I am a freelance human rights journalist from Slovakia, focusing on migration, conflict, human rights, climate, humanitarian issues and women's rights.
I have written for The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Magazine, Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy, Lighthouse Reports, Balkan Insight, The HuffPost, The New Humanitarian, Reporting Democracy, Women's Media Center, openDemocracy and many more. I also regularly work for Slovak and Czech outlets.
I am fluent in English, French, Russian and Slovak/Czech, and conversational in Polish, Ukrainian and Spanish.
I covered the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and reported from Kharkiv and other cities in Ukraine as of 24 February 2022.
Altogether I've reported from more than twenty countries, and investigated issues such as sexualized violence against women dissidents in Venezuelan prisons or exploitation of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. I also reported on forced sterilisations of transgender people in Slovakia, took a train with Chechen refugees as they were attempting to reach the EU from Belarus, and investigated how domestic abuse impacted disabled women in Covid times. In 2021, I was embedded aboard the Sea-Eye 4 search-and-rescue vessel in the Mediterranean as a journalist and participated in the rescue of 408 refugees.
I was the runner-up for the 2023 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship with the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), and I was nominated for the One World Media New Voice Award in 2022. I also received an Honorable mention for best reporting at the 2021 Slovak Journalism Award. I graduated with a Master's degree in Communication studies from Paris-Descartes-Sobonne University (in 2012).
I am a freelance human rights journalist from Slovakia, focusing on migration, conflict, human rights, climate, humanitarian issues and women's rights.
I have written for The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Magazine, Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Foreign Policy, Lighthouse Reports, Balkan Insight, The HuffPost, The New Humanitarian, Reporting Democracy, Women's Media Center, openDemocracy and many more. I also regularly work for Slovak and Czech outlets.
I am fluent in English, French, Russian and Slovak/Czech, and conversational in Polish, Ukrainian and Spanish.
I covered the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and reported from Kharkiv and other cities in Ukraine as of 24 February 2022.
Altogether I've reported from more than twenty countries, and investigated issues such as sexualized violence against women dissidents in Venezuelan prisons or exploitation of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. I also reported on forced sterilisations of transgender people in Slovakia, took a train with Chechen refugees as they were attempting to reach the EU from Belarus, and investigated how domestic abuse impacted disabled women in Covid times. In 2021, I was embedded aboard the Sea-Eye 4 search-and-rescue vessel in the Mediterranean as a journalist and participated in the rescue of 408 refugees.
I was the runner-up for the 2023 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship with the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), and I was nominated for the One World Media New Voice Award in 2022. I also received an Honorable mention for best reporting at the 2021 Slovak Journalism Award. I graduated with a Master's degree in Communication studies from Paris-Descartes-Sobonne University (in 2012).
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anthempress.com 20.03.2023
The chapters in this volume present data and analysis that sheds light on the live experiences of those at the lowest intersections of injustice—Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, refugees, disabled people, youth, women, children and the poor. The con
thenewhumanitarian.org 07.03.2023
‘For the second time in my life, I had to leave everything behind and flee again.’
thenewhumanitarian.org 27.02.2023
‘I’ve seen the lives of many Ukrainians turn into hell.’
www.m100potsdam.org 26.02.2023
Sara Cincurova is a Slovak human rights journalist focusing on migration, human rights, humanitarian issues and women’s rights. Her work has been published in The Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, HuffPost and The New Humanitarian, among others.
thenewhumanitarian.org 22.02.2023
‘At least I am with my husband and my son.’
balkaninsight.com 07.02.2023
Long subjected to harmful practices, including forced sterilisation, transgender people in Slovakia are still finding themselves a political target even in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on an LGBT bar in Bratislava.
www.lighthousereports.nl 06.02.2023
How an Estonian arms broker pocketed €2m at the expense of Ukraine
balkaninsight.com 06.01.2023
Elsewhere, Poles receive more tanks from US and record LNG imports, while Hungary's PM enjoys a luxury Roman meal as teachers march.
womensmediacenter.com 04.11.2022
Women Under Siege spoke with American anti-war activist Jody Williams, Yemeni human rights activist Tawakkol Karman, and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee about their trip with Nobel Women's Initiative to Ukraine, the stories they heard there, and how
www.opendemocracy.net 30.10.2022
Recent terrorist shooting of two queer people shows things are worsening for the community, say activists
womensmediacenter.com 29.09.2022
CARACAS — Angela Pilay, 35, was only 13 years old when her father started abusing her.
www.spiegel.de 21.09.2022
The EU prides itself on having welcomed Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion. But DER SPIEGEL reporting shows that ruthless businessman are seizing the opportunity to exploit the refugees. Some cases seem close to human trafficking.
www.spiegel.de 18.09.2022
Die EU brüstet sich, ukrainische Flüchtlinge mit offenen Armen zu empfangen. Doch SPIEGEL-Recherchen zeigen, wie Geschäftsleute geflüchtete Frauen ausnutzen. Einige Fälle grenzen an Menschenhandel.
thenewhumanitarian.org 13.07.2022
‘The cases of malnutrition we see are innumerable. The most affected are children below the age of two.’
podcasts.apple.com 08.07.2022
Show The Writing Coach Podcast with Rebecca L. Weber, Ep WCP184 Human rights reporting with Sara Cincurova - Jun 20, 2022
womensmediacenter.com 21.04.2022
The events following the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine brought despair for thousands of elderly and disabled civilians who were unable to flee. Russia has been claiming strikes on cities all around the country, and the fighting has left countles
lesglorieuses.fr 28.03.2022
Recommend us to a friend | Read this newsletter on our website March 28, 2022 'Psychological torture': the impossible choices of Ukrainian women fleeing war By Sara Cincurova Before she fled her home…
www.thecut.com 22.03.2022
Russia’s invasion has forced 10 million Ukrainians to leave their homes. I saw firsthand how difficult it is to reach safety.
www.cbc.ca 04.03.2022
More than a million people have fled Ukraine into countries to the west, as Russian attacks continue. The refugee crisis has spurred an outpouring of international support, as neighbouring European countries open their borders and homes. But the support t
www.spiegel.de 01.03.2022
Hunderttausende Ukrainerinnen und Ukrainer fliehen aus dem Land. Seit Tagen versuchen Dima und seine Frau Viktoria verzweifelt, die slowakische Grenze zu erreichen. Noch steht nicht fest, ob sie sich in Sicherheit bringen können.
twitter.com 25.02.2022
We want to spend the war with our families
www.cbc.ca 25.02.2022
February 24, 2022 is a day few Ukrainians will forget. Nothing is Foreign looks at how the day unfolded for two different people, one in Kyiv and one in the east — and their plans to stay safe.
foreignpolicy.com 17.02.2022
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children suffer shellings, shootings, and psychological trauma.
www.aljazeera.com 17.02.2022
In eastern Ukraine, 1.6 million of the 2.9 million people in need are women, the UN says.
www.aljazeera.com 02.02.2022
Al Jazeera speaks to some of the 900,000 pensioners on the front line, some of whom survived World War II.
www.aljazeera.com 26.01.2022
American historian finds hundreds of desperate letters written by Slovak Jews during the Nazi era.
www.mediapart.fr 20.01.2022
Dans la région du Donbass, entre l’Ukraine et la Russie, sévit toujours une guerre oubliée. Sur la ligne de front, celles et ceux qui sont restés tentent de survivre dans des villages dévastés, et co…
Spotify 06.01.2022
Russia has kept its military at Ukraine’s doorstep for almost a decade. But a recent escalation on the border is creating fears of a full-blown invasion. Today’s show was produced by Victoria Chamberlin, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapir
www.aljazeera.com 31.12.2021
Residents are losing hope in areas near the contact line between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
www.aljazeera.com 22.11.2021
Women refugees say they have miscarried, been separated from their children by border guards, and been hospitalised.
www.aljazeera.com 21.11.2021
Conflict continues to blight the lives of civilians still living on the front lines in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
www.aljazeera.com 14.11.2021
People are dying of cold and hunger at the doors of Europe, Nidal Ibrahim tells Al Jazeera from the Belarusian border.
www.aljazeera.com 11.11.2021
At least one child has died as others among the thousands of people at the border suffer from hunger and hypothermia.
Global News 11.11.2021
Thousands of migrants have flocked to Belarus‘ border with Poland, hoping to get to Western Europe, and many of them are now stranded at the frontier, setting up makeshift camps as Polish security forces watch them from behind a razor-wire fence and preve
Spotify 11.11.2021
Belarus is promising migrants passage to Europe knowing the EU will turn them away. Today’s show was produced by Haleema Shah with help from Amina Al-Sadi, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by S
SPIEGEL International 03.11.2021
Months of reporting has revealed the violent – and illegal – brutality the EU is deploying at its external borders to ward off migrants. Those few refugees who make it through describe beatings, harassment and abasement. Yet there are examples of what a h
podcasts.apple.com 11.10.2021
Show The Adventure Podcast, Ep Episode 080: Sara Cincurova, A Fellow Human - Oct 11, 2021
www.aljazeera.com 19.08.2021
Children, many who arrived in Europe alone, say they fear for their families in Afghanistan.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org 27.07.2021
Women and children face horrific violations in Libyan detention centres. Critics say EU policies are helping to perpetuate this cycle of abuse.
Minority Rights Group International 20.06.2021
Last month, I joined the Sea-Eye 4 crew as a journalist on board. At that time, we did not yet know that we would experience one of the most incredible rescue operations that Sea-Eye has ever known, bringing aboard more than 400 people from 6 boats in dis
www.theguardian.com 22.05.2021
More than 700 people have died in the Mediterranean this year. But Sea-Eye, a German charity, is fighting hard to save lives
www.bbc.com 06.05.2021
Domestic abuse: ‘I wasn’t allowed to look out of the window’
minorityrights 13.04.2021
Dr. Leon Weintraub was born into a Jewish family in Poland in 1926. In 1944, he and his family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Minority Rights Group International 08.04.2021
Dr. Leon Weintraub was born into a Jewish family in Poland in 1926. In 1944, he and his family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Dr. Weintraub was later transferred to Groß-Rosen and Flossenbürg Concentration Camps, and survived the Death marches that
womensmediacenter.com 11.03.2021
The UN fact-finding mission on Venezuela documented physical and sexualized violence committed against women and girls who took part in anti-government protests, or who were perceived as dissidents, as activists and journalists are actively targeted by se
womensmediacenter.com 04.01.2021
When the Alan Kurdi rescued me, I was unconscious,” said Raissa*, a refugee woman from Cameroon, referring to the rescue vessel operated by Sea-Eye, non-profit and civil sea rescue organization patrolling the Mediterranean. She had just fled a detention c
womensmediacenter.com 26.10.2020
The crossing was hellish,” said Zeinab Nourzehi, a 28-year-old refugee from Afghanistan. She was six months pregnant with her first child when she and her husband Pejvak departed from Izmir, on Turkey’s Aegean coast, for the Greek island of Lesbos in a di
www.thenewhumanitarian.org 04.06.2020
Venezuela probably doesn’t have one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Latin America. But how can we really know?
www.aljazeera.com 03.05.2020
Rights groups say 10 journalists have been detained and more than two dozen threatened due to work on the pandemic.
womensmediacenter.com 26.02.2020
While Venezuela reels from its ongoing political and humanitarian crises, attacks against members of the press, and particularly women journalists, have become especially acute.
globalreportingcentre.org 16.03.2017
In Slovakia, according to the law and pressure from extremist groups, a trans person can only be recognized by their gender if they undergo sterilization. The founder of Transfuzia explains his story, activism and push towards dignity and recognition.
www.huffpost.com 29.08.2016
Many trans people in the country didn’t know that transitioning was possible
