Afghanistan: Rehabilitation of Media
By: Mati ullah Abid
Virginia USA

As we read in books of Mass communications that journalism is the fourth pillar of a state after executive, Legislative and Judiciary. These four pillars have their own importance respectively. Similarly the fall of pillar means the collapse of whole building or state. This is a vital fact that when ever there was a threat to ant element of above maintained factors the state got in to trouble.

Here we can bring the example our own country Afghanistan. Where two decades ago some elements forced the law to be under one party control. They imposed a complete embargo on all kind of media. The whole mechanism of the state came in to stand still. So the normal life turned into a state of emergency and the whole country became a battlefield. From 1978 till 2002 the situation remained the same. Many faces and ideologies came and gone but none of them able to reestablished the fallen pillars of state.

As a student of journalism I remained a witness to these two decades of censorship, fascism and law of jungle. So now when the whole world is here to rebuilt Afghan economy, Re-establish Afghan political system and bring the situation back to the normalcy. They should or must also consider the rehabilitation of Afghan media.

In this regard not only the ruling class is responsible but the foreign friends are also bond to look into the seriousness of the matter and put it on the priority list. During last two decades Afghan media got numerous damages in the shape of physical, mental and technically devastation. Now this is an utmost duty of all concerned sides to work hard and bring Afghan media on trick with all modern requirements.

This is a solid fact that the fire of crisis compelled the people to leave their country and migrated to abroad. In this course of continues migration, Afghanistan lost almost all of its scholarly brains, writers, intellectuals and academic class. This brain drain caused a great vacuum of healthy thoughts. Ultimately the space covered by illiterate and hard liners. Now when the situation getting normal and every body looking for a healthy atmosphere, Afghanistan needs its brains back home.

The Afghan intellectuals living abroad wants some encouraging and attractive news from home to make their minds ready for repatriation. When they came to know that the situation is changed and now they came enjoy the security of minds, freedom of speech and write and also the support of people, so then they will come back home willingly.

The return of Afghan writers, intellectuals and cultured people back home is important in many ways. This will make the situation healthy and normal. The millions of Afghans living in refuge will see attraction in home and the government will find easy to communicate with people through their channels.

In the long course of war and civil disorder 90% of governmental infrastructure, National heritages and installments were looted, damaged and even smuggled to abroad. Sources disclose that the hundreds of million dollars worth machinery, equipment and other mass communication related stuff came under different attacks.

Kabul, Qandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Heart, Jalalabad, Badakhshan ,Kunduz and Khost are the places where Radio & TV station are missing a number of its equipments, Printing presses are out of orders, and Newspaper office Buildings have no place to sit in.

So these technical and other needs wants to be answered. These are the main channels for mass communication and the only way to bring the masses in streamline of national unity. Afghanistan Media needs Reconstruction Media Buildings, Re-instillation of machineries and other equipment’s and linkage between provinces through phone and wire cables.

All of these things are urgent needs and must be done right now.

3=Training for Professionals and other workers.

Two decades means twenty years. The long period brought changes in every field of life even in journalism. Now when world is dealing with Internet and satellite channels Afghanistan is living nearly in Stone Age. So when we talk about rehabilitation of Afghan Media, the question of new techniques arises.

Afghan journalists, broadcasters, Radio and TV technicians and other staff are mostly used to use the old methods and techniques of mass communications. Now they need to be aware and will equipped with new sources and ideas.

For this very propose Afghan media people wants to be trained though courses and workshops. The free world and friendly countries have to come forward and bring and share their technology with Afghans. When they do so, ultimately Afghans will be in better position to help them in finding and handling their common enemy.

After passing through all first three phases and Afghan Media man sit to write, broadcast and telecast an idea or report, The first question will struck him/her. Am I free to say any thing being an Afghan journalist? This is the matter of free journalism or freedom of press. If after having all requirements of mass communication the government ask media man to say what they want to deliver, then there is no use.

Because the mother of all evils and cause of long civil war is the same attitude of different governments. From very first day till now every new government and ruling group tried to control the minds of thinkers, they made press a mouthpiece of their own and put the freedom of press in trash. From communists to Mujahideen and then to Taliban every one kept the media under their control. Now when every one is looking optimistic about the future plans of new government, so they also want to see the Afghan media free from all official restrictions. As a matter of fact the new administration is flag bearer of human rights, so the right of press freedom must be on the top of their agenda.

Also the countries and organization who are planning to fund the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghan media, they should also bond the Kabul government to honor the freedom of press as a prerequisite for the out side support.

Males and females are the essential figures of society. In Islam and also in Afghan Culture women were given special rights. But in last two decades every successor and predecessor government put unwanted restrictions on women. Instead of honoring their rights the pushed women from one extreme to another. Women were dislodged of their basic rights of education, choosing of profession and even any say in their own future life. It happened in the field of media. Afghan women writers, poets, journalists and academic ladies were forced to leave their jobs and ultimately their homeland. Now a day we have long list Afghan lady journalists living in exile. They are waiting for a chance for peace and normalcy in the country. Now when a ray of hope is flashing, so the Afghan media women are also looking eagerly to come and join their jobs. The steps towards women participation in media reconstruction are:

Contact them all over the world to have an updated list of their location and future ideas. There should a network to help Afghan female journalist to be in touch. The training courses and refreshing workshops must be arrange to make them up-to-date to their old jobs.

It is worth maintaining that for the betterment of mother and child in society and for delivering information about mother and child health care, it is important to have ladies media expert on board.

The unity is always considered a vital source of strength. The easy way to do a job well done is, do it collectively. Now the world is united against the evil of terrorism .The journalist have their on duty to be under one umbrella to fight the war against terror with their minds and pen. For a better future of Afghanistan it is essential that people of same objective should be united. The journalists are always considered the people free from all affiliations. Now Afghan journalist has to prove that they are Afghan journalists nothing less nothing more. The united Afghan organization of Afghan Journalist can serve many ways. This will be a source of information to world media. This will be contact channel between government and media. This will be a defender of the rights of journalists. So the list of advantages is longer then that. The need of the day is to bring Afghan journalists on one front to wage the war against all evils of Afghan society and help their country people out of this tragedy.

Afghanistan .The prey of around a quarter century of war, civil unrest, terrorism and no central government. Now Afghanistan needs to put back every brick of her fall wall. Every tree needs to replant and to teach again every child of war the lesson of peace and love. These and other objectives can only be addressed by a well-equipped media and resourceful media people. The messages of unity, peace and common cause of rebuilding the nation can only be delivered by Afghan channels. These channels are consists of Radio, Television, Newspapers and other traditional sources of information. The successful communications need the active participation of general public. While public role is key to all desired goals in the way of a new Afghanistan.

The whole discussion can be summed in this one sentence: The reconstruction of New Afghanistan is based on the rehabilitation of Afghan Media.