Journalists who write about the suffering of others, to whom should they tell their own suffering???

Amir Muhammad Khan
In Pakistan, journalism is called the fourth pillar of democracy. Journalists are considered the eyes, ears and voice of society. He questions the rulers, brings the voice of the oppressed to the house of power, exposes corruption, covers wars and accidents, and sometimes, risking his life, delivers news to the world that no other person would dare to tell. But there is another, very sad side to this beautiful picture. How does the stove of his own house burn? If he or someone in his house is sick, how is he treated? This week, I wanted to write on another topic, but the post of a Saudi social worker “Khulud” on social media for the treatment of the wife of a dear friend of mine diverted my mind to this important topic: that on my behalf, the provinces should become ten, not one. Attention was diverted from other nonsense news. Writing on this issue is a human duty. A journalist who, while fulfilling his responsibility with his pen and the eyes of his cameras, makes small people great leaders and makes his identity known. When someone, by God’s will, falls on him, he does not look around him. It is not known that a journalist of a well-known channel and newspaper in Jeddah, who is currently unemployed, was also working in a company for a few years. Those who considered themselves big in this company could not bear the burden of a modest salary of a few thousand and fired him. At that time, his test from Allah began. His wife had to go for an operation. And an appeal on social media from an aid NGO started to make us laugh, saying, “Make small people leaders.” Many of our Pakistanis, both in Pakistan and abroad, have set up shops in the name of “welfare work.” They sell this same junk at home. They consider it their birthright to sit on the sofa in embassies and consulates abroad, owing to this junk. Even diplomats, wow… Someone might ask, what kind of welfare work are you doing??? In our country too, there are examples of such senior and elderly journalists who have dedicated their entire lives to journalism, but faced financial difficulties in the last part of their lives. Some We had to ask for donations for treatment, some of them had appealed for help, and some of them even reported that there was no money available for burial expenses after their deaths. I remember that after the death of a senior journalist, Pekar Naqvi, his body was kept at the Press Club in Karachi so that if donations were collected, he could be buried. Similarly, a renowned photographer who worked with me, Abdul Hadi, spent his illness in utter poverty. Some friends from Jeddah used to send money for treatment. Abdul Hadi used to accompany the late Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in his helicopter for coverage, but when he was on his deathbed, the PPP was nowhere to be found, at least believing that Bhutto was alive and helping him. This is not just the poverty of one individual, this series does not end with two journalists. I do not know how many such journalists have gone to Khaliq Huqri while living a life of poverty. This is a lament for the poverty of the journalism system. Just imagine, a person who spent his youth in Pakistan’s newspapers, news agencies He spent his life in institutions, radio, television and journalism. He covered the visits of rulers, made news of political meetings, photographed wars and crises, interviewed powerful people and kept the nation informed moment by moment. But when he himself fell ill, he did not have the money to pay the hospital bill. When the ration in his house runs out, no newspaper reports his condition. Today, many journalists have become financially stable, but still those who make honesty their motto only see their appearance. In my opinion, all are honest, but there are also those who, while leaving, need the help of others for the burial of their dead, for their orphaned children, widows, sisters, mothers. What could be a more sad situation for a profession? Their writings and their photographs taken on important occasions are framed in their rooms, but they do not know how their last days were spent, did their children even get an education or did they fall into the hands of terrorists? We must question our system. Is Pakistan Remembers its journalists only when they are reporting on a powerful person? Even today, many reporters are facing low salaries, precarious employment, delayed wages, lack of medical facilities and lack of any security system after retirement. The biggest tragedy in journalism is that the person who fights for the rights of others has no one to fight for his own rights. There are journalists’ organizations, press clubs, unions, press foundations, governments, the Ministry of Information, a system of advertisements worth billions of rupees, but still, if an elderly journalist has to ask for donations for his treatment, we should stop and think. A journalist’s services end when he loses the strength to hold a pen or camera in his hand? Does a person who has provided information to the nation for forty years have no responsibility for the state? In many countries of the world, there are pensions, health insurance, welfare funds and various security systems after retirement for journalists. In Pakistan too, various welfare schemes for journalists Other institutions exist, but the question is their **accessibility, transparency, and effectiveness**. Unemployment has become widespread, and there is a large number of people who are not good at journalism, whose quality is questionable. This situation is not only domestic but also abroad, where reporters who have a mobile phone are at the top of the list of consulates and embassies. The conversation has gone elsewhere. The most painful thing is that when a well-known journalist dies, tributes are paid to his services on social media for a few days. His old photos are shared, colleagues write emotional messages, a condolence meeting is held at the press club, and then everything is over. But tributes do not make a widow’s house run. Condolences do not cure a sick journalist or his family. We must value our living journalists. We must do so while they are among us. Can we imagine a Pakistan where an elderly journalist does not have to beg for treatment in the last days of his life or that of his blood relatives? Can we create a system where the body of a journalist does not lie at home waiting for donations to be collected for burial?