In Afghanistan, a radio call-in show brings answers, comic relief
KABUL: The studio of Radio Arman lies behind a thick steel door, deep within a block-long bunker. Once a row of private homes, it is now a maze of production sets and tiny offices, barricaded against car bombs and gunfire.
But when the station comes to life every morning at 7am, it opens up a freewheeling, live conversation with the entire country - sharing callers’ concerns, putting officials on the air to respond, and offering sympathy and comic relief to a nation exhausted by poverty and war.
The hour-long interactive call-in show, called “Cleaning Up the City,” started 14 years ago as a sounding board and troubleshooting service for community issues, and it still performs that role, rotating among mundane daily themes such as education and utilities.
But over time, it has evolved into something more. For an hour each day, the show creates a sense of community and shared problems across a nation that has long been divided by ethnicity, politics and forbidding geography - but where today, listeners nationwide have access to cellphones.
“People trust us. They see us as a source of help and pressure,” says Massood Sanjer, 38, a hyperactive, irreverent journalist who has directed and hosted the show since it first aired in 2003. “I get 1,000 calls a day and I have a database of 10,000 phone numbers. We get answers, and we change people’s lives.”
On a recent morning, th es how’ s mood veered from sarcastic to solemn, as Sanjer juggled calls and switched gears constantly, often bantering with his co-host, Homayun Daneshyar. For some, calling in was mostly an outlet for frustration, a way to blow off stream. For others, it was a last resort.
Sanjer’s rapport with the audience was obvious. An assistant took notes on every call, and a second aide logged a deluge of texts, tweets and other messages. There were no commercials, only public service spots urging Afghans to join the army and Taliban insurgents to come in from the cold.
A defence ministry worker complained that no one in his department had been paid in months. Sanjer placed a call to the relevant department head, who mumbled something about a technical delay but then confided in a burst of exasperation, “I’m a general, and I haven’t been paid in six months, either.”
Several callers critisized PresidentAshraf Ghaniassitting in his palace and making money while ordinary people struggled, provoking sardonic comments in the studio. Sanjer later said that one frequent caller pretends to be Ghani, mimicking his high-pitched voice to the delight of listeners. (Ghani, actually an abstemious workaholic, has become a punching bag for public frustration about government divisions and drift amid persistent poverty and violence.)
Police corruption came up several times; one man sent in a video of a traffic jam and said the police were demanding bribes to let drivers double park. He then invited Sanjer to ride to work with him. “If you don’t believe me, come see for yourself,” he said with a conspiratorial laugh.
A more anxious request came from a young Afghan stranded across the Pakistan border, which Pakistan closed weeks ago after charging that militias were attacking from the Afghan side.
The caller said he had missed a crucial entrance test at Kabul University and begged Sanjer to find out if he could have a second chance. Sanjer said he would try to help, then turned to his cohost. “We need a Trump who will seal the border completely,” he said with a grin. — Washington Post