bags of waste she has salvaged, at the Dandora municipal dump, outside Nairobi, Kenya. She said that she enjoys looking at books, even industrial catalogues, as a break from picking up garbage.

The dumpsite, some 8 km from the center of the Kenyan capital, is one of the largest rubbish dumps in Africa. People living in the slum area around the site have been found to suffer from increased levels of lead in their blood, as well as above normal incidence of kidney disease and cancer. Gases rising from decomposing waste lead to high rates of respiratory disease.

Despite the health risks, between 6,000 and 10,000 people earn a living from the dumpsite, seeking food waste, scavenging goods for resale, or separating materials for recycling. Informal cartels run the recycling operation, paying pickers around €2 a day. 

Opened in 1975, the dump should—under international environmental laws—have been closed after 15 years. It remains in use, despite being declared full in 2001.

Images courtesy of GO Communication



1st Prize Sports – Sports Action Stories

Roman Vondrous, Czech Republic, Czech Press Agency 

22 July 2012, Kolesa, Czech Republic

The Velká Pardubická was first held in 1874, and has gained a reputation as one of the toughest and most grueling steeplechases in the world. Held each October in the town of Pardubice in the Czech Republic, the race has been run almost every year since its founding.

The steeplechase was not held during the two world wars, nor in 1968, because of the political situation in the then Czechoslovakia. Adverse weather conditions have only twice led to its cancellation.

Due to the difficulty of the track, horses cannot compete unless they are at least seven years old and have finished one of the four qualifying races held between May and September at different locations around the country.

The Velká Pardubická is run over a distance of 6,900 meters, with the horses having to negotiate a total of 31 obstacles—some of legendary difficulty. The most notorious is Taxis Ditch, a one-meter-deep ditch hidden behind a hedge half as high again. Over the years the obstacle has cost the lives of 27 horses.

The race usually lasts around ten minutes, and is run by 15 to 20 horses, ridden by some of the best jockeys in the country. Winning—or at least competing in—the Velká Pardubická is considered the highpoint of a jockey’s career.

Images courtesy of GO Communication



1st Prize Sports – Sports Action Single

Wei Seng Chen, Malaysia

12 February 2012, West Sumatra, Indonesia

A competitor and his charges reach the finish of a bull race, in Batu Sangkar, West Sumatra.

Pacu Jawi is a 400-year-old tradition in the area, held after the rice harvest once the paddies have been cleared. Competitors yoke themselves barefoot to two bulls using a wooden harness, and drive the animals by gripping their tails.

Winners are judged by their ability to run in a straight line, and by whether both animals are cooperating. Some 600 bulls and 50 farmers participated over a number of races in Pacu Jawi in February.



3rd Prize General News Stories

Daniel Berehulak, Australia, Getty Images

07 March 2012, Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan

Uprooted pine trees still lie strewn over a beach in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture. Rikuzentakata was almost completely destroyed by the 2011 tsunami, and lost up to 40 percent of its population of over 23,000.

A year after the March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated large areas of northeastern Japan, thousands of people remained without homes, and the Japanese government was still struggling to dispose of rubble and help rebuild livelihoods.

Images courtesy of GO Communication