The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is launching an emergency appeal to provide emergency financial support to more than 100 journalists and their families who were forced to flee the intense conflict in northern Pakistan in late May 2009.
The specific objectives of this internal appeal are to enable the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the Khyber Union of Journalists to:
- Offer emergency assistance to an overwhelming number of journalists and their families who have lost their homes, possessions and livelihoods.
- Organise immediate accommodation alternatives for affected families currently sheltering in tents in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
- Organise short-term relocation alternatives for journalists and their families currently in Peshawar, including possibly shifting to Abbottabad, a town closer to Swat with a cooler climate.
- Provide interim financial relief as well as consider long-term sustainability options for journalists who have lost all possessions and the ability to work to support their families on a case-by-case basis.
More than 100 journalists or media workers and their families are among millions displaced civilians in northern Pakistan, according to the UNHCR, as a result of the on-going conflict in Swat Valley, in North-West Frontier Province. The Peshawar-based Khyber Union of Journalists, an affiliate union of PFUJ, reports that the homes of many of these media personnel have been destroyed in the fighting between Pakistan’s armed forces and militants grouped under the banner of “Taliban”. Most have reportedly lost their homes, their possessions and their jobs.
The IFJ national and local affiliated unions in Pakistan have set up emergency systems to try to provide affected media personnel and their families with additional humanitarian support. The Khyber union, a strong regional affiliate union of PFUJ, has mobilised to provide a basic emergency response through the Peshawar Press Club and other professional associations.
At least 60 journalists and their families had registered at the Press Club by May 19, according to information from the Khyber union, but this number is expected to rise (a non-union source reported late on May 19 that 120 families had registered in Peshawar). A further 30 families are believed to have registered in the Mardan district of NWFP.
At the moment, the Khyber union is distributing what funds it has, including a EUR 5,000 grant from Reporters Without Borders, to the neediest families. In order to maintain a basic emergency response, IFJ, the Khyber union and PFUJ are appealing for a substantial injection of funds, noting also that the number of affected journalists and families is expected to rise.
The Khyber union currently reports that the most urgent need is to find alternative
accommodation for the families now sheltering in tents. The union is now looking for suitable places in Abbottabad, NWFP.
