Santana, Amiri and Knickmeyer were working on similar topics separately and found each other. Former Baghdad bureau chief Santana had just finished a story on Iraq refugee issues and had talked to a man supporting an Iraqi translator he had worked with, so the idea of Americans helping former translators and staffers was on her radar. In working on another story, she and Knickmeyer spoke with someone collecting money for Afghan families and funneling it to them. And Amiri had covered the congressional hearings with former U.S. troops testifying to their trauma from the pullout and how they were still helping people left behind. The three, who all work in Washington, realized they had a common thread.
They reported out the story for months, piece by piece, as Santana worked with photographers to gather portraits of the protagonists. The story ran on the third anniversary of the day the U.S. withdrew from Kabul. After the story ran, readers reached out to Amiri and Santana thanking them for shedding light on this subject.
Video journalist Nathan Ellgren shot video and built a package from interviews and b-roll that was also used as part of an audience engagement plan anchored by Sophia Eppolito. Early liaising with Digital and crucial input from Howie Rumberg early on helped shape the story and ultimate presentation. The final digital presentation was crafted by Dario Lopez-Mills, who crafted a compelling collage and incorporated text messages from refugees and volunteers into the story experience.
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