Help the flood-hit journalists

Help the flood-hit journalists

The Pakistani floods are biblical in scale. The sheer number of people affected — 20 million — is greater than the numbers of people affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined.

As with other communities, the floods have affected hundreds of journalists across Pakistan, with about 230 displaced after their houses were washed away or badly damaged.

Most of these journalists — particularly those in the suburban districts rather than the major cities — have had to suspend work because of the displacement, or are severely hampered in their work due to lack of support for their rehabilitation.

At a time when the need for information is the greatest, the limitation on the performance and output of the journalists caused by the floods compounds the problem. The dilemma is that unless the journalists themselves are rid of their flood-caused encumbrances, they cannot perform their basic functions professionally and inform the people.

In view of this, it would be an enormously good thing for international organisations, governments and donors to support the most vulnerable of journalists in Pakistan affected by the floods either financially or materially, and to restore the unravelling access to humanitarian information in the dozens of flood affected districts.

The apex body of the journalists, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), has researched and compiled a list of journalists certifiably seriously affected by the floods. Any help should focus on these journalists so that they can get back to their jobs and keep the citizens informed.
ADNAN REHMAT
Islamabad