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Idol host sends Afghan voice from America
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-24 09:03

WASHINGTON: Back in Afghanistan, Daoud Sediqi recalls, he could rarely walk the streets without fans cheering him on, grateful he brought some hope back to the country with his blockbuster Afghan Idol show.

Idol host sends Afghan voice from America

But the 29-year-old's own sense of hope is now slipping away. He has left behind stardom - both his own and of the reality show's contestants - for a new life in the United States, which granted him asylum due to Taliban threats.

Sediqi has started a new job as a radio announcer for Voice of America, the US-funded broadcaster. On a call-in show during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Sediqi eschewed music and took questions from Afghanistan on spiritual matters.

Sediqi left Afghanistan for the first time in January for the Sundance Film Festival, which screened a British documentary on Afghan Idol and its soaring popularity in a nation where entertainment was forbidden under Taliban rule.

As he prepared to fly back, Sediqi was overcome with second thoughts. He still wrestles with his decision to stay. "Multiple reasons motivated me to remain in this country. I can't really explain every one. But one thing was very important - we have lost our hope in our country. That was the big thing. If you lose your hope in your country, you'll do anything."

Sediqi's pessimism has grown deeper as he watches from afar the aftermath of Afghanistan's second-ever presidential election, in which Western observers allege widespread fraud by President Hamid Karzai's supporters.

"The situation is deteriorating on a daily basis in Afghanistan," Sediqi said. "At first I sometimes said I should not have remained here, that I should have gone back to Afghanistan. But as I see what's happening, I think I made the right decision."

Afghanistan's Tolo TV has continued Afghan Idol with a new host, former flight attendant Omid Nezami.

When he started the show in 2005, Sediqi said he had little concern about security. He said his first goal was to give an outlet to women, whose lives were severely restricted by the Taliban.

In January, female contestant Elaha Sorur became one of the last eight singers standing on the fourth season of Afghan Idol, enduring death threats to perform before a national television audience.

As millions tuned in, the threats also grew. Sediqi said he and his crew traveled around the country on a bus for the first season of Afghan Idol; by season four, they were screening audience members and requesting security from local governors.

Sediqi said he wanted to continue to "work for Afghanistan", broadcasting home through Voice of America and perhaps becoming a filmmaker to make movies about the country.

But he doubted he would return home soon. "I don't want to go back to Afghanistan unless I can do something bigger than 'Afghan Star'," he said.

AFP