The essence of a dispatch is bearing witness at close range and often at great risk. In 2023, our correspondents filed 80 dispatches from 37 countries capturing the human experience from almost every angle–the good, the bad and the wrenching.
In a year marked by conflicts, dozens of dispatches came directly from war zones, such as from Gaza, a ravaged Israeli kibbutz, and the West Bank. Multiple reports from Ukraine showed the emotional toll of the war, and the effects of the conflict were being felt globally in places like Bali and towns in Poland and the Czech Republic.
In six dispatches from Afghanistan, we explored the aftermath of the war and a devastating earthquake. The neighborhood known as the Green Zone in Kabul has now been taken over by the Taliban.
‘Mare Fuori,’ a television melodrama about the inmates of a juvenile detention center in Italy, has sparked the fascination of the people. Baseball caps with the logo of the New York Yankees are popular in Brazil, where many people have no idea what the logo represents. In Seoul, retired people spend their days riding the trains to the end of the line.
Swimming in Paris provides an intimate view into the French psyche. Midnight in Dubai, with toddlers playing and a Senegalese lifeguard on the beach, is just as beautiful.
A sniper mission is dedicated to killing another human being, and in Himalayan Buddhism, nuns are breaking gender barriers with martial arts and activism. Shetland Wool Week had arrived, and the government crackdown on neon signs seems like the fading of Hong Kong itself.
In the Austrian state of Carinthia, the obliteration of dark-colored bees has been described as “racial fanaticism.” South Africa is savoring a second consecutive World Cup victory, bringing racial unity.
The final resting place for the casualties of the Russia’s invasion is a dismal, snowy plot near the Black Sea.