The AP was the only international media company to deliver an in-depth story on the extreme heat conditions faced by factory workers in Pakistan, where reporters and their movements are very restricted. The team of reporter Victoria Milko, photographer Anjum Naveed and Karachi-based videojournalist Muhammad Farooq spoke to 16 hard-to-access workers for this story, as well as labor union leaders, policy makers, local government officials and health experts. A vast majority of the reporting took place in what is often referred to as one of the world’s most dangerous slums. Farooq continuously worked to keep the team safe, whether it was by contacting hardline Muslim political parties who control portions of the area to ensure safe passage or directing traffic to avoid getting stuck in a dangerous gridlock. Farooq and Anjum also negotiated rare access to film and photograph inside factories. Days after their story was published, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Forced Labor Division contacted Milko to learn more about their investigation. The story also was widely shared in public health and labor academic and activist circles and picked up by many AP customers.
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