ISLAMABAD: “It was God’s will, so it happened. We cannot say that if we had given him this (the vaccine), this would not have happened, questioning your destiny is against Islam,” said the father of a young boy who had contracted polio in Lakki Marwat.

The question is: how does one argue with this kind of logic?

This was the question raised by a powerful documentary, ‘The Polio War’, which was screened by the French embassy on Wednesday. Broadcast originally on the French public broadcaster, France 2, the documentary was recently selected for the Albert Londres Prize, the highest French journalism award. Considered the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, this year the award was claimed by Islamabad-based journalist Taha Siddiqui and his team members, Julian Fouchet and Sylvain Lepetit for their work on the spread of the poliovirus in Pakistan.

Award-winning documentary screened at French embassy

Mr Siddiqui, who is the first non-French speaking recipient of the Albert Londres Prize, said that although the documentary was made in 2012 and 2013, it was still very relevant.

He is not exaggerating. On May 5, the World Health Organisation declared that Pakistan had become an exporter of the wild poliovirus and slapped travel restrictions on travellers, requiring them to present a certificate of immunisation when crossing international borders. Up until a few years ago, the debilitating disease was thought to have been eradicated. However, fresh cases surfaced in countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia and Nigeria, leading to renewed global concern.

The documentary-makers travelled to Afghanistan to follow the work of vaccinators there. Despite the heavy presence of coalition forces, immunisation staff dreaded going into areas where the fundamentalists held sway. The documentary contained scenes of soldiers pulling children out of vehicles and vaccinating them on the road; at the last checkpoint before militant territory. This, they said, was the only way they could reach children from areas with his refusal rates.

The team then travelled to Pakistan, where polio immunisation is a dangerous business. Lady health workers, volunteers and security personnel tasked with protecting these teams are routinely targeted by extremists.

They spoke to volunteers whose colleagues had been shot in a dangerous neighbourhood on the outskirts of Karachi. Despite being cowed by threats, the volunteers were steadfast in their mission.

The threats to vaccination teams are very real. A statement issued by the Ministry of Health Services in April revealed that over 40 people had been killed and 25 injured in attacks on vaccination teams and the security personnel guarding them, since July 2012.

The documentary also explored the reasons behind vaccine refusals. In one case, a village prayer leader quoted excerpts from the jihadi publication, Zarb-i-Momin, to make a case against the vaccine. Others spoke of rumours that it cause infertility and sterility, while others insisted it contained pork, which is considered haraam in Muslim culture.

Speaking after the screening, Siddiqui told the audience how, in their search for the reasons behind refusals, they visited the offices of a known extremist publication that carries out propaganda against vaccination.

He blamed extremist publications for playing up conspiracy theories and said that the local right-wing media had a big role in promoting vaccine-denial.

French Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud told the audience that the subject of the film “was of major importance to us all” and hoped that its message would be widely circulated within Pakistan.

The screening was also attended by Senator Afrasiab Khattak of the Awami National Party, noted defence analyst Dr Ayesha Siddiqa and members of the foreign press corps.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014