Esther Htusan

Esther Htusan was born in 1987 in Phakant, Kachin State, Myanmar to ethnic Kachin parents Hkangda Dut La, Bawmli Hkawn Shawng. She finished her primary and secondary education in Myitkyina, Kachin State.^[6][7]

She studied Mathematics at the University of Myitkyina where she earned her bachelor's degree in Science in 2008. After graduating from the university she moved to the country's biggest city, Yangon in 2009 to study English and political science.^[6][7]

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Kachin State

Kachin State

Kachin State, also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east ; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Region and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is 89,041 km2 (34,379 sq mi). The capital of the state is Myitkyina. Other important towns include Bhamo, Mohnyin and Putao.

Kachin people

Kachin people

The Kachin peoples, more precisely the Kachin Wunpong or simply Wunpong, are a confederation of ethnic groups who inhabit the Kachin Hills in Northern Myanmar's Kachin State and neighbouring Yunnan Province, China, as well as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam in Northeastern India. About one million Kachin peoples live in the region. The term Kachin people is often used interchangeably with the main subset, called the Jingpo people in China.

Myitkyina

Myitkyina

Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located 1,480 kilometers (920 mi) from Yangon, and 785 kilometers (488 mi) from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina is on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below 40 kilometers (25 mi) from Myit-son of its two headstreams. It is the northernmost river port and railway terminus in Myanmar. The city is served by Myitkyina Airport.

Yangon

Yangon

Yangon, formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of Naypyidaw in north central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's most populous city and its most important commercial centre.

Htusan began her journalism career in 2012, working as a freelance fixer and producer for different international news agencies. she was an editor for Kaung Thant Press, from 2012 to August 2013, before joining the Associated Press in September, 2013.^[6][7]

In 2019, looking back at her decision to become a journalist, Htusan wrote about her choice to become a journalist and her parents fear for her safety.^[8]

"My parents had watched Maung Thura, a well-known blogger and comedian, being sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for criticizing the military in 2008. A year later, in 2009, Hla Hla Win, a journalist with the Democratic Voice of Burma was sentenced to 27 years in prison for investigating the military’s violent crackdown on Buddhist monks during the 2007 Saffron Revolution. They were worried that if I became a journalist, I would end up in prison too."

In 2013, after investigating confiscation of more than 500 acres of farmland by the Navy, a military intelligence officer visited her apartment to interrogate her. When she learned about the visit, she fled to Shan State in the east of Burma for two weeks.^[8] Eventually, her fear of imprisonment and prosecution was realized, and Htusan was forced to flee from her home because of her 2017 reporting on Aung San Suu Kyi's policies toward Rohingya refugees and the ongoing "clearance operations" surrounding the Rohingya conflict.^[4][9]

Reporting on slavery in Thailand's fishing fleets

In 2014, Htusan and Margie Mason embarked on a 30-hour journey to investigate enslaved Burmese fishermen in the remote island village of Benjina in eastern Indonesia.^[6][10] Htusan, and other members of the Associated Press team, spent over a year of investigations leading up to publication of what they learned.^[2][10]

In 2015, the Associated Press began publishing a series of stories that Htusan, Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, and Martha Mendoza, had been working on.^[2] The series was the product of over a year of investigative reporting, and led to the rescue of over 2000 slaves in the fishing trade. The stories covered enslaved fishermen and the ordeal they lived through; some were locked in a cages, some of the dead were buried without their family's knowledge, and the inhumane conditions they suffered through.^[11][12][13]

The series of stories began running in March, 2015, as listed below.

• "US Supply Chain Tainted by Slave-Caught Fish," AP Video, March 24, 2015.
• "AP Investigation: Are slaves catching the fish you buy?" Robin McDowell, Associated Press, March 25, 2015.^[14]
• "AP Investigation prompts emergency rescue of 300 plus slaves," Robin McDowell and Margie Mason, Associated Press, April 3, 2015.^[15]
• "US lets in Thai fish caught by slaves despite law," Martha Mendoza , Associated Press, April 22, 2015.^[16]
• " Seafood from Slaves: 22 years a slave," Margie Mason, Associated Press, June 29, 2015.^[17]
• "AP Exclusive: AP tracks slave boats to Papua New Guinea," Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Margie Mason, Associated Press, July 27, 2015.^[18]
• "AP Investigation prompts new round of slave rescues," Margie Mason and Martha Mendoza, July 30, 2015.^[19]
• "More than 2,000 enslaved fishermen rescued in 6 months," Ester Htusan and Margie Mason, Associated Press, September 17, 2015.^[12]
• "Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves," Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza and Esther Htusan, Associated Press, December 14, 2015.^[11]

The reporting led to coverage in numerous US newspapers as well as international coverage^{[20][21][22][23]} and the U.S. State Department began their own investigation and new legislation was passed to help close loopholes that allowed sales of products produced with slave labor.^[24][25][26]

Awards

Htusan and the staff of the Associated Press won multiple awards for the coverage of slave-labor in the fishing industry and are listed below.

• 2015 The Hal Boyle Award for best newspaper reporting from abroad^[27]
• 2015 the AP's Oliver S. Gramling Journalism Award recognizing AP staffers for professional excellence^[28]
• 2015 University of Oregon's Ancil Award for Ethics in Journalism^[29]
• 2015 Arizona State University’s Barlett & Steele (Gold) Award for Investigative Business Journalism^[30]
• 2015 George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting^[31]
• 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service^[2]
• 2016 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting^[32]
• 2016 Anthony Lewis Prize for Exceptional Rule of Law Journalism^[33]
• 2016 Seldon Ring Award, recognizing investigative reporting that has had an impact and caused change^[34]
• 2016 Michael Kelly Award for the fearless pursuit and expression of truth^[13]

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Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi, sometimes abbreviated to Suu Kyi, is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since 2011, having been the general secretary from 1988 to 2011. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s.

Rohingya refugee crisis

Rohingya refugee crisis

Rohingya refugee crisis may refer to:2015 Rohingya refugee crisis, the displacement of Muslim Myanmar nationals from Myanmar to neighboring countries in 2015 Rohingya genocide, a similar crisis in 2016–17

Rohingya conflict

Rohingya conflict

The Rohingya conflict is an ongoing conflict in the northern part of Myanmar's Rakhine State, characterised by sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, a military crackdown on Rohingya civilians by Myanmar's security forces, and militant attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathedaung Townships, which border Bangladesh.

Margie Mason

Margie Mason

Margie Mason is an American, Pulitzer-winning journalist. She's a native of Daybrook, West Virginia and one of a handful of journalists who have been allowed to report from inside North Korea. Mason has traveled, as a reporter, to more than 20 countries on four continents. She has worked for the Associated Press for more than a decade, and is the Indonesian Bureau chief and Asian medical and human-rights writer in Jakarta, Indonesia. She was one of four journalists from the Associated Press who won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the 2015 George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting, and the 2016 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Martha Mendoza

Martha Mendoza

Martha Mendoza is an Associated Press journalist whose reporting has helped free over 2,000 enslaved fishermen and prompted action by the U.S. Congress and the White House. 

Slavery

Slavery

Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labor. Slavery typically involves some form of work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the enslaver.

Selden Ring Award

Selden Ring Award

The Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting, given by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California is a journalism award that includes $50,000 cash in recognition of investigative reporting that has had an impact and caused change.

Michael Kelly Award

Michael Kelly Award

The Michael Kelly Award is a journalism award sponsored by the Atlantic Media Company. It is given for "the fearless pursuit and expression of truth"; the prize is $25,000 for the winner and $3,000 for the runners-up. It is named for Michael Kelly, an American journalist killed covering the Iraq War.