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Afghan family behind independent TV network shares story

A new documentary is shedding light on Afghanistan's first independently run television network.

eva orner and abazar khayami on a blackhawk somewhere over kabul.jpg
(SBS)

Independently run television network TOLO was created by the Mohseni family after they returned in 2002 to the country they had been forced to flee.

The Network tells their incredible story.

Producer Eva Orner said the family returned to a difficult life.

"There was no electricity and barely anyone had an education and most people couldn't read or write," she said.

With a business background and no experience in the media, Saad Mohseni and his brothers and sister established the country's first independently run television network, TOLO, which had an immediate impact.

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Ms Orner said one of the biggest challenges in making the documentary  was working in a country filled with so much violence.

"There was a massive suicide bombing that killed 80 people and we had been filming there all day and just missed it by minutes," she said.

Despite the obstacles, Ms Orner was able to chronicle TOLO's growth and success, and its impact on a country in the midst of incredible change.

"I think what's extraordinary about their story is they came back to a country they'd had to flee a long time ago and came back with skills and imagination and business savvy. And a little over a decade later they've transformed the country."

Watch: The Network 


2 min read

Published

Updated

By Greg Navarro

Source: SBS



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