Over 2,000 Afghan Journalists Apply for Escape

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] As the Taliban regain power in Afghanistan, it has been reported that about 2,000 journalists are attempting a last-minute escape.

On the 30th (local time), according to Afghan Pajhwok News Agency, Jeremy Dear, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), stated, "We have received applications from about 2,000 journalists seeking to escape from Afghanistan."

The IFJ is currently negotiating with countries willing to accept Afghan journalists while also contacting the Taliban to request that journalists be allowed to leave through Kabul Airport.

Deputy Secretary-General Dear said, "The Taliban are not permitting journalists with foreign visas to depart, leaving us helpless," adding, "If flights through Kabul Airport are suspended, we may not be able to help our colleagues in Afghanistan."

The Taliban have set the withdrawal deadline for U.S. and other foreign troops and their collaborators as the 31st. The IFJ has requested countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and North Macedonia to issue visas to Afghan journalists and assist in their evacuation.

Several countries have responded positively, and the IFJ has offered to cover transportation, accommodation, and living expenses, but no country has wanted to accept more than 10 to 15 individuals. Deputy Secretary-General Dear lamented, "Fear and despair are spreading throughout the Afghan journalism community."

Afghan journalists have risked their lives reporting in an environment rife with frequent terrorist attacks and have sometimes been targeted by the Taliban. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 33 journalists were assassinated in targeted killings in Afghanistan between 2018 and 2020.

Especially since the Taliban took power, journalists' lives have been hanging by a thread. German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on the 19th that the Taliban raided the home of one of their Afghan local journalists and killed a family member.

The head of the Afghan local radio station Paktia Gag was also killed by the Taliban, and a translator who frequently contributed to the German media Die Zeit was shot dead. A month ago, Danish Siddiqui, an Indian photographer affiliated with Reuters who had won a Pulitzer Prize, was killed by the Taliban.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.