adam b. ellick

clips

Here's a sampling of my print portfolio.

Queens Broker Is Accused of Bringing Immigrants' Ruin

A self-promoting Guyanese immigrant real estate broker preyed on his own people for years. Now he's being charged running a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme. As a result, he helped turn Richmond Hill, Queens into a foreclosure wasteland.

A Haven for Dissent in Bahrain, Where Lattes and Tear Gas Mix

At a coffee shop in Bahrain frequented by pro-democracy protesters, lattes and tear gas mix.

Speed-Dating, Muslim Style

An event in Queens that helps Islamic men and women, often with parents watching, find marriage partners is a novel mixing of East and West.

Necessity Pushes Pakistani Women Into Jobs and Peril

The rise of lower-class women working service jobs in Pakistan is pitting religious tradition against economic desperation. And the women are paying for it.

Rebuilding Lags in Pakistan Area After Offensive

A year after the army won the war against the Swat Taliban, the government has not rebuilt any of the destroyed schools. Students, still studying amid rubble, are furious.

Bootlegging, Pakistan-Style

In today's urban centers, alcohol is still widely available. But in places like Peshawar, a somewhat lawless and more conservative city on the frontier of the Taliban's strongholds in Pakistan's northwest, it has lately become far more difficult to procure.

Hard-Line Islam Fills Void in Flooded Pakistan

Hard-line Islamic charities have stepped into the breach with a grass-roots efficiency that is earning them new support among Pakistan's beleaguered masses.

Floods Could Have Lasting Impact for Pakistan

Even as the government and international relief workers struggle to get food and clean water to millions of flood-stricken Pakistanis, concerns are growing about the enduring toll of the disaster on the nation's overall economy, food supply and political stability.

Political Ties Shielded Bank in Afghanistan

Now, Kabul Bank sits at the center of a financial crisis that has exposed the shadowy workings of the country's business and political elite, and how such connections shielded the bank from scrutiny.

Pakistani Legislators Face Accusations of Faking Their Degrees

In a national scandal that has evoked outrage as well as laughter, dozens of Pakistani Parliament members have been accused in recent months of possessing fraudulent university degrees.

A Pakistani Underworld

Despite a threat from Islamists, two Pakistani brothers stealthily manufacture fetish and bondage wear, earning more than $1 million a year from their Western customers (see video).

The Improbable American

Despite no college education or a medical background, a rugged American named Todd Shea runs a charity hospital in Kashmir, where a 2005 earthquake killed 80,000 people. (See video)

Back Home in Pakistan, but Feeling Under Siege

After being displaced by the army's offensives against the Taliban in Swat, residents of Mingora have returned to military rule.

With a Plan and a Rope, Captives Escaped Taliban

After seven months of captivity, a Times reporter escapes from the Taliban.

Running Out of Options, Afghans Pay to Exit

Weary of war, many young Afghans hand over their savings to smugglers to buy passage to Europe or Australia, where they then seek asylum.

Afghanistan's Humble Candidate

The popularity of Parliamentarian Ramazan Basherdost's anti-corruption platform and lifestyle highlights how angry Afghans have become with their government (see video).

Skateboarding in Afghanistan Provides a Diversion From Desolation

Afghan youth have very limited options for sports and recreation. An Australian man is trying to change that, despite several cultural barriers (see video).

Afghan Refugees Return Home but Find Only a Life of Desperation

Seven years into Afghanistan's reconstruction effort, 30,000 newly returned Afghans live on the brink of desperation in makeshift settlements (see video).

In Queens: A Melting Pot, and a Closed Book

I hoped to find in Queens the exoticism I loved from my years abroad. But instead I found rejection.

Houston Resists Recycling, and Independent Streak Is Cited

While many large cities run cost-saving recycling programs, Houston has not yet found a solution. See the Video under the Video tab.

In New Mexico, a Ban on Cockfighting, but Tradition Lives On

New Mexico, once a haven for legal cockfighting, has outlawed the sport. Now the state is coming down hard on cockfighters. See the Video under the Video tab.

Low Mexican Gas Prices Draw Americans

Americans who live near Mexico are taking advantage of cheaper gasoline prices south of the border. See the Video under the Video tab.

PCBs May Come To Down-at-the-Heels Texas City

The E.P.A may let a French-owned company import toxins from Mexico to Texas for incineration, but not if the town has its way. See the Video under the Video tab.

Brothers in Arms

In Queens, two Pakistani newspaper editors are divided by politics and business. Still, they share a wall - and a friendship. See related video under "Video" tab.

An Angel in Queens

Every day of the year, Jorge Munoz feeds the mostly homeless immigrants who congregate under the Roosevelt Avenue el. "He got no life," his sister says. "But he got a big heart." A City section Cover Story. (See related video under the Video tab)

As It Rises, Russia Stirs Baltic Fears

Prosperity is evident in the Baltics, but locals worry about the motives behind Russian investment. A Week in Review story (A related two-part video can be viewed under the Video tab).

Dumplings for the Lord

Despite age and infirmity, the Ukrainian women who hand-roll dumplings for their church in New York's East Village soldier on.

A Top Chef's Kitchen Is Far Too Hot

The controversy surrounding discrimination accusations against celebrated chef Daniel Boulud has focused attention on a sensitive issue in the restaurant world.

The Lemongrass War

For two immigrants, opening an Indonesian restaurant was their dream. It didn't last long.

In Aceh, A Life of Loss Endures

A narrative depiction of one woman's life in Banda Aceh before and after the Tsunami tragedy.

Zappa Lives on in Lithuania

A story of a guitarist, a fan club, a bluff and a statue. The world's only Frank Zappa statue was birthed by a practical joke in the early 1990s due to a blinding pro-Western euphoria.

Olisadebe Has Countrymen Feeling Polar Opposite

Unfazed by racist taunts and widespread intolerance, Nigerian born soccer star Emmanuel Olisadebe took up Polish citizenship and propelled the national team to its first World Cup in 16 years. Today he stands as an ironic symbol of Polish pride.

Rinks of Sadness

A gritty Czech town, with pollution high and unemployment rampant, faces the loss of its beloved hockey team. A Prague Post Cover Story.

A Home For the Vilified

What do you do with the reviled communist heroes of the past? For those of the former Soviet Union the answer was to build a Sculpture Park. After four years of controversy, Lithuanian entrepreneur Viliumas Malinauskas opened Grutas Park, a monument to a time many people would prefer to bury.