Many of them intend to flee the country
Taliban war puts Afghan journalists under fire
Karimi with her husband, shedding light on the conflict in the city of Herat, which is facing fierce fighting in order to prevent the "Taliban" from occupying it.
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The pace of Afghan media closures has accelerated since May 1, the deadline set by Trump to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan.
AFP
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In all areas controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan, where they commit a lot of atrocities, journalists are running for their lives in fear that the Taliban will carry out its threats to kill them and their families, unless they start writing sick stories for the Taliban.
The emigration of Afghanistan's population is the death knell for the real success stories that occurred during the past twenty years, when Afghanistan had the freest press in the region, but during the past four months, 51 media companies have been closed, according to organizations that monitor Afghan media, and hundreds of people have left Journalists do their job.
Newsrooms have been destroyed or looted in some parts of Afghanistan, and many journalists say they are receiving threatening messages that they will face dire consequences if they do not start writing positive stories about the Taliban.
Many believe that it is only a matter of time before the Taliban begin to carry out their threats.
Journalist Storay Karimi, Afghanistan's only war correspondent, left her home in the western Afghan city of Herat this week after receiving death threats from the Taliban.
Its reports, published by the Afghan Pajhwok News Agency in the two main languages of Afghanistan, Pashto and Dari, in addition to English, have shed light on the conflict in the important and wealthy city of Herat, adjacent to the Iranian border, which is facing fierce fighting to prevent the Taliban from entering the country. its occupation.
I love my country
"I love my country," Karimi said as tears fell from her eyes as she boarded the plane to Kabul, the capital.
Over the past few weeks, while she was working on the front lines around Herat, she was captured by Taliban fighters, and she was warned, "If I don't write positive reports about the Taliban, they will find me no matter how I run."
The United States spent about one billion dollars to develop the Afghan media sector after the overthrow of the “Taliban” regime in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 events, and most of this money went to establishing newspapers, news agencies, magazines, radio and television stations, in addition to training journalists and technicians. Journalist Dominic Medley, who has worked in Afghanistan for 16 years, including working on the development of US-funded media programs, noted that Afghanistan, surrounded by Pakistan, China and Central Asia, has the freest media in the region. "It's a huge success story in the last 20 years," Medley said.
While the "Taliban" strengthened its war to control Afghanistan, it was targeting mainly journalists, writers, human rights activists, government workers, as well as workers in the international military forces.
The US government has introduced a resettlement initiative to thousands of Afghans who have worked with US forces and media, and is considering adding women believed to be under threat of Taliban retaliation to the resettlement program.
British media called this week for "special visas to be offered to Afghans who were working for British media."
"The visa programs welcome the qualified and the certificate holders, but the selection of certain groups is unfair to others, and raises the question of what will happen to those who remain here," said Abdul-Mujib Khalftgar, managing director of the "Nay" media group.
Media companies closed
The pace of Afghan media closures has accelerated since May 1, the previous deadline agreed by former US President Donald Trump to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan.
About 1,000 Afghan journalists are unemployed, including 100 women.
In Herat, the Taliban are still fighting fiercely for control of the city.
Journalists still work in the city but fear that Taliban takeover will cause them to close media outlets.
The investigative journalist working for "Khalid Radio Station" Somaya Valizada said that the "Taliban" controls 17 of Herat's 19 districts, which will force them to stay in their homes because girls are not allowed to go to schools, the media will be closed, and we will lose our work. And we survived.
Somaya added that the threats come not only from the "Taliban", but from the extremist clerics in the city and government officials, who want to praise them in the media.
"The pressure is coming from all directions," she said.
Some members of the religious establishment refuse to invite women to press conferences, even refusing to speak with them.
And it will get worse if they (Taliban) take over the city.”
This year, Reporters Without Borders said two journalists and press assistants had been killed in Afghanistan.
The latest killing took place on July 16, when a Reuters cameraman, Danish Siddiqui, was killed while he was accompanying Afghan forces that were ambushed by the Taliban.
• The United States spent about one billion dollars to develop the Afghan media sector after the overthrow of the "Taliban" regime in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 events. Most of these funds went to establishing newspapers, news agencies, magazines, radio and television stations, in addition to training journalists and technicians.
• The migration of Afghanistan's population is the death knell for the real success stories of the past twenty years, when Afghanistan has the freest press in the region.
• While the "Taliban" strengthened its war to control Afghanistan, it targeted mainly journalists, writers, human rights activists, government workers, in addition to workers in the international military forces.
Lynne O'Donnell ■ Australian journalist
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