Media Safety & Solidarity Fund
A MEAA initiative established in 2005, the Media Safety & Solidarity Fund (MSSF) is supported by donations from Australian journalists and media personnel to assist colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region through times of emergency, war and hardship.
The fund trustees direct the International Federation of Journalists Asia-Pacific to implement projects to be funded by the MSSF. Prior to February 8, 2022, and the declaration of the outcome of MEAA’s elections of its official office holders,[i] the fund’s trustees were Marcus Strom, national MEAA Media section president; the two national MEAA Media vice-presidents, Karen Percy and Michael Janda; two MEAA Media federal councillors, Stefan Armbruster and Kathy McLeish; and Brent Edwards representing New Zealand’s journalists’ union, the E tū, which also supports the fund.
Contributions to the fund primarily come from MEAA members because of enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations. In 2014 and again in 2015, Japan’s public broadcasting union Nipporo also made contributions to the fund.
Since the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, independent journalism there has been forced underground. Journalists have been beaten and shot, at least 85 have been arrested, more than 40 detained and several jailed for up to three years. Independent media outlets have been stripped of their licences to operate, and dozens of warrants have been issued for the arrest of other journalists.
Burmese journalists are in hiding not only in Myanmar but elsewhere in the region, seeking safety from persecution and violence.
Despite all these risks, Burmese journalists courageously continue to work underground in Myanmar or Thailand to ensure the crimes of the military junta are revealed to the rest of the world. MEAA urged members and their newsrooms to aid Myanmar’s journalists by making contributions to the MSSF which would transfer funds to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to disperse to Burmese journalists in distress.
On August 25, 2021, MSSF took action to assist Afghan journalists displaced and threatened in the wake of their country’s takeover by the Taliban.
The fund’s initial response was to seek public and MEAA member donations for Afghan media workers and their families who are in dire peril following the Taliban’s overthrow of the national government in August 2021. At least seven journalists had been killed in the first two months following the Taliban takeover, with many more suffering intensifying threats, harassment, intimidation and violence.[ii] As many as 257 media outlets had shut diown and, according to research conducted by the Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU), at least 67 per cent of journalists and media workers have been rendered jobless.
The initial call to action raised about $A 9900 for the MSSF.
The second action was to provide funds for women journalists and their families. On November 21, 2021, the Taliban had announced new restrictions on the media in Afghanistan with several edicts exclusively targeting women journalists and media workers.[iii]
Through the Media Safety & Solidarity Fund, MEAA began working with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in partnership with Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) to raise funds to support Afghan women journalists and their families. The aim was to provide them with emergency financial support so they could find safe houses in Afghanistan, or assistance with evacuation and relocation to new countries.
NWMI is a non-funded, non-partisan forum for women in the media to share information and resources, exchange ideas, uphold media standards and ethics, and promote gender equality in the industry as well as society.
In early August 2021, the NWMI began work to establish a web site, Journalists for Afghanistan, and began organising the sale of photographs donated by Associated Press photographers. “Members of the NWMI (Network of Women in Media, India) looked for ways to help Afghanistan’s women journalists. One of the most urgent needs: Money.[iv]
“To help us raise funds for these intrepid women journalists attempting to tell their stories amidst all odds, The Associated Press generously allowed the use of images from their Afghanistan coverage. This collection brings together photographs by some of AP’s bravest and most talented visual journalists. The images are brief glimpses into the daily life of Afghanistan over more than two decades. At a time of unimaginable societal and political upheaval in Afghanistan, and even as its people face an uncertain and frightening future, these images challenge us to reflect on the power of resilience and courage in tumultuous times.
Recipients were be identified through organisations that the NWMI (Network of Women in Media, India) was in touch with, including the Centre for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists; Women Journalists’ Co-ordination Center; and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association. “Funds will be used for travel, visas, rebuilding small media enterprises, as well as for emergency subsistence, since many women journalists have been forced out of their jobs.”
The fundraiser ran for three weeks, beginning September 7, 2021, and ending September 30, 2021. More than $A100,000 was raised for the MSSF appeal which included a contribution of more than $1000 from Women in Media.
On February 25, 2022, MEAA’s national media section committee of elected officials condemned the suspension of 24 Papua New Guinean TV journalists who walked off the job in support of a colleague.
The fund received an application to assist journalists at EMTV Papua New Guinea. In February, the highly respected head of EMTV news and current affairs Sincha Dimara, a journalist with 33 years of experience, was suspended from her job for three weeks on the grounds of “insubordination” and damaging the “reputation, credibility and standing” of EMTV for defending her newsroom’s coverage of an Australian businessman.
On February 25, 2022, her entire news team of 16 journalists and eight camera operators, who had been supporting her, were handed termination notices. Dimara’s attempts to negotiate a return to work for herself and her team were rejected.[v]
The fund was approached to provide financial assistance to the journalists as they prepare a legal challenge to the suspension.
[i] “Renewal at the top of Australia’s union for media, entertainment and arts workers”, MEAA, February 8, 2021 https://www.meaa.org/news/renewal-at-the-top-of-australias-union-for-media-entertainment-and-arts-workers/
[ii] “Afghanistan: Former Ariana television journalist killed in explosion”, International Federation of Journalists, November 16, 2021, https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/afghanistan-former-ariana-television-journalist-killed-in-explosion.html
[iii] “Afghanistan: Taliban’s new directives will further muzzle press freedom”, Intenational Federation of Journalists, November 30, 2021 https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/afghanistan-talibans-new-directives-will-further-muzzle-press-freedom.html
[iv] “Journalists for Afghanistan — photo print fundraiser to support women journalists in Afghanistan” https://journalistsforafgh.wixsite.com/for-afg/about-us-copy
[v] “Papua New Guinea: EMTV suspends veteran journalist for alleged defamation”, International federation of Journalists, February 14, 2022 https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/papua-new-guinea-emtv-suspends-veteran-journalist-for-alleged-defamation.html
