June 19, 2024 • 29 mins
Afghanistan’s biggest popstar leads the fight against the Taliban. And then one January day, a bomb goes off on a bus in Kabul, and nothing about the show– or the country– will ever be the same again
...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Aska previously on Afghanistan. Daoud flees Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Sometimes I say maybe I am that I was the
first person to realize the situation is getting worse.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And Tolo TV is declared an official military target of
the Taliban.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from now onwards does not
recognize Hollow TV as a media outlet.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It declares them to.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Be military targets which will be eliminated. When Tolo TV
CEO and founder Sad Musseni reads the fatwa, the Taliban
declaration that Sad's company and all of his employees are
(01:01):
now officially targets, he's terrified, but he's also furious. He's
not gonna let the Taliban bully him into hiding. This
isn't about losing his company. It's about the cultural revolution
taking place right now. Sad believes people should be able
(01:21):
to watch what they want to watch, to vote with
their remote controls, and he refuses to let this revolution
fall in the face of terrorists, so he starts ramping
up security.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We had all types of equipment that would detect bombs.
We had fully trained dogs, we had machines that could
detect messhole. If people pass through them.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
And he makes sure most programs are filmed within the
walls of the Tolo compound.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
And of course when they travel outside the compound, we
had armored vehicles that they would travel in, especially our judges.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Also, a lot of the staff carry weapons, including Sod,
not that it would make any difference, because well.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You know that most of us were not well versed
in terms of you know, keeping a gun, cleaning a gun,
holding it should be at the front or the back
of your trousers.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
With all the security in place, Sod instructs his teams
to keep making their shows. He's doubling down, hoping that
the flood of comedy and music and soap operas will
keep the Taliban at bay. Of course, there's a simpler solution.
He could just shut down the Taliban's biggest target, Afghan
(02:44):
Star represents everything the Taliban hate, and if he just
canceled that show, he could probably make all the threats
go away. But Sod won't do it. Instead, he does
something he knows will enrage his enemies. He hires a
(03:06):
new judge, a pop star named Arianna. Said, we cannot
let them win.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
We cannot let the darkness come over us again. We
have to fight back. We have to fight back with music.
That's how we can fight.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I'm John Legend and from Kaleidoscope and iHeart This is
Afghanistar Chapter one. Ariana. Arianna said was born in Afghanistan,
(03:57):
but she fled when she was eight years old after
a rocket landed in a tree right outside her house
during the civil war.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
This noise was actually like still kind of clinging in
our ears, and there was smoke. Everyone was coughing, trying
to look for each other. I remember so many birds
had died and they had just been thrown on the
ground everywhere, and I was looking at these birds and
I was feeling like, oh my god, what a disaster.
(04:28):
My father said, Okay, there's no way for us to
be able to live in this country anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
She went from Afghanistan to Pakistan, to Switzerland, then Germany,
and finally she settled in London. As a tween, she
became obsessed with Beyonce and Destiny's Child, and she used
to spend all day in her bedroom singing into her hairbrush.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Do you know that song by j Loo? I used
to love that song and sing it all the time.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Case you have.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Mom soon She was singing at family gatherings and parties
and even making videos which she would upload to YouTube.
And it was those videos that Sod and his producers saw.
(05:22):
They caught her up and said, hey, we run the
biggest music TV station in Afghanistan. Why don't you come
to Cobble and do a concert.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's like Sida see.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Hold my heart.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Ariana had always wanted to go home, much like Sad
and other Afghans who had been displaced by the war.
She'd longed for it, and so for the first time
since she was a kid. In twenty eleven, Arianna sets
foot in Cobble.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Q as the law mason eye easies.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
She steps onto the stage wearing a floor linked turquoise dress,
and she looks around. The walls of the arena are black,
dotted with thousands of multicolored lights. They look like stars
in the night sky from a distance. Her eyes dropped
to the seat surrounding the stage. Every single one of
(06:30):
them is filled. She struts forward, her turquoise dressed shimmering.
Her black hair cascades down the small of her back.
It swishes back and forth as she begins to say.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I remember the crops the screams and the excitement of
the audience. They absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Arianna flips her hair off her shoulder and begins to
dance around the stage, pointing her microphone at the audience.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I got the audience to sing along with me, and
I think that was the first time in the Afghan
music history that a single got the public, even including women,
to sing along.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
They keep bursting up and out of their seats to
join in. They're holding hands and waving their arms in
the air, clapping to the beat and whistling. Over the
(08:14):
next few years, Ariana just keeps getting bigger, a full
on Afghan pop sensation. Her makeup is glamorous, her hair
is long and thick and straight, and she wears it uncovered.
Her outfits are big and sparkly. She has tattoos on
(08:34):
her hands, and her songs have made her famous, like
really really famous.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Tama Tama Ariana Said is a superstar in Afghanistan, Singing
in n Pashto and Dari dialects. Her voice not only
gives Afghani folkloric music a modern twist, but also carries
the aspirations of women seeking empowerment in a country that
was one under Taliban rule.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
She has fans all over the world, one point nine
million followers on Instagram, and because she's so famous, she's.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Been targeted by Islamic cardliners and even had a bounty
on her head for not wearing a veil.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Outside this hotel where I'm performing, there were about, I
don't know two hundred and fifty to three hundred people
praying and screaming and shouting, calling my name death to Ariana.
She's Satan. She's bringing music to Afghanistan and we have
to stop her. And they were praying at the same time,
calling God and calling me infidel.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And that's when Sad approaches and he tells her that
he wants her to head up the next season of
Afghanistar as a judge. She isn't just the most visible
pop star in the country, she's all so the perfect
soldier to help him fight the Taliban. And just as
(10:12):
he predicted, Ariana's impact is immediate.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Every time I was on the show, their viewers would
automatically like go up by so many percentages. Because I
was a part of the show and because people love.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Me, female fans line up for hours for a chance
to talk to her. After tapings, They used to.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Tell me stories about their daily lives and how people
would look down upon them from there or let's say,
I don't know, on a bus, traveling to their home,
or being on the road on the streets.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Ariana begins to take female contestants under her wing, coaching
them to get further in the competition.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
They used to be called names. People would not vote
for them to be on the show. They would make
fun of them. Their families would say you are not
my daughter.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It was extremely hard, extremely challenging for them.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
But with Ariana behind them, two women get through to
the top twelve and one of them is even a rapper.
Afghan Star started with everyone auditioning using the same Afghan
(11:40):
Elvis songs. There was no new music. Dau Sadiki, the
first producer, couldn't even find a judge because there were
barely any singers in the country. But ten seasons later,
there are female rappers, gorgeous pop songs, famous pop stars.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It was a lightning rod all other ways. I mean,
one side of the coin was that we're getting lots
of viewers and we're giving people joy. But the other
side was that people just did not like us for
airing this.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Program, but Sad doesn't care. This is a revolution and
it will be televised. He won't back down, or so
he thinks. Thanks January twentieth, twenty sixteen, Sad is on
(12:51):
a business trip when he gets a call from an
employee in Cobble. He listens as this producer explains that
the news team is out reporting on a developing story.
A minibus full of people was targeted in a suicide
bomb attack. And then the producer pauses and Sad waits,
(13:21):
and he says something horrifying.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
He said, I'm trying to get a hold of people
and Melon's strength. I think it may be our boss.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Chapter two, A Brave Girl. The morning of January twentieth,
twenty sixteen had been like any other for Ghoul Mohammed Azizi.
His daughter Mahri Azizi was rushing after work Dona.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
She was very kind hearted and I loved her so much.
She was not only a reason of pro for me,
but for my whole family.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Mary was talented. In addition to her mother tongue, she
could speak English and German and Dutch. She loved to
learn and would stay up until one am most knights
studying and working.
Speaker 6 (14:41):
And she wanted to pursue and complete her education and
reach the highest you know, position wise that she is
dreaming of. And from that point of view, she wanted
to serve the country.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And what better way than taking part in Tolo TV's
revolution of entertainment. She was in her early twenties and
she was already a rising star on the staff of
Sad's company. But then the fatoi was issued by the
(15:18):
Taliban and the threats rolled in one after the other.
Corono and the work some shoot moan.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
She told her mother that I feel I feel it
in my heart that I'm going to be martied in
the way that I'm going from job home and from
home to job.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
That's right. She feels like she's going to become a martyr.
She tells her mom that she has a feeling she
thinks she's about to die.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
I asked her that you shouldn't go if there are
threats against your job.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
But she tells her father, no, I'm going in alongside
my colleagues. She was a brave girl, and so she
keeps working and on the evening of January twentieth, twenty sixteen,
her father's phone rings it's two of Mary's colleagues. They
(16:22):
sound panicked, upset. They tell him there's been an attack.
Speaker 6 (16:30):
Unfortunately, the Mehry was also part of those people who
were there in the in the.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Best and she didn't survive. Gold Mohammed is in tears
as he tells this story. It keeps dropping his head
to wipe his tears with a handkerchief, but he doesn't
stop talking.
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Rang A. It was a very painful moment, and her
mother was very said, and she was crying a lot.
She was beating herself up.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
He rushes to the hospital to see her body.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
There were a lot of family members that were so
crowd and everyone was running down and they didn't let
us initially to go inside and see.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And then all of a sudden, it all hits him,
the stress, the panic, this immense sense of loss that
his baby girl is gone. His body shuts down and
(17:43):
he drops to the ground unconscious.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Chaos in the center of carbol after a carbombing. Attackers
I thought we have targeted the van of local TV
news station TOLO. At least employees are feared dead. There
have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. However,
the Taliban said last year that they considered Tolo TV
a legitimate target.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
While all of this is happening, Sad is on a
plane back to Kabo. He can't do anything until he lands,
so he just keeps refreshing his messages and his news app,
hoping for an update. Eventually, it's confirmed seven employees were
(18:45):
murdered in the attack.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Operating in a place like Afghanistan, we have been exposed
to attacks and friends and family getting killed. I stopped counting,
and twenty twelve or twenty thirteen, but but by then
I had lost something like forty close friends in the war.
But what was important, but this particular attack, was that
(19:14):
some of these kids were like our own children, and
you have this responsibility in terms of protecting them.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
When Saad's plane finally touches down, he goes straight to
see the victim's families.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
The environment is such a way, you have dozens of
families wailing as they identify their but you know, so
it's very traumatic experience for all and some, of course,
many were deeply angry with us and unhappy with us,
but that's, you know, expected.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
He calls ghul Mohammad, Mary's father.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Plays it up and he promised that we will help
with anything that we can. He promises that they will
pay us up to ten years half of their salaries,
and along with that he promised that any family members
we will help and hire them.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Here.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Let's you feel guilty.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
We still do.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Of course you do. You want to comfort them and
and condole them, but you understand, you have to understand
their anger.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
That night, Sad lies in his bed, awake. The darkness
feels suffocating. He can't get the images out of his head,
and for the first time, he asks himself, is it
all worth it? This whole thing? I started this revolution,
this idea of spreading pop culture around Afghanistan and giving
(20:53):
people entertainment in the face of people actually dying kids,
We gave jobs, jobs, two being blown up coming home
from work. Is any of it worth it?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
It's not a rhetorical question, it's a serious question. But
you have to prepare to carry through with your decision.
If you were together and shut down the operation.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Hey, it's John Legend. If you've been listening, you already
know that Afghan Star is a tale of resistance and hope.
For fifteen years, Afghan Star was a beacon. But when
the Taliban returned to power, they shut the show down
along with so many Afghan rights. They banned music, education
(21:46):
for girls and women, and they continue to clamp down
on everyone's freedoms. But there are ways to show your support.
We've teamed up with AWA Studios and their incredible graphic
artists to illustrate some of the most extraordinary moments in
this podcast. There is a unique print for each episode,
(22:08):
bringing to life powerful moments that are moving and inspiring.
And there's an unforgettable print based on a painting from
superstar artist Raza that represents the spirit of hope embodied
by the show. Art and music have the power to
uplift us all, and ordering a work for yourself or
(22:30):
as a gift help support Afghans. With every purchase will
be donating to the Nore Initiative, a nonprofit working to
ensure that every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
For more information on our collaboration with AWA, the artworks
available to listeners, and to learn more about the Nere
(22:54):
Initiative's efforts to educate, support independent media, and transform lives
across the region, head to the link in our show
notes below. The next day, Sod gets ready to go
(23:17):
into the office. He's slower than usual, dragging his heels
because he's expecting the worst.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
I expected half a dozen people to show up because
we've given the day off to everyone, because everyone has
been so traumatized.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Sod drives in, thinking about all the possible outcomes. Will
his staff quit, Will they disavow their work and severed
ties with TOLO after the bombing? Will anyone want to
work on Afghan Star? People are scared.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I mean, our judges are scared, Our contestants are scared.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
We were scared. He knows he needs to talk to
his staff, whatever staff are left, but he doesn't know
what to say. He's still asking himself, should we shut
the whole thing down? He drives past the security guards
with their AK forty sevens standing outside. He parks and
(24:13):
goes in. He walks down the corridor until finally he
reaches the door to the newsroom, and that's when he
sees them.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
The entire organization and hundreds of kids who were present that.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Morning, all standing there.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Standing outside on a particularly cold day.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Waiting waiting for him to speak. So he takes a
deep breath.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
And I said, listen at the end of the day,
if it means that we save lives, I'd be happy
to shut down the operation. And for me, it's not
worth one life.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Whatever we're doing, it's not the words they want to hear.
It's clear they aren't going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
There was no fear, and as a matter of fact,
it became evident that there was a great deal of anger,
and their determination to carry on was for me very important.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Instead of being afraid, they are livid. For these young
producers and cameramen and anchors and gaffers, the losses are visceral.
In an instant, dreams were snatched, their friends and colleagues,
lives taken away, and the names are ringing through their heads.
(25:41):
Merry as easy, said Jawad Husseini, Zaynab mer Zaid, Mariam Ibrahimi,
(26:08):
Mohammad Hussein, Mohammad Ali, Mohammadi, Hossein Amiri. Asaad looks at
(26:31):
his little media army. He realizes they are so much
stronger than he'd ever known from the wreckage and the loss.
They need to know that what they've all built together
means something, that their friends' lives and work mean something.
(26:54):
They want to rip the Taliban apart and they are
standing here unified, waiting for orders to fight back.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
There's no way Taliban would be able to gain power
and couple. My heart would never accept it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
That's next time. Afghanstar is a Kaleidoscope production in collaboration
(27:39):
with iHeart Podcasts, produced by samas dot Audio and hosted
by me John Legend from samas dot Audio. The series
producer is Mira Kumar. Our executive producers are Joe Sikes
and Dasha Listsina. Mix and sound designed by Jeff Imptman.
(28:02):
Story editing by Joe Sikes, with original composition by Kyle Murdoch.
Recording engineer Tim McClain. Chapter artwork by a WA Studios
from Kaleidoscope. The executive producers are Kate Osborne, Mengesh hattikadur
Oz Volisian and Costas Lenos from iHeart. The executive producers
(28:27):
are Ali Perry and Katrina Norval. Social Media by Darra
Patts and Vaheiny Shormi. Special thanks to Tom Freston, Lizzie Jacobs,
Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman, Nikki Etore, Bob Pittman, John Sikes,
con o Byrne Sad Mussenni and the Mossenni family, Matthew
(28:48):
Anderson and Axo Alonzo, and a special thanks to everyone
at MOBI group to give out but
Aska previously on Afghanistan. Daoud flees Afghanistan.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Sometimes I say maybe I am that I was the
first person to realize the situation is getting worse.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And Tolo TV is declared an official military target of
the Taliban.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from now onwards does not
recognize Hollow TV as a media outlet.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It declares them to.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Be military targets which will be eliminated. When Tolo TV
CEO and founder Sad Musseni reads the fatwa, the Taliban
declaration that Sad's company and all of his employees are
(01:01):
now officially targets, he's terrified, but he's also furious. He's
not gonna let the Taliban bully him into hiding. This
isn't about losing his company. It's about the cultural revolution
taking place right now. Sad believes people should be able
(01:21):
to watch what they want to watch, to vote with
their remote controls, and he refuses to let this revolution
fall in the face of terrorists, so he starts ramping
up security.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We had all types of equipment that would detect bombs.
We had fully trained dogs, we had machines that could
detect messhole. If people pass through them.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
And he makes sure most programs are filmed within the
walls of the Tolo compound.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
And of course when they travel outside the compound, we
had armored vehicles that they would travel in, especially our judges.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Also, a lot of the staff carry weapons, including Sod,
not that it would make any difference, because well.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
You know that most of us were not well versed
in terms of you know, keeping a gun, cleaning a gun,
holding it should be at the front or the back
of your trousers.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
With all the security in place, Sod instructs his teams
to keep making their shows. He's doubling down, hoping that
the flood of comedy and music and soap operas will
keep the Taliban at bay. Of course, there's a simpler solution.
He could just shut down the Taliban's biggest target, Afghan
(02:44):
Star represents everything the Taliban hate, and if he just
canceled that show, he could probably make all the threats
go away. But Sod won't do it. Instead, he does
something he knows will enrage his enemies. He hires a
(03:06):
new judge, a pop star named Arianna. Said, we cannot
let them win.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
We cannot let the darkness come over us again. We
have to fight back. We have to fight back with music.
That's how we can fight.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I'm John Legend and from Kaleidoscope and iHeart This is
Afghanistar Chapter one. Ariana. Arianna said was born in Afghanistan,
(03:57):
but she fled when she was eight years old after
a rocket landed in a tree right outside her house
during the civil war.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
This noise was actually like still kind of clinging in
our ears, and there was smoke. Everyone was coughing, trying
to look for each other. I remember so many birds
had died and they had just been thrown on the
ground everywhere, and I was looking at these birds and
I was feeling like, oh my god, what a disaster.
(04:28):
My father said, Okay, there's no way for us to
be able to live in this country anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
She went from Afghanistan to Pakistan, to Switzerland, then Germany,
and finally she settled in London. As a tween, she
became obsessed with Beyonce and Destiny's Child, and she used
to spend all day in her bedroom singing into her hairbrush.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Do you know that song by j Loo? I used
to love that song and sing it all the time.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Case you have.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Mom soon She was singing at family gatherings and parties
and even making videos which she would upload to YouTube.
And it was those videos that Sod and his producers saw.
(05:22):
They caught her up and said, hey, we run the
biggest music TV station in Afghanistan. Why don't you come
to Cobble and do a concert.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
It's like Sida see.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Hold my heart.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Ariana had always wanted to go home, much like Sad
and other Afghans who had been displaced by the war.
She'd longed for it, and so for the first time
since she was a kid. In twenty eleven, Arianna sets
foot in Cobble.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Q as the law mason eye easies.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
She steps onto the stage wearing a floor linked turquoise dress,
and she looks around. The walls of the arena are black,
dotted with thousands of multicolored lights. They look like stars
in the night sky from a distance. Her eyes dropped
to the seat surrounding the stage. Every single one of
(06:30):
them is filled. She struts forward, her turquoise dressed shimmering.
Her black hair cascades down the small of her back.
It swishes back and forth as she begins to say.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I remember the crops the screams and the excitement of
the audience. They absolutely loved it.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Arianna flips her hair off her shoulder and begins to
dance around the stage, pointing her microphone at the audience.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I got the audience to sing along with me, and
I think that was the first time in the Afghan
music history that a single got the public, even including women,
to sing along.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
They keep bursting up and out of their seats to
join in. They're holding hands and waving their arms in
the air, clapping to the beat and whistling. Over the
(08:14):
next few years, Ariana just keeps getting bigger, a full
on Afghan pop sensation. Her makeup is glamorous, her hair
is long and thick and straight, and she wears it uncovered.
Her outfits are big and sparkly. She has tattoos on
(08:34):
her hands, and her songs have made her famous, like
really really famous.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Tama Tama Ariana Said is a superstar in Afghanistan, Singing
in n Pashto and Dari dialects. Her voice not only
gives Afghani folkloric music a modern twist, but also carries
the aspirations of women seeking empowerment in a country that
was one under Taliban rule.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
She has fans all over the world, one point nine
million followers on Instagram, and because she's so famous, she's.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Been targeted by Islamic cardliners and even had a bounty
on her head for not wearing a veil.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Outside this hotel where I'm performing, there were about, I
don't know two hundred and fifty to three hundred people
praying and screaming and shouting, calling my name death to Ariana.
She's Satan. She's bringing music to Afghanistan and we have
to stop her. And they were praying at the same time,
calling God and calling me infidel.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
And that's when Sad approaches and he tells her that
he wants her to head up the next season of
Afghanistar as a judge. She isn't just the most visible
pop star in the country, she's all so the perfect
soldier to help him fight the Taliban. And just as
(10:12):
he predicted, Ariana's impact is immediate.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Every time I was on the show, their viewers would
automatically like go up by so many percentages. Because I
was a part of the show and because people love.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Me, female fans line up for hours for a chance
to talk to her. After tapings, They used to.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Tell me stories about their daily lives and how people
would look down upon them from there or let's say,
I don't know, on a bus, traveling to their home,
or being on the road on the streets.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Ariana begins to take female contestants under her wing, coaching
them to get further in the competition.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
They used to be called names. People would not vote
for them to be on the show. They would make
fun of them. Their families would say you are not
my daughter.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
It was extremely hard, extremely challenging for them.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
But with Ariana behind them, two women get through to
the top twelve and one of them is even a rapper.
Afghan Star started with everyone auditioning using the same Afghan
(11:40):
Elvis songs. There was no new music. Dau Sadiki, the
first producer, couldn't even find a judge because there were
barely any singers in the country. But ten seasons later,
there are female rappers, gorgeous pop songs, famous pop stars.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
It was a lightning rod all other ways. I mean,
one side of the coin was that we're getting lots
of viewers and we're giving people joy. But the other
side was that people just did not like us for
airing this.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Program, but Sad doesn't care. This is a revolution and
it will be televised. He won't back down, or so
he thinks. Thanks January twentieth, twenty sixteen, Sad is on
(12:51):
a business trip when he gets a call from an
employee in Cobble. He listens as this producer explains that
the news team is out reporting on a developing story.
A minibus full of people was targeted in a suicide
bomb attack. And then the producer pauses and Sad waits,
(13:21):
and he says something horrifying.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
He said, I'm trying to get a hold of people
and Melon's strength. I think it may be our boss.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Chapter two, A Brave Girl. The morning of January twentieth,
twenty sixteen had been like any other for Ghoul Mohammed Azizi.
His daughter Mahri Azizi was rushing after work Dona.
Speaker 6 (14:14):
She was very kind hearted and I loved her so much.
She was not only a reason of pro for me,
but for my whole family.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Mary was talented. In addition to her mother tongue, she
could speak English and German and Dutch. She loved to
learn and would stay up until one am most knights
studying and working.
Speaker 6 (14:41):
And she wanted to pursue and complete her education and
reach the highest you know, position wise that she is
dreaming of. And from that point of view, she wanted
to serve the country.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
And what better way than taking part in Tolo TV's
revolution of entertainment. She was in her early twenties and
she was already a rising star on the staff of
Sad's company. But then the fatoi was issued by the
(15:18):
Taliban and the threats rolled in one after the other.
Corono and the work some shoot moan.
Speaker 6 (15:28):
She told her mother that I feel I feel it
in my heart that I'm going to be martied in
the way that I'm going from job home and from
home to job.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
That's right. She feels like she's going to become a martyr.
She tells her mom that she has a feeling she
thinks she's about to die.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
I asked her that you shouldn't go if there are
threats against your job.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
But she tells her father, no, I'm going in alongside
my colleagues. She was a brave girl, and so she
keeps working and on the evening of January twentieth, twenty sixteen,
her father's phone rings it's two of Mary's colleagues. They
(16:22):
sound panicked, upset. They tell him there's been an attack.
Speaker 6 (16:30):
Unfortunately, the Mehry was also part of those people who
were there in the in the.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Best and she didn't survive. Gold Mohammed is in tears
as he tells this story. It keeps dropping his head
to wipe his tears with a handkerchief, but he doesn't
stop talking.
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Rang A. It was a very painful moment, and her
mother was very said, and she was crying a lot.
She was beating herself up.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
He rushes to the hospital to see her body.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
There were a lot of family members that were so
crowd and everyone was running down and they didn't let
us initially to go inside and see.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And then all of a sudden, it all hits him,
the stress, the panic, this immense sense of loss that
his baby girl is gone. His body shuts down and
(17:43):
he drops to the ground unconscious.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
Chaos in the center of carbol after a carbombing. Attackers
I thought we have targeted the van of local TV
news station TOLO. At least employees are feared dead. There
have been no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. However,
the Taliban said last year that they considered Tolo TV
a legitimate target.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
While all of this is happening, Sad is on a
plane back to Kabo. He can't do anything until he lands,
so he just keeps refreshing his messages and his news app,
hoping for an update. Eventually, it's confirmed seven employees were
(18:45):
murdered in the attack.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Operating in a place like Afghanistan, we have been exposed
to attacks and friends and family getting killed. I stopped counting,
and twenty twelve or twenty thirteen, but but by then
I had lost something like forty close friends in the war.
But what was important, but this particular attack, was that
(19:14):
some of these kids were like our own children, and
you have this responsibility in terms of protecting them.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
When Saad's plane finally touches down, he goes straight to
see the victim's families.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
The environment is such a way, you have dozens of
families wailing as they identify their but you know, so
it's very traumatic experience for all and some, of course,
many were deeply angry with us and unhappy with us,
but that's, you know, expected.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
He calls ghul Mohammad, Mary's father.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Plays it up and he promised that we will help
with anything that we can. He promises that they will
pay us up to ten years half of their salaries,
and along with that he promised that any family members
we will help and hire them.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Here.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Let's you feel guilty.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
We still do.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Of course you do. You want to comfort them and
and condole them, but you understand, you have to understand
their anger.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
That night, Sad lies in his bed, awake. The darkness
feels suffocating. He can't get the images out of his head,
and for the first time, he asks himself, is it
all worth it? This whole thing? I started this revolution,
this idea of spreading pop culture around Afghanistan and giving
(20:53):
people entertainment in the face of people actually dying kids,
We gave jobs, jobs, two being blown up coming home
from work. Is any of it worth it?
Speaker 3 (21:09):
It's not a rhetorical question, it's a serious question. But
you have to prepare to carry through with your decision.
If you were together and shut down the operation.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Hey, it's John Legend. If you've been listening, you already
know that Afghan Star is a tale of resistance and hope.
For fifteen years, Afghan Star was a beacon. But when
the Taliban returned to power, they shut the show down
along with so many Afghan rights. They banned music, education
(21:46):
for girls and women, and they continue to clamp down
on everyone's freedoms. But there are ways to show your support.
We've teamed up with AWA Studios and their incredible graphic
artists to illustrate some of the most extraordinary moments in
this podcast. There is a unique print for each episode,
(22:08):
bringing to life powerful moments that are moving and inspiring.
And there's an unforgettable print based on a painting from
superstar artist Raza that represents the spirit of hope embodied
by the show. Art and music have the power to
uplift us all, and ordering a work for yourself or
(22:30):
as a gift help support Afghans. With every purchase will
be donating to the Nore Initiative, a nonprofit working to
ensure that every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity.
For more information on our collaboration with AWA, the artworks
available to listeners, and to learn more about the Nere
(22:54):
Initiative's efforts to educate, support independent media, and transform lives
across the region, head to the link in our show
notes below. The next day, Sod gets ready to go
(23:17):
into the office. He's slower than usual, dragging his heels
because he's expecting the worst.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
I expected half a dozen people to show up because
we've given the day off to everyone, because everyone has
been so traumatized.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Sod drives in, thinking about all the possible outcomes. Will
his staff quit, Will they disavow their work and severed
ties with TOLO after the bombing? Will anyone want to
work on Afghan Star? People are scared.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I mean, our judges are scared, Our contestants are scared.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
We were scared. He knows he needs to talk to
his staff, whatever staff are left, but he doesn't know
what to say. He's still asking himself, should we shut
the whole thing down? He drives past the security guards
with their AK forty sevens standing outside. He parks and
(24:13):
goes in. He walks down the corridor until finally he
reaches the door to the newsroom, and that's when he
sees them.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
The entire organization and hundreds of kids who were present that.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
Morning, all standing there.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Standing outside on a particularly cold day.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Waiting waiting for him to speak. So he takes a
deep breath.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
And I said, listen at the end of the day,
if it means that we save lives, I'd be happy
to shut down the operation. And for me, it's not
worth one life.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Whatever we're doing, it's not the words they want to hear.
It's clear they aren't going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
There was no fear, and as a matter of fact,
it became evident that there was a great deal of anger,
and their determination to carry on was for me very important.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Instead of being afraid, they are livid. For these young
producers and cameramen and anchors and gaffers, the losses are visceral.
In an instant, dreams were snatched, their friends and colleagues,
lives taken away, and the names are ringing through their heads.
(25:41):
Merry as easy, said Jawad Husseini, Zaynab mer Zaid, Mariam Ibrahimi,
(26:08):
Mohammad Hussein, Mohammad Ali, Mohammadi, Hossein Amiri. Asaad looks at
(26:31):
his little media army. He realizes they are so much
stronger than he'd ever known from the wreckage and the loss.
They need to know that what they've all built together
means something, that their friends' lives and work mean something.
(26:54):
They want to rip the Taliban apart and they are
standing here unified, waiting for orders to fight back.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
There's no way Taliban would be able to gain power
and couple. My heart would never accept it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
That's next time. Afghanstar is a Kaleidoscope production in collaboration
(27:39):
with iHeart Podcasts, produced by samas dot Audio and hosted
by me John Legend from samas dot Audio. The series
producer is Mira Kumar. Our executive producers are Joe Sikes
and Dasha Listsina. Mix and sound designed by Jeff Imptman.
(28:02):
Story editing by Joe Sikes, with original composition by Kyle Murdoch.
Recording engineer Tim McClain. Chapter artwork by a WA Studios
from Kaleidoscope. The executive producers are Kate Osborne, Mengesh hattikadur
Oz Volisian and Costas Lenos from iHeart. The executive producers
(28:27):
are Ali Perry and Katrina Norval. Social Media by Darra
Patts and Vaheiny Shormi. Special thanks to Tom Freston, Lizzie Jacobs,
Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman, Nikki Etore, Bob Pittman, John Sikes,
con o Byrne Sad Mussenni and the Mossenni family, Matthew
(28:48):
Anderson and Axo Alonzo, and a special thanks to everyone
at MOBI group to give out but
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