The Globe and Mail’s Janice Dickson won this year’s Amnesty International Canada Media Award in the national written news category.Justin Tang/The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail’s Janice Dickson has been awarded this year’s Amnesty International Canada Media Award in the national written news category for a story on a Hazara Afghani family who were attacked while waiting for help from Canada.
The Amnesty International awards, now in their 28th year, celebrate excellence in human-rights reporting. Ms. Dickson focused her story on the family of Wahid Ibrahimi, who worked as a security guard at the Canadian embassy in Kabul before fleeing to Pakistan when the Taliban took over. His children were targeted because of their faith.
“We feel immense pride to see Ms. Dickson receiving this prize,” said David Walmsley, editor-in-chief of The Globe. “Her career is framed by brave, independent journalism and caring for those whose stories need to be told.”
Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, said this year’s winning stories were honest, eye-opening and nuanced at a time where human-rights reporting is as important as it has ever been.
“Without exception, this year’s winners profiled people and communities bravely speaking truth to power, exemplified by their decision to share their stories through the press,” Ms. Nivyabandi said in a statement. “Their testimonies serve as beacons of hope for everyone whose rights are threatened and offer the crucial reminder: You are not alone.”
In February, Ms. Dickson reported that the Afghan family’s long nightmare had finally ended with a freedom flight to Canada, assisted by advocacy group Operation Abraham. Mr. Ibrahimi told Ms. Dickson it was a dream coming to Canada after six months stranded in Pakistan.
Two teams won for stories detailing the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s struggle to defend its rights and territory in British Columbia. Brandi Morin and Amber Bracken of Ricochet won in the local/alternative media category, while Matt Simmons and Shawn Parkinson of The Narwhal won the mixed media category.
In the long-form audio category, a team including Mary Lynk and Ilina Ghosh of CBC Podcasts won for an episode of The Kill List, an investigation into the mysterious death of human-rights activist Karima Baloch who fled to Canada from Pakistan.
Anne Fu of The Queen’s Journal won in the postsecondary youth category for a story on transforming health care for Indigenous communities in Kingston, and Donnovan Bennett and David Zelikovitz of Sportsnet won in the short-form video category on a piece addressing anti-Black racism in hockey.