SUNDAY 27 JULY 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Kick: Salman COMMUNITY Khan and Sajid • Northwestern alumni, faculty and staff to share insights Nadiadwala kick with high school students up a storm P | 4 P | 8-9 FOOD • Think beyond the slice with refreshing watermelon Once a deadpan radio announcer under the Taliban, Masood Sanjer has gained P | 6 renown for being a thorn in the side of accountability-dodging Afghan officials, WHEELS exemplifying hard-won media freedoms that are at stake in a pivotal year. • BMW’s high-riding compact a fix for empty-nest syndrome P | 7 HEALTH • Parents of obese kids may be more ready to tackle diet than exercise P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • iPhones allow extraction of deep personal data: Expert P | 12 LEARN ARABIC NEW ERA FOR • Learn commonly used Arabic words AFGHAN RADIO and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | SUNDAY 27 JULY 2014 COVER STORY Taliban-era radio announcer rides crest of the airwaves by Anuj Chopra municipality of dumping raw sewage in his neighbourhood. nce a deadpan radio announcer “If you see the mayor anywhere could under the Taliban, Masood you please convey that Arman FM radio Sanjer has gained renown for is trying to contact him? He isn’t answer- Obeing a thorn in the side of ing his phone,” Sanjer said, pouting mock- accountability-dodging Afghan officials, ingly. “Is he still asleep?” exemplifying hard-won media freedoms Sanjer was once a mealy-mouthed that are at stake in a pivotal year. announcer at Voice of Sharia, the Taliban’s His radio talk show “Safai Shahar” official mouthpiece during their oppres- (cleaning the city) is something of a sive 1996-2001 rule, cautiously vetting cross between a public helpline and a every word before it fell off his tongue. kangaroo court, enabling callers around His life depended on it. Afghanistan to vent their civic grievances “One mistake, one wrong word and over the airwaves — from broken sewage you could get locked up in a container by drains to crime and corruption. the Taliban,” he said, revealing his sepia- Sanjer, 36, plays troubleshooter live on toned photograph from the time sporting air, phoning up relevant authorities to the mandatory beard and turban. seek redress, often skewering them for “And now look at me — I just switch on answers and sometimes chivvying them the mic and say whatever comes out of my into action. “Does anyone know where mouth,” said Sanjer, now clean-shaven. the mayor of Kabul is this morning?” he purred into the microphone during a Feisty watchdog recent hour-long show broadcast live at In many ways, Sanjer’s dramatic career 7am from a spartan Kabul studio. trajectory mirrors the evolution of the A woman producer sat nearby, fin- media in post-Taliban Afghanistan into gers skittering over a cellphone as she a feisty — and largely free — watchdog attempted in vain to get hold of the despite funding pressures and the ever- Afghan radio presenter mayor after an angry caller accused the growing threat of violence. Humayun Danishyar, co-host of the "Safai Shahar" radio show. PLUS | SUNDAY 27 JULY 2014 3 From virtually no free media in the Taliban era, Afghanistan today boasts of hundreds of television broadcasters, radio stations and print publications — many seemingly unafraid of riling authorities with hard-nosed reporting about Radio presenter Masood Sanjer corruption and nepotism that is pictured in the studio. synonymous with Afghan officialdom. From virtually no free media in the Taliban foreign troops, contractors and NGOs depart. percent of the population is under 25 — he era, Afghanistan today boasts of hundreds of But Saad Mohseni, chairman of his family- said the new generation is hungry for a pro- television broadcasters, radio stations and run Moby Group which owns five broadcast gressive media. print publications — many seemingly una- networks in the country including the popu- “It gives them hope, a sense of escapism,” fraid of riling authorities with hard-nosed lar Tolo TV and Arman FM, remains ebul- he said. “There are however plenty of people reporting about corruption and nepotism liently optimistic about the future. still trying to take Afghanistan in the oppo- that is synonymous with Afghan officialdom. site direction.” “The sentence you often hear about the ‘Afghanistan’s Murdoch’ A Taliban rocket landed right on top Afghan media being the only success story in Despite the downturn, he said his media of Sanjer’s studio, located near Mohseni’s Afghanistan is not a cliche or an exaggera- group had attracted more advertising cli- office, during a 19-hour gun battle in 2011 tion,” Massoumeh Torfeh, an expert on the ents this year though revenue has largely targeting the nearby US embassy and Nato Afghan press, said. remained flat. headquarters. “The media... (has) become an instrument Mohseni, labelled the ‘Rupert Murdoch Nobody was hurt but the risk of being tar- of political power. All politicians know they of Afghanistan’ (a comparison he is uncom- geted is a constant. The entire compound is cannot survive without being heard on the fortable with even though Murdoch’s 21st manned by brawny guards wielding AK47s. media. Equally no politician, including the Century Fox is a minority shareholder in Back in the studio, Kabul’s mayor remained president, can escape being scrutinised by his company), is lionised widely as a taboo- stubbornly elusive but Sanjer and his team the media,” said Torfeh, a research associate busting mogul pushing the limits of media were inundated with other complaints. at the London School of Economics. freedoms. One distressed caller from Ghazni But several media organisations face the Moby has stood up to withering govern- demanded to know why officials were going serious risk of collapse, observers warn, as ment criticism and threats of arrest for around forcing local shopkeepers to each Afghanistan faces a precipitous economic aggressive reporting on official incompetence. pony up 50 Afghani ($1). Was the collection downturn amid cynicism about the country’s It has also drawn the ire of traditionalists legally authorised? future. for airing Turkish soap operas with charac- The mayor of Ghazni agreed to come on The United States plans to pull out the ters oozing sexual tension and glitzy singing air, but sought to wriggle out of responsibil- bulk of its troops from Afghanistan by talent shows where unveiled women partici- ity, claiming it was private individuals and December after 13 years of war, despite an pate alongside men. not his officials who were extorting the cash. ascendant Taliban, and the nation is in the “There is a huge difference between the “You really could learn a thing or two from midst of a rancourous power struggle after Afghanistan of 2001 and the Afghanistan the Kabul mayor,” Sanjer’s co-host, Humayun presidential elections marred by allegations of today,” Mohseni, sporting curly hair and Danishyar, retorted with a dash of sarcasm. of fraud. rectangular-rimmed glasses, said in his Kabul “Last week he promised he would come International funding and advertising office featuring 15 small televisions tacked on the show... but chickened out. He really dollars that kept many media organisations on the wall. knows how to defend himself.” afloat all these years are rapidly dwindling as Citing Afghanistan’s “youth bulge” — 65 AFP 4 PLUS | SUNDAY 27 JULY 2014 COMMUNITY The Pearl-Qatar lauded Northwestern alumni, for hosting Qatar Charity’s faculty and staff to Al Baraha Ramadan Tent share insights with nited Development Company (UDC), developer of The Pearl- high school students UQatar, was invited recently to receive an appreciation presented by orthwestern University in Qatar Charity in recognition of The Qatar’s Summer Media Pearl-Qatar’s contribution to the suc- NInstitute, will this year bring cess of the organisation’s Al Baraha together for the first time NU-Q alumni activity programme in Ramadan. and 30 local high school students to The ceremony, which was attended share insights on several aspects of by a number of UDC and Qatar Charity reporting and filmmaking as well as life senior officials in addition to families at the university and in the workplace. and community members. The two-week programme — run- Abdulrahim Al Ibrahim, Director ning from August 3-14 — is designed to of The Pearl-Qatar Central Authority help students understand what makes received the memorial gift on behalf of headlines in human rights, health, UDC and later stated: “We are pleased politics, and conflict resolution among to support this spiritual and charitable other social issues. initiative that adds meaning to the holy Now in its fifth year, the institute month of Ramadan’s celebration at The Zaher Al Yafie, Executive Director of efforts between Qatar Charity and will also provide students with hands- Pearl-Qatar. Efforts to develop Qatari Collection and Branches Department UDC. “Qatar Charity is committed on training in documentary filmmak- society and our community as a whole at Qatar Charity, extended his sincere to providing support in various fields ing, emphasising key techniques in are an integral part of our corporate thanks to UDC and The Pearl-Qatar in line with the objectives and basic cinematography, lighting and editing. social responsibility programme.” for supporting Al Baraha’s installment principles of the Qatar National Vision Throughout the programme, students For his part, Abdul Nasser Al on the Island and praised the concerted 2030,” he said. The Peninsula will interact on a daily basis with NU-Q alumni, faculty and specialist staff to gain a thorough understanding of regional and international media. “The Summer Media Institute is an Aqua Park to host pirate-themed event for Eid Al Fitr opportunity for local, young minds to explore the continuously developing field atar’s one and only water theme park is kicking off the the human-sized cartoon character that will be mingling of media, as well as gain a sense of uni- QEid Al Fitr festivities with an exciting action-packed with the crowd.