The Star wins national award for investigation of U.S. refugee resettlement failures
The Kansas City Star has won a prestigious journalism award for its reporting on failures in America’s refugee resettlement system and how they played a role in the death of an Afghan teenager in southwest Missouri.
The Society of Professional Journalists honored Star reporter Matti Gellman with its New America Award in the print and online category, as well as with the overall excellence award. The organization also honored Kartikay Mehrotra, a journalist with online investigative news outlet ProPublica, which partnered with The Star on the story.
Gellman and Mehrotra were recognized for reporting on what led up to the death of Rezwan Kohistani, who is believed to have died by suicide in the Joplin area after his family fled Afghanistan in 2021.
Their investigation — “Isolated in America. What happened to Rezwan Kohistani?” — published in November 2022. It probed how resettlement agencies handled the family’s case and exposed failures in the system’s placement process.
Their reporting was based on dozens of hours of interviews and the reviews of autopsy records, police reports and surveillance footage inside Rezwan’s high school, among other things. The award judges called the investigation detailed and “deep.”
“We value this level of work by a local publication, at a time when there are news deserts coming up across the country and local publications are struggling to stay afloat,” wrote the judges with SPJ, a national organization that aims to promote journalism ethics and best practices.
“The Kansas City Star also sheds light on a critical issue, through the case study of Rezwan Kohestani and puts into focus an ethnic community that has been in turmoil since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021.”
Greg Farmer, The Star’s executive editor, said Gellman’s early reporting on Rezwan’s story led to the collaboration with ProPublica. He said the newspaper was delighted that the judges “have recognized the power of it.”
“Above all, we appreciate those who loved Rezwan for helping tell his story,” Farmer said.
The award will be presented at the Society of Professional Journalists’ convention in September in Las Vegas.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 1:47 PM.
