Emilio Morenatti, winner of the 2012 Award

Spanish photoreporter Emilio Morenatti is the first recipient of the Lucas Dolega Award, for his story “Displaced In Tunisia”.

The report

More than 250,000 migrant workers people fled fighting in Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, as the revolution in Libya began.
At the Libya-Tunisia border, thousands spent the night in a 20,000-capacity tent camp, awaiting evacuation. Some of those coming from Libya said they had attempted the journey before but were held back by heavy fighting along the way.
This series of images chronicles these refugees.

Men from Bangladesh, who used to work in Libya but recently fled the unrest, walk with their belongings alongside a road, as they head to a refugee camp after crossing the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Friday, March 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Egyptians try to board a bus as a Tunisian Army soldier tries to stop one of them, at the Tunisia-Libya border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, March. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Egyptians who worked in Libya and are now fleeing the unrest in the country are seen inside a bus outside the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, March 3, 2011. Tunisian officials are seen reflected in the bus window. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

2-year-old Egyptian boy Ahmed looks through the window of a bus as he leaves with his family, who worked in Libya and is now fleeing the unrest in the country, outside the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, March 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, line up as they wait to board buses to be repatriated in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, carry their belongings as they arrive during a sand storm in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, scuffle to get pieces of bread during a food distribution in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Friday, March 11, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men from Bangladesh, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, eat their food in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Monday, March 14, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, wait to be repatriated in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Friday, March 18, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A man from Sudan, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, takes a shower in a improvised makeshift shower after crossing from Libya near the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Wednesday , March 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men from Ghana, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, wait to be repatriated in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, March 17, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A man from Sudan, is seen behind a fence as he waits to hear news about his repatriation after crossing from Libya, in a refugee camp near the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men from Bangladesh, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, wait to be called during their repatriation process as they try to leave for their country in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Monday, March 14, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Men from Sudan, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, try to stop a car blocking a road during a protest demanding better conditions during their repatriation process in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. More than 250,000 migrant workers have left Libya for neighboring countries, primarily Tunisia and Egypt, in the past three weeks. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Egyptians, who used to work in Libya and fled the unrest in the country, board on an Egyptian ship to take them back to their country at the southern port town of Zarzis, Tunisia, Wednesday, March. 2, 2011. (AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti)

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Biography

Emilio Morenatti began his career in photojournalism at a local newspaper in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, while studying to be a draughtsman.
In 1992, he joined Agencia EFE, the leading Spanish news agency, and moved to Sevilla. From there he covered a variety of national and international events, including several Olympic Games and the 2002 Iraq War.
At the end of 2003 he went to Afghanistan as a correspondent for The Associated Press. Based in Kabul, he covered the democratic process in the country after the fall of the Taliban regime. In 2005, AP sent him to cover the Middle East conflict from Gaza and Jerusalem.
In 2006, while covering the conflict in Gaza City, he was kidnapped by gunmen before being released unharmed a day later. He was currently based in Pakistan and covered Central Asia for the Associated Press. He was named 2008 Newspaper Photographer of the Year by Pictures of the Year International.
In 2009, he was one of two Associated Press journalists (and two U.S. soldiers) seriously injured in Afghanistan when their vehicle ran over a bomb planted in the open desert. He lost his left foot in the explosion, and was flown to a hospital in Dubai. He is now based in Barcelona.
Morenatti’s many accolades include prizes in The Fuji European Press Awards 1996 and The National Headliner Awards 2005 and 2006. He has won the large market Photojournalist of the Year award in the 2010 Best of Photojournalism competition, sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association.