This is a story about immigration. Unless you are a Native American, you, as an American citizen, are part of America’s on-going immigration story, in some way, shape or form. People have been coming here looking for a better life since the pilgrims came in the 1600s. And that lady standing tall for liberty in […]
This is a story about immigration.
Unless you are a Native American, you, as an American citizen, are part of America’s on-going immigration story, in some way, shape or form. People have been coming here looking for a better life since the pilgrims came in the 1600s.
And that lady standing tall for liberty in New York City’s harbor welcomes all with the words inscribed under her lamp, words that are as true today as they were in 1600.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
And today, looking for a better life here is as noble and understandable as it was then, especially when it comes to children. It’s just more difficult.
WPLG, the ABC affiliate owned by Berkshire Hathaway in Miami, was honored with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
The Radio Television Digital News Association honored WPLG investigative reporter Christina Vazquez in the Reporting Hard News category for her reporting on Dangerous Journey.
“To be honored with it took my breath away,” says Vazquez.
Dangerous Journey is a comprehensive series of stories and Web articles detailing the plight of unaccompanied children fleeing the violence in Honduras, a country that has the highest murder rate in the world, for a better life here in America.
In order to fully tell the story, it was necessary for WPLG to send Vazquez to the source of the story to document how bad the conditions are in Honduras, not an insignificant investment for a U.S. TV station.
“It’s hard for us to understand how anyone can send their kids off by themselves or in the care of a smuggler on this long dangerous journey,” Vazquez says.
“How can anyone do that? I wanted to take our viewers to the starting point of the journey for many of them. Be on the ground, see what they’re up against.”
Bill Pohovey, WPLG’s news director, says Vazquez produced “incredible work” in Honduras.
Dangerous Journey, Part 1
Dangerous Journey, Part 2
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions