How Afghan Journalists are Reinventing Themselves

More than a year after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban returned to power, Afghan journalists are trying to navigate a “new” Afghanistan. Some are re-building careers in Afghanistan and others are setting up shops in the West, particularly in the US and Canada.

The OPC supported 33 Afghan journalists who resettled in the US with cash grants totaling $133,000 earlier this year. On Dec. 13, the club will talk to a variety of Afghan journalists about the progress they have made and the challenges remaining. The rise of a vibrant, independent journalism community in Afghanistan was one of the few success stories in the two-decade US occupation.

The moderator will be Deborah Amos, a governor of the OPC and a longtime reporter at National Public Radio covering the Middle East. “The community is in need of highlighting and support,” Amos said. “The OPC did this with cash following the exodus last year. Now it’s crucial, but harder, to help this community survive.”

Speakers include:

• Ali Latifi, an Emmy-nominated freelance producer and writer working for major U.S. and International broadcasters and print outlets, including PBS, CNN and The New York Times.

• Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of Zan Times, a media outlet that covers human rights in Afghanistan with a focus on women, the LGBT community and environmental issues.

• Zaki Daryabi, who founded Etilaat Roz Daily in 2012 and is publisher for KabulNow, an online newspaper affiliated with Etilaat.

• Samiullah Mahdi, a former Voice of America correspondent who co-founded Amu TV, a digital news platform he that brings together journalists from within and outside Afghanistan to provide independent reporting in Farsi and Pashto.

• Summia Tora: Afghanistan’s first Rhodes Scholar, a fellow at New America and member of an Afghan podcast team that produced “No Way Home,” a production for The Intercept.

Photo above by Daniel Young, U.S. Navy photographer.