w
worked with. They clearly liked the message
and were impressed with the animation, but
their one complaint was that “it should be
an adult that finds the explosive.” This would
effectively take children out of the equation.
But we made our case and we were able to
keep it the way it was.
And it began from there. I worked on radio spots with kids, we put them in our stories more often, and I fell in love with how
much they soaked up positivity.
I went on to eventually produce two seasons of Afghanistan’s Sesame Street, which
is called Baghch-e-Simsim. And this is when
my two worlds collided. I grew up watching
Sesame Street in Canada and it had helped
me feel like it was my right to learn about
anything and everything, asking questions
along the way. Because of Sesame Street, I
grew up with videos of how things like crayons were made in factories and catchy songs
to help me remember my alphabet. It had
become time to introduce that concept to
Afghanistan. It turned out beautifully.
We produced segments that were very
Afghan for the filmed segments, and the cartoons and muppets became Afghan in language, mannerisms, and even humor. It was
important to keep the language and context
relevant, so that the children could see we
were addressing them. Through conversational language they were used to, and jokes
that made sense in Dari/Pashto, we made
segments that introduced letters of the alphabet, numbers, and various lessons and
messages ranging from hygiene, to manners,
to geography. To hear they should brush
their teeth was one thing, but to hear it from
a boy who was practicing good habits in a
remote Afghan village made it more relevant for the children than they’d ever seen
before. Because so much of the population is
illiterate, we realized this could be good for
adults too.
The adults certainly enjoyed the culturally
relevant content. In fact, there was a riot in a
jail that some prison guards missed because
they were watching Baghch-e-Simsim.
As I continued to work on the show, I
saw the children we filmed come alive and
we never ran into children who hadn’t seen
it on TV or heard its radio version. Even
when they were shy and well-behaved, the
FALL 2016
children were so excited when they talked about the characters and what they’d
learned. I saw fresh confidence bloom in
them and I knew that what they saw on TV
fostered or at least encouraged what they already had inside to them to grow.
The latest project I worked on with children’s TV and radio is called Voice of Afghan
Youth. It’s an idea that makes me think we’re
reaching beyond the concept of “catching
up” to other countries. The half hour entertainment documentary series features the
Afghan Scouts. Yes, the same as you see in
the rest of the world, only here the boys and
girls are mainly orphans and come from the
most marginalized of Afghan communities.
The series visits specific communities and
we were blown away by how different each
community was. As the children described
their unique customs of food, clothes,
games and lives, we realized we were on to
something extra special. The generations of
Afghans before them never had this. In fact,
where else in the world does? Who highlights the lives of orphans? These kids, who
are rarely listened to, now have their own
TV and radio series.
In their beautiful varying accents all
across the country, the orphan children set
an example for each other and everyone
else by serving their communities. In every episode they do something like pick up
the garbage in their neighborhood, visit injured soldiers, or paint the streets. They are
incredibly proud of what they do. They are
speaking on behalf of Afghanistan’s future,
to Afghanistan’s future.
Our best bet for a unified Afghanistan
is to focus on these future generations and
nurture this natural love and commitment
they have for their country. I still think
Afghanistan’s children are better described
as mini adults. Nevertheless, at least in media, we are starting to bring back some of
those really precious elements of their missing childhoods and creating strong and unified future generations. n
Mina Sharifi was born
in Afghanistan, but her
family was forced to flee
to Canada when she was
under a year old. She
returned to Afghanistan
in 2005 as a volunteer
to train women who
managed radio stations
across the country. Though it was a six-month
post, she ended up staying and has been
in the country for almost 10 years. She has
worked as a radio trainer for children, creating
radio campaigns and literacy training for the
Afghan government, and also as the executive
producer for seasons two and three of Baghche-Simsim, the Afghan version of Sesame
Street. Currently, Sharifi is the executive
producer of a TV and radio series highlighting
the accomplishments of Afghan children
throughout the country – including the Afghan
Scouts – many of whom are orphans. On the
side, Sharifi is involved in numerous volunteer
initiatives in support of Afghan youth.
The views expressed in this article are exclusively those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of
Central Asia Institute.
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