Corinne Dufka (born 1958) is an American photojournalist, human rights researcher, criminal investigator, and social worker. She is the recipient of a MacArthur "genius grant" Fellowship.
Early life and education
Dufka grew up in Utah and California received a bachelor's degree from San Francisco State University in 1979. In 1984, she graduated from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
with a master's degree in social work.
Work
Social work
Following completion of her master's degree, Dufka worked as a humanitarian volunteer and social worker in Latin America. She volunteered with Nicaraguan refugees during the
country's revolution, and with victims of the
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area ...
.
She then moved to El Salvador as a social worker with the Lutheran church.
While in El Salvador, Dufka became close with local photojournalists, and was asked by the director of a local human rights organization to launch a program to document human rights abuses through photography. The director of the program was killed two weeks later, reportedly by
death squads. Dufka's photos of his body ran in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, and she accepted the position.
Photojournalism
Dufka received her first contract as a photojournalist in 1989, with the
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
news agency, covering the
conflict in El Salvador. In 1992, she relocated to
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
, where she covered the
ethnic conflicts in the Balkans.
Dufka remained in the region until 1993, when the vehicle in which she was traveling encountered an anti-tank mine.
She was seriously injured, suffering facial lacerations, internal injuries, and ligament damage.
Following three weeks of rehabilitation in London, Dufka returned to the field on assignment for Reuters in
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
, Somalia.
She remained stationed in East Africa, covering much of the continent for the agency, including the
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed H ...
. Her images from Rwanda were later used as evidence during the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
She covered famine in Sudan, conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Liberian civil war, among others.
In 1998 Dufka went to
Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
to cover the
bombing of the American Embassy. She arrived hours after the blast, and was deeply frustrated by 'missing the scoop.' Later, upon watching the news coverage of the attack, Dufka realized that she had lost “compassion” for the subjects of her work, and resolved to end her career as a photojournalist.
Human rights
In 1999 Dufka left Nairobi to open a field office for Human Rights Watch in
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
, where she documented human rights abuses associated with the country's
ongoing civil war.
In 2002 she took a leave of absence to work as a criminal investigator for the Chief of Investigations and the Prosecutor for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
'
Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibil ...
.
In 2003, Dufka returned the United States. That same year she was awarded the
MacArthur "genius grant" Fellowship for her journalistic and documentary work documenting the 'devastation' of Sierra Leone and the conflict's toll on human rights.
Dufka returned to West Africa in 2005 to lead the Human Rights Watch field office in
Dakar, Senegal
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...
until 2011.
She worked as a senior researcher for the Africa division of Human Rights Watch, overseeing the organization's work on West Africa until 2022.
In 2012, Dufka testified before the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...
on the armed
conflict in northern Mali.
Awards
* 1996 1st prize, Spot News stories
* 1996 "OPC Awards: The Robert Capa Gold Medal". Overseas Press Club of America.
* 1997
International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award
*199
Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Spot News Photography
* 2003
MacArthur Fellows Program
Works
Burkina Faso: Armed Islamists Kill, Rape Civilians Human Rights Watch, May 2022
Mali: Massacre by Army, Foreign Soldiers Human Rights Watch, April 2022
Burkina Faso: Residents’ Accounts Point to Mass Executions Human Rights Watch, July 2020
Le Monde Op Ed June 29, 2020
*
ttps://www.hrw.org/report/2020/02/11/how-much-more-blood-must-be-spilled/atrocities-against-civilians-central-mali How Much more Blood Must Be Spilled?Human Rights Watch, February 2020
Burkina Faso: Armed Islamist Atrocities Surge Human Rights Watch, January 2020
Burkina Faso's Atrocities in the Name of Security Will Help Terrorists' Ranks Washington Post Op-ed, June 12, 2019.
We Found Their Bodies Later That Day” Atrocities by Armed Islamists and Security Forces in Burkina Faso’s Sahel Region Human Rights Watch, March 22, 2019
“We Used to Be Brothers” Self-Defense Group Abuses in Central Mali Human Rights Watch December 7, 2018: ·
“By Day We Fear the Army, By Night the Jihadists”Abuses by Armed Islamists and Security Forces in Burkina Faso Human Rights Watch May 21, 2018
“Mali: Conflict and Aftermath: Compendium of Human Rights Watch Reporting 2012-2017, February 2, 2017 · New York Times Op-ed, May 9, 2016.
“We Have Lived in Darkness” A Human Rights Agenda for Guinea’s New Government Human Rights Watch, May 2011
"Guinea's depressingly familiar strongman" ''The Guardian'', 30 September 2009
"Charles Taylor's trail of carnage" ''The New Statesman'', 10 April 2006
''Crimes of War''
"Youth, poverty and blood: the lethal legacy of West Africa's regional warriors" Volume 17, Issue 5, Human Rights Watch, 2005
*"The Mexico City Earthquake Disaster", ''Social casework'', Volume 69, Family Service America, 1988
References
External links
"Nigeria: Use Restraint in Curbing Jos Violence" ''Human Rights Watch'', January 19, 2010
"Open Letter to Corinne Dufka of HRW-Stop Spreading Misleading Information on the Jos Conflict" 21 January 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufka, Corinne
American social workers
American women journalists
1958 births
University of California, Berkeley alumni
MacArthur Fellows
Living people
21st-century American women