Images that stick in your mind: victims of flooding in the Pakistani province of Sindh
Image: Investigators
The devastating floods in Pakistan deserve more global attention. However, reporters have to overcome a number of hurdles on site, and not just bureaucratic ones.
MSometimes there are only ten minutes between two calls. Local military intelligence officials report most frequently. But the police also keep the local translator’s phone ringing in Pakistan. Their calls initially go on into the night and start again early in the morning. The questions from the agents and police officers are repeated dozens of times over the course of the stay: Where are you going? Where are you now? What is the correspondent doing? What is he saying about the situation? What will he write? This interest in crisis journalism seems to be due not only to the undoubtedly tense security situation in Pakistan, but above all to the desire for the most benevolent reporting possible.
Luckily, thanks to his experience with Pakistan’s authorities, the translator knows how to calm the callers down with cajoling. The correspondent has already recognized and appreciated the “great work” that the military in particular is doing in the flooded area, he claims. The country, which is dominated by generals in the background, is overwhelmed by the catastrophe. Large parts of Pakistan have been under water for weeks. The government needs help. The journalist visa, which can otherwise take weeks to be issued, is issued by express. The interest is appreciated, as the global press has so far not reported in the way that would actually be expected in the event of a catastrophe of this magnitude. The world has other worries, such as the war in Ukraine, the strained global economy and the death of the Queen.
