[KABAR] Does my profession benefit society?

By Erkeayim Taalaibekova, Corr. Kabar News Agency

Probably, every person at least once asks the question: “Does his profession bring benefits to society?” If I were asked this question a couple of years ago, I would honestly be at a loss to answer. Today, having worked not so much time in the field of journalism, I would answer without the slightest doubt: "Yes, of course." Perhaps journalism is not the most popular profession, but it is thanks to this profession people, or rather the audience, have the opportunity to consider pressing issues from different angles. I would like to disclose this topic in more detail, drawing on the experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. As we all know, at the end of 2019, Chinese authorities announced an outbreak of unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province. A month later, on January 22, 2020, the city of Wuhan was quarantined due to numerous cases of infection, since January 24 all the urban districts adjacent to it. Later, on March 11, WHO announced that the outbreak had become a pandemic. Across the world, many countries have begun to detect cases of COVID-19 infection in citizens. The pandemic affected our little Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia with a population of six million, the first case of infection became known on March 18, 2020. The infection was detected in three citizens who arrived in their homeland in the Jalal-Abad region after a small Hajj (umra) in Saudi Arabia. I, probably, fortunately or vice versa, had a chance to learn about it firsthand, I still remember this excitement and responsibility. On March 22, the Kyrgyz Government decided to introduce an emergency regime throughout Kyrgyzstan. Journalists, however, like representatives of other areas, worked as usual, but due to the fact that the flow of information was huge, the work had to be worn out. Since March 25, a state of emergency has been introduced in certain regions of Kyrgyzstan, which implies the introduction of curfews, and restrictions on movement in the area where it is imposed. At the time of emergency in Bishkek, the editors of our agency were transferred to the remote work mode. For journalists, this was a kind of test, probably, it is precisely at these moments that you understand how important your work is to society. At first, I had to work in heavy duty, but we must pay tribute to the press services of departments, which, in turn, worked even more than we did in order to timely provide journalists with reliable information. After all, it was precisely what frightened people needed. Undoubtedly, absolutely all media have become one of the main sources of information. Work remotely had to quickly and clearly. Often, information was clarified by telephone. There was a place to be that people tried to intimidate with fake news. It was at such moments when it was most difficult. In one of these cases, I had to break the regime of self-isolation and go to the place to make sure and prove the opposite to the population. A number of media outlets began to accuse local governments of inaction to provide assistance to vulnerable groups of the population. Armed with everything I need, namely: a sanitizer, a mask and gloves, at my own peril and risk, I left together with representatives of the city authorities to distribute humanitarian aid to those in need. Having visited warehouses, having traveled a couple of residential districts and making sure 100% that the help is provided, I was able to prove the opposite without mistake. Perhaps not all citizens of our country, but at least to their friends and relatives. Until now, I have not ceased to follow this and I know for sure that today at least more than 100 thousand people in need are supported throughout Kyrgyzstan. Since May 12, 2020, Kyrgyzstan lifted the state of emergency and introduced quarantine. A number of enterprises resumed their activities, but at the same time in compliance with all sanitary standards. The relevant departments were tasked with overseeing compliance. Due to the fact that the media also fell into a number of enterprises that allowed to resume their activities, we had the opportunity to travel to places. On one of these trips together with the city authorities, I visited the AvtoMash Radiator tractor spare parts factory. Only upon arrival, I learned that one of the workers was asymptomatically infected by COVID-19 and thereby transferred it to another 7 colleagues, and later it became known about the death of the mother of one of the employees. Probably the most ridiculous thing is that the mother was infected by her son, but he himself was not. I was so worried then that I could become infected or infect one of my family members. As I remember now, after I came home, I torn myself first, and then the whole house. Currently, the situation with COVID-19 in Kyrgyzstan continues to be difficult and the number of people infected with the disease is growing every day. Many media work normally, but wariness remains. Therefore, many journalists have to adapt to the new conditions and work at a distance.