A man is seen outside near severely damaged houses after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province. Photo: Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu via Getty Images
‘We are here to cover the truth’
An earthquake of 6.0 magnitude hit eastern Afghanistan late into the night of 31 August. An Afghan journalist who is reporting from Kunar, one of the worst-hit regions, spoke to IMS about the challenges.
The disaster struck close to midnight on Sunday (31 August). By 5.00 the next day (Monday), I had reached the site in Kunar. I immediately began to send reports to both national and international media to raise awareness about the scale of the tragedy. The area that was affected is very difficult to access. Local media is trying to cover the event, but reaching these places is very challenging.
But we have a responsibility to provide information so that the de facto authorities (DFA) are made aware of the details of this tragedy. We are here to cover the truth and get the attention of the authorities.
Our next goal is to inform humanitarian organisations, donor countries and the international community, so they understand the scale of the destruction. Without their support, the government alone cannot provide sufficient aid to the people. This is not an ordinary incident; it requires serious international attention.
Three days have passed since the disaster and many bodies are still trapped under the rubble. The Taliban do not have the capacity to recover the victims on their own. There are areas that neither the Taliban nor aid agencies have yet reached. Our mission is to raise awareness and apply pressure so that emergency teams are deployed. We also aim to highlight the shortages and advocate for transparent distribution of aid in order to prevent corruption.
The role of the media is crucial. For instance, we previously reported on the lack of women doctors and raised our voices, after which it was revealed that pregnant women injured in the earthquake had lost their lives due to this shortage.
Unfortunately, local media are heavily restricted and cannot openly report many of the ongoing problems under the DFA’s rule. Nevertheless, our work has had a significant impact. During this earthquake, our reporting helped pressure the DFA to pay greater attention. We hope international organisations will also provide the necessary support and take serious action.
The name of the journalist has not been disclosed due to concerns regarding their safety.The interview was conducted on Wednesday, before another earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit the south east region of Afghanistan on Thursday night.
