THE LOVERS

True to life Romeo and Juliet in Afghanistan.

Rod Nordland’s first story about Zakia and Mohammad Ali ran in March in The New York Times, where Rod is the Kabul Bureau Chief. Rod Norland has continued to chronicle their plight, two young lovers whose families – members of different ethnic sects – were so determined to keep them apart that both of them suffered beatings, persecution, and legal charges. Zakia and Mohammad Ali ran away together, eloped, and remain on the run, now from her family – his family has come around – and from the Afghan authorities as well. New York Times-Readers have been moved tremendously by the stories, and have made extraordinary offers of help. Rod will continue to follow Zakia and Mohammad Ali, with full, eager support from his editors at the paper, until their story “ends.” This is an extraordinary story of perseverance, love, and a troubled and dangerous place. It may end in tragedy; it may end in triumph.

Rod Nordland has shared a Pulitzer Prize for news, was a finalist for a Pulitzer in international reporting, has two George Polk awards, half a dozen Overseas Press Club awards and a score of others such plaudits. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, he was made a distinguished alumnus of the university in 2005, a position that he resigned in 2011 in protest of the football team’s child abuse scandal. He was also a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.