BY:- DEVANSHI SRIVASTAVA
People in Afghanistan who risked their lives to assist create news articles and pictures from their war-torn nation will get a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board on August 27, 2021, the Pulitzer Prize Board said.
A statement from the board stated that courageous Afghan residents contributed to the production of Pulitzer-winning and -worthy images, stories, drivers, and hosts, among other things. “These images and stories have contributed to a greater understanding of profoundly tragic and complicated circumstances,” the board stated. According to a news release, the Pulitzer Prize Board chose to honour “the Afghan women and men who have devoted themselves at considerable personal risk to creating and supporting the journalism that has documented decades of life and conflict.”
The award comes with a $100,000 emergency assistance fund, which will be used to assist men and women who are engaged in journalism in Afghanistan in either resettling or continuing their profession in a secure environment.
The rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan after the Western withdrawal has left thousands of civilians, including journalists, dreading punishment under the new government. President Joe Biden has set a deadline of Tuesday for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria.
The recognition from the Pulitzer Board came a day after a suicide assault at Kabul International Airport claimed the lives of more than 100 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel.
Katherine Boo, Gail Collins, and John Daniszewski, the board’s co-chairs, stated, “It is essential in a time of great danger to assist those Afghans whose courage, talent, and dedication to the principles of a free press have contributed to the creation of so much significant journalism in recent decades.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organisation, will be in charge of administering the funding.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, earlier this month, leaving many people trapped and looking for a way out of the country, according to reports. Evacuation attempts were foiled on August 26, 2021, when a bombing assault on Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport resulted in the deaths and injuries of a large number of persons.
A study published by Human Rights Watch in April 2021 claimed that the Taliban were intentionally targeting journalists and other media workers in Afghanistan, including women. This was months before the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital. Furthermore, according to Human Rights Watch, Taliban troops “engaged in a pattern of threats, intimidation, and violence against members of the media in regions where the Taliban had considerable influence.”
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