The Guardian’s award-winning investigations correspondent Dr Manisha Ganguly, alongside her team, jointly won the Special Award for their project titled Border Graves at the European Press Prize Awards 2024 ceremony taking place on 6 June. This project uncovered the catastrophe of unmarked graves of refugees and migrants that is spreading across Europe's borders at a rate never seen before outside of times of conflict.
The investigation, led by The Guardian, meticulously documented and revealed the tragic fate of thousands of migrants and refugees who died upon attempting to enter Europe. The project was under cross-border investigative journalism funds from IJ4EU and JournalismFund, which made it possible for eight journalists working across the southern and eastern migration borders of Europe to come together and form an investigation team for eight months. The team also worked with forensic scientists from the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRC) to identify the unmarked bodies
They found that refugees and migrants who died at Europe's borders are being buried in unmarked graves and revealed that about 1,015 people who died in the past decade were buried in the EU before being identified. The award recognises their extraordinary efforts in revealing the harrowing truths of the concealed burials at the European border - a mission that has had a profound global impact.
Manisha is a renowned visual forensics lead and an investigations correspondent at The Guardian with a remarkable track record in uncovering human rights infringements. She holds a PhD in open-source investigations from the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) at the University of Westminster, with the title The Future of Investigative Journalism in the Age of Automation, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). She has been a Visiting Lecturer at the Stockholm School of Economics, Princeton University and Oxford University.
Praising the Border Graves project, the panel of judges at the European Press Prize 2024 said: “A very important collaboration: the reporters put a face to the story of those who perished.”
As the team accepted the award, Manisha underlined the truth behind European immigration policies uncovered by the help of her team and external partnerships. “I am immensely grateful to the judges for recognising our investigation with this prestigious prize, the work wouldn't have been possible without our freelance partners across Europe. This investigation exposes the glaring failures of European immigration policy and the legislative void.”
This initiative directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
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