ABOUT KURT
Kurt Schork was lured to journalism late in his life, and at the age of 43 he realised his dream of becoming a foreign correspondent. For much of his career he chose to be a freelance journalist. He was passionate about his job, and early in his journalism career he wrote:
“War reporting is a privilege. After three years, the grime and gore of combat, the dreadful logic of ethnic hatred are no longer abstractions for me. More important, every day I see the grace and dignity of ordinary people trying to survive under extraordinary circumstances.”
Kurt Schork (centre) with Mark Chisholm (left) and Yannis Behrakis (right)
Kurt’s Life
Kurt Schork was born on 25 January 1947 in Washington, DC. He graduated from Jamestown College in 1969, and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar later that year — at the same time as the future United States President Bill Clinton. Kurt worked as a property developer, a political adviser and then chief of staff for the New York City Transit Authority before becoming a journalist. Kurt was lured to journalism late in his life, when at the age of 43 he realised his dream was to become a foreign correspondent.
Kurt headed for the Middle East. He decided to concentrate on Kurdistan but, because of the large numbers of similarly-minded reporters, he initially had more success selling photos rather than stories.
His break came when he stayed on after others left. In October 1991 he was on the spot when Kurdish guerrillas counter-attacked Iraqi forces shelling the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. His reports caught Reuters attention and assignments followed.
When Bosnia descended into brutal conflict, Reuters sent Kurt to Sarajevo where the power of his reporting of the siege of that city had widespread impact, mobilising public opinion and prompting NATO to intervene. Kurt arrived in Bosnia in the summer of 1992 and stayed until 1997.
He left Sarajevo with Sabina in 1997 and settled in the US. They moved to his hometown of Washington, DC, where he spent months lovingly renovating the property they had bought. His plan was to go to Sierra Leone in May of 2000, while waiting to cover the Summer Olympics in Australia. At the time, Kurt was still tinkering with a much-delayed book about Bosnia, which remains unpublished. It would have been far from the first work on the subject. Those who knew him and his work had no doubt that it would have been fair, accurate, and funny.
He left DC on 9 May 2000. Two weeks later, he was killed in Sierra Leone on 24 May in a military ambush which claimed the lives of Kurt and of cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora.
Samantha Power at the 2021 Kurt Schork Awards
Watch Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, deliver a powerful tribute to Kurt Schork at the 2021 Awards event.
Samantha reported alongside Kurt on the frontlines of the Bosnian War, describing him as “one of the bravest, most tenacious journalists [she had] ever known” and someone who “took profound risks in order to expose truths that people did not want reported”.
Kurt’s Journalism career
He had previously worked in government and in business and, driven purely by a sense of vocation and no prior journalism experience, launched his reporting career in Asia. He quickly discovered that, with no contacts and limited knowledge of other languages, it was hard going. But travelling to dangerous conflict areas might, he thought, provide more freelance commissions. So, when the Gulf War got underway, Kurt headed for the Middle East. He decided to concentrate on Kurdistan but, because of the large numbers of similarly minded reporters, he initially had more success selling photos rather than stories.
His break came when he stayed on after others left. In October 1991 he was on the spot when Kurdish guerrillas counter-attacked Iraqi forces shelling the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. His reports caught Reuters attention and assignments followed.
When Bosnia descended into brutal conflict, Reuters sent Kurt to Sarajevo where the power of his reporting of the siege of that city had widespread impact, mobilizing public opinion and prompting NATO to intervene. The poignancy of the story of two lovers, a Serb and a Moslem, killed and left to lie for days on a riverbank, made it one of Kurt’s signature articles, capturing so many elements: the casual brutality of war, the intense suffering of families and the bureaucratic indifference of authorities.
In all his reports, he sought to get as close to the story as possible so that he could quickly relay details and show how people were affected by events. While that often meant going into the dangerous heart of a conflict zone, he was always mindful of the need to avoid unnecessary risk.
“War reporting is a job, a craft — not a holy crusade. The thing is to work and not get hurt. When that’s no longer possible, it’s time to get out”, he once wrote.
But in Sierra Leone, luck and instinct finally failed him. On 24th May, 2000, a military ambush claimed the lives of Kurt and of cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno de Mora.
The news shocked colleagues and associates, who quickly proclaimed their respect and admiration for a reporter they considered to be one of the world’s best. A website – www.ksmemorial.com – was set up to carry people’s tributes and to provide examples of his work.
On the 22nd anniversary of Kurt’s death an In Memoriam page was set up to honour the life and work of Kurt Schork – http://sniperalley.photo/kurt-schork-en/
Half of Kurt’s ashes were buried next to his mother in Washington D.C.; the rest were buried in Sarajevo, alongside the graves of the two lovers whose story he had told to the world.
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