In August 2023, IFJ affiliate the Afghan National Journalists Union (ANJU) published a sobering survey of the country’s media.
From the moment that regime change seemed certain, in August 2021, the IFJ has worked tirelessly to support journalists in Afghanistan – initially with the dramatic rush to leave the country. Subsequent work has included:
- 350€ was distributed by the IFJ to the individual journalists who remained in Afghanistan.
- Evacuation grants of up to 2,000€ to pay for flight costs for the handful of journalists who have obtained visas.
- Nearly 40,000€ administered by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) to provide respite accommodation for exiled Afghan journalists in Islamabad.
- Two guest houses in Islamabad to accommodate exiled journals,opened in August 2023, with financial support from UNESCO.
In the aftermath of regime change, journalists and their organisations showed enormous generosity to the IFJ’s Safety Fund for Journalists in Afghanistan to help their colleagues in Afghanistan. Those donations, however, are long gone and more is now desperately needed. If you are able to make a donation, no matter how small, it will make a significant difference to journalists in and from Afghanistan. You can do so here.
On August 15, 2022, the IFJ published a special newsletter that not only looked back at the terrifying events that took place in Afghanistan one year before, but also the incredible solidarity of IFJ affiliates across the world and the bravery of Afghan journalists. Read it here.