Broadcasting to Afghanistan in the Dari and Pashto languages, Radio Azadi reaches more than 60 percent of Afghans weekly. To celebrate its first decade, the station organized a “special day of programming,” which centered on asking listeners to share what the station’s programming meant to them. Inundated with thousands of SMS and telephone messages from listeners countrywide, the station broadcast as many messages as possible.
“We tried to play as many of the messages as we could, said Hashem Mohmand, Radio Azadi director. “Listeners who didn’t have their tributes aired should know that we still heard their voices.”
“It was humbling to see such an outpouring of affection both for the radio as a whole and for individual presenters,” he said. “It was very emotional day for many of us. We are truly honored to do what we do.”