8am, Herat: Following the fall of the government and the closure of the media outlets in the Ghor province of Afghanistan, some local journalists are doing hard labor to make ends meet.
Zabihullah Wafa has worked as a journalist in Ghor province for seven years. Following the recent political upheaval, he was forced to turn to brick production to deal with daily expenses.
He said that local journalists in Ghor have been forced to leave the country to do hard physical work in Iran, adding that some journalists in this province do hard labor to deal with financial difficulties.
“I lost my job and am currently unemployed,” the local journalist said. “I and some other journalists are doing hard labor to survive. The situation of journalists in Ghor is very bad.”
Ahmad Shah Mowahid, a local journalist, also said that about 14 journalists had been laid off in recent days. According to him, many others may be fired in the future due to the media outlets’ financial problems.
He added that in addition to security threats, financial difficulties are the biggest challenge for local journalists in Ghor. According to Mowahid, more journalists may be forced to travel to Iran through a smuggling route to earn money.
Ghor is one of the most deprived provinces in the center and west of the country. Journalists in the province have worked over the years to cover the existing problems.
The closure of media outlets in the country has caused concerns among journalists and media-supporting institutions.
Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union (ANJU) has previously stated that about 67 percent of Afghan journalists have lost their jobs since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban.