Afghan Media Consumption Among Glaswegian Diaspora

Afghan Media Consumption Among Glaswegian Diaspora



A Quantitative Study







Sanjar Qiam, MSc

Centre for Cultural Policy Research

University of Glasgow







01, August 2008













Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………… 03

Literature Review ………………………………………………………………….. 05

Methodology ………………………………………………………………. 16

The Research Process ……………………………………………… 17

Survey Findings and Analysis …………………………………………………….. 21

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………. 36

Appendix …………………………………………………………………………... 38

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………….. 40

























Introduction



This study of the Afghan community in Glasgow examines media usage and
patterns of audience habits with a focus on consumption of 'Afghan
Media'[1]. The survey data is the basis of the analysis that links
diasporic Afghans with mass media. The research project also aims to
analyse media and consumption variations on the basis of the demographic
data to determine the affect of gender, class, ethnicity and UK social
structure.

The experience of diasporic identity is central to the Afghan community of
Glasgow. The intensification of Islamic identity in Afghanistan and the
wider Muslim world, and the response of the global community, in particular
Britain, have resulted in the creation of a diasporic Islamism with similar
features to Afghan Islamism but different political goals[2].

Glaswegian Afghans are members of a British minority that remains socially,
culturally and economically disadvantaged with low economic efficiency as
well as low life standards in a national comparison.[3] The community has
also established substantial differences to its home country in their way
of living. The impact of media on such a group is, in many ways, an
interesting focus of study. The identity of Afghans in Glasgow is shaped
and transformed by their location, language, religion, culture and position
in history. The significance of their presence in British society, which
has vastly different cultural and material consumption and organisation, is
overwhelmed by the diapora's self-construction both through media
consumption and the identity they brought with them. 'Diasporism' is the
most significant identity determinant of Afghans in Glasgow. Among many
other aspects of life, experiences of sexuality and gender differ
drastically in the UK from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the attitude of
Glaswegian Afghans to both remain conservative, changing little from those
brought with them from Afghanistan. Social class also constitutes an axis
of multiple attributions for Glaswegian Afghans. Class belonging is related
to their background in Afghanistan, because of the immediacy of immigration
experience. The Glaswegian Afghans surveyed here are first generation
immigrants of the last fifteen years. They predominantly come from a middle
class Afghan background, mostly with a strong element of rural identity,
thus forming part of the lower working class in Glasgow.

It is particularly interesting to study the diasporic media consumption in
the context of the post Taliban media boom. The diaspora has become a
commercial and political marketing tool: the BBC established an
international Persian television[4] channel in 2008 with a budget of £15m
per annum to cater to the Persian speaking community worldwide and the US
government has given more than £10 million to Voice of America's Farsi
television station[5] and a further £ 8 million to improve Radio Farda[6].
In addition, a joint television station of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran
is due to be launched soon to cater for regional and transnational audience
(Media news, 2008).[7] Afghan private media has also developed strategies
and mediums to reach the diasporic audience. Diaspora participation in
Afghan media is seen as commercially gainful. The Pashtoon television
station, Khyber, is the first of its kind in Afghanistan, Pakistan and
worldwide. The station aims not to be attached to a locality and to appeal
to a global Pashtoon audience.[8]

Diasporas are politically seen as agents whose influence could result in
political and religious moderation. The transformed identity of diaspora is
perceived as multiplicity of crossovers and mixes. Numerous Afghan media
outlets have received grants from various sources to target and integrate
diaspora in Afghan 'mediascapes'. The injection of diasporic diversity and
perceived liberal Islamic views could persuade Afghans in the home country
to ease their views of Islam and allow for a more circumstantial
interpretation. The image of an Afghan businesswoman in western dress
driving a sports car to a multi national mosque in London could affect an
Afghan man's attitude toward his wife who rarely leaves home and never
without a man.

The media representation of the diaspora with the political weight attached
to it creates 'mediascapes' of imaginary homelands. The mediascapes
according to Marie Gillespie (Gillespie 1995: 24) become the site of
desires for change which are transferred to the living 'ethnoscapes'.

I developed an interest in Glasgow's Afghan community after moving to the
city to undertake an MSc. in media management. During my stay in Glasgow
and through social observation I was struck by how the Afghan community had
remained culturally more traditional, with conservative Islamo-political
views when compared to some parts of Afghan civil society[9] and Afghans I
know in Kabul. This contradiction between identity principals and the
structure of cultural sphere of Glasgow encouraged me to explore how media
tastes and patterns shapes diasporic Afghan character. Theories of identity
formation and the effect of culture in the process are well rehearsed in
cultural literature. I wanted to study the use of media among Afghan
diaspora and then connect the findings with the theories of mass media and
identity relation.

I chose Glasgow as a sample to survey diasporic Afghan media habits. The
research question I asked was: Do Diasporic Afghans use mass media to
sustain their shared sense of identity? The methodology used in this
research aims to link the micro social issues of routine media consumption
with the macro diasporic issues of identity and culture.



Literature Review

Diaspora is a sense of dual belonging; a physical connection with the
territory of residence and a bond, often cultural, with another nation.
Afghan diaspora in the UK is a dispersed group made up of those who arrived
in the UK during the three decades of war, seeking work and better living
conditions. Cohen argues that the voluntary or involuntary dispersal of
emigrants can lead to an idealization of the country they have left
possibly combined with a collective memory and myth about it (Cohen,
1997:172). Sporadic media articles could be found with heated expression of
nationalism by diasporic Afghans although it is hard to investigate further
largely due to a lack of statistical information about diasporic Afghans'
patterns of nationalism. However, diasporic communities throughout Europe
continue to rely on imagined communities which are usually closely
connected with already existing national states, some of which, e.g. Turkey
and Algeria, actively attempt to retain the emigrated population's
connection to the homeland (Pedersen, 1999: 64).

Cohen (Cohen, 1997: 180) defines diasporic relationship as a strong and
long-lasting ethnic group consciousness, which may be extended to include
other members of the same ethnic group residing in other countries. A
problematic relationship to the society in which they now live is similarly
often found.

The issue of diasporic identity within the western world has moved to the
front of the political debates in the last few years. Will Kymlicka
(Kymlicka, 2003: 198) argues that the largest feature underlying the debate
and current controversies surrounding migration are the themes of culture
and identity, citizenship and loyalty.

The role of media in forging collective identity has long been realised and
used. David Morley has noted the role of radio in sustaining the British
Empire. In his Christmas 1932 message to the Empire, transmitted on the
BBC, King George V said "I speak now from my home and my heart to all of
you. To men and women so cut off by snows, the desert or the sea that only
voices out of the air can reach. To all, to each, I wish a Happy
Christmas." Here we see one aspect of the crucial role of broadcasting in
forging a link between the dispersed and disparate listeners and the
symbolic heartland of national life, and of it is role in promoting a sense
of communal identity. (Morley, 2000: 105). Nikos Papasterdiadis has argued
that when communities and nations are dispersed, their social meanings and
values change. In such circumstances 'the symbols and narratives of the
nation can only resonate if they are admitted to the chambers of the home'
(Papasterdiadis, 1998: 4).

There is a direct correlation between diaspora media usage and their wider
social condition. The negative valuation of British social space can have
important consequences for media use. In Moores' (Moores, 1996: 47) study
of a British Asian family, the father had explicitly agreed to install
satellite television as a bribe to keep his young sons indoors within the
safe boundaries of the home and family unit. Clearly, the father sees more
moral value in satellite television than in the social space of Britain,
adding the growing concerns about the dangers posed to young children by
strangers in the UK.

Christiansen (Christiansen, 2004: 194) argues that families from ethnic
minority are far less likely to watch the national channels of their
present society, due to their greater tendency to watch satellite
television. This was confirmed by British (Gillespie, 1995; Gillespie and
Cheesman, 2002), Sweden (Weibull and Wadbring, 1998), Germany (Eckardt,
1996) and Denmark (Carøe and Sell, 2000) supplemented with quantitative
investigations by Mikkelsen (Mikkelsen, 2001). In Sweden, ownership of
satellite dishes is reported to be up to twice as frequent among ethnic
minorities (Weibull and Wadbring, 1998: 54). Audiences of transnational
media can have varied motives and interests for consuming material produced
behind their national boundaries. In a survey of Bulgarians' motives for
adopting satellite television, Maria Bakardjieva concludes that they range
from "understanding of the Truth", to learning about "the aesthetics of the
world" (Bakardjieva, 1992: 448). One thing is clear: satellite technology
generates a "tension zone" between the local, daily environment and the
screen reality. 'The local environment is often seen fleetingly, where
global events – war in Iraq ... are portrayed as coherent, if often
violently foreshortened visions for our gaze'; 'the irony is that the
general becomes clear through [media] representation whereas the immediate
is subject to the fragmenting effects of our limited experience' (Peters,
1997: 82); John Durham Peters call this the "Bifocal Vision" (Peters, 1997:
79-81).

The tension which could potentially grow from media and spread throughout
various elements of diasporic social life is only strengthened by the
irreconcilability of international media and local environment. This
tension is triggered by the general lack of satisfaction that diaspora gain
from local programmes. The study of ethnic minority views of British
broadcasting conducted by James Halloran (Halloran 1995: 23) reported
considerable dissatisfaction from British media among diaspora.

Another similar study conducted by Sreberny and Ross of a Bangladeshi group
in Burnley found strong preference for cable and satellite services. One
respondent express his preference: "these new cable companies have got
Asian programmes, the BBC will have to catch up … compared with cable the
BBC is forty years behind" (Sreberny and Ross, 1995:50).

A survey of British viewers conducted by the Independent Television
Commission found that ethnic minority households were more likely than
white British to access overseas media, even though British media such as
BBC2 had introduced several Asian casted programmes (Cumberbatch and Woods,
1994: 20).



A diasporic group whose economic and cultural conditions vary and who
differ from the mainstream host society are less likely relative to the
host society to consume mainstream media. The social positioning of the
Afghan diaspora in Glasgow and their contribution to local society need to
be understood in order to explain their media consumption. Media
consumption is portrayed by Christiansen as a social practice in which a
complex problem area such as multiculturalism and immigrants' social
integration appears in concrete form (Christiansen, 2004: 203). We can
usefully explore the relationship between patterns of media consumption and
patterns of residence (Morley, 2000: 126). "Mobile Privatisation" is a
framework used by Raymond Williams (Williams, 1989: 26) to explain
activities which are centred within the physical boundaries of residence,
which is different than retreating privitisation 'It is not living in a cut
off way'(Williams, 1989: 26) James Carey (Carey 1989) has studied the
effect of media technologies in reshaping 'communities … not in place, but
in space, mobile, connected across vast distances by appropriate symbols,
forms and interestes' (Carey, 1989:160). Technologies provide the
"mobility" means, however the locality drives and directs it or, in
Williams phrase, the locality drives the privatisation. Moores uses the
journey analogy for describing media consupmtion 'we need to specify the
kind of "journeys" that are made. Who chooses to go where, with whom and
why?' (Moores, 1993: 623). Transnational "journeys" have been something
that has concerned communities and nation states, espicially among
ethnically diverse groups. In Iran and other Midde Eastern and Central
Asian countries, the possession of satellite dish (DBS) is a criminal
offense. DBS and international viewership is not only the concern of
oppressive regimes but to show it is a source of concern in western liberal
democracy I quote part of French Ministry of Social Affairs report:

The number of DBS (satellite dishes) is constantly growing,
particularly in banieues … the various channels broadcast in Arabic,
which could undermine years of literacy classes and other efforts at
Gallicising on these people (refering to ethnic minorities). Moreover,
the religious content of certain programmes will probably increase the
Islamisation of the Banlieues. [10]

The compression of time-space for diaspora has different meanings: the
geographical distance of diaspora not only shapes the consumption of media
but also forms the politics of culture. A study of television viewing by
Green in remote parts of Australia shows how physical distances of audience
retain a clear and obvious pertinence. The introduction of satellite
television to remote and regional Australia connected the country: as one
of the respondents put it "as it is now, the rest of Australia could
disappear and we'd be the last to know. The lack of outside communication
in the town is very frustrating and tends to make the town insular and self-
centred" (Green, 1998: 32) the mean of communication effects time-space in
this remote area in a way that is distinct from the rest of the country
with peculiar consequences for the local community.

Given the tribal and rural structure of Afghanistan; it is 'a society
exclusively dependent on oral communication, in which there is no sense of
time separate from space, it is impossible to conceive of remote strangers
as consociates: their very distance in space allocates them to a
correspondingly different status in time' (Narvaez, 1986: 129). When member
of a rural society like Afghanistan disperse across the globe, the space
created between the individual and the consociates is not separated by time
largely due to modern communication technologies that function as a
"contractionist" medium creating a sense of spatially continuous locality.

The conflict in Afghanistan has not come to any solution, despite attempts
by international community to achieve peace. The situation is made even
harsher by natural disasters such as famine, drought and internal
displacement. Wars and poverty are two of the root causes of Afghan
immigration to Britain. Much of Afghan immigration to the UK today has been
motivated by what David Harvey (Harvey, 1989: 4) calls "flexible
accumulation" and other such contemporary modes of globalizing capital
(Clifford 1994, 331). However, just as there was a distinction to be drawn
in the historical diaspora between the entrepreneurial "middlemen
minorities" and the "proletarians", there are two kinds of class relations
involved here (Esman 1986, 336-37). Thus, at one level, diasporic movement
is a cause of the globalisation of capital in the sense identified by Joel
Kotkin (1992): 'The continuous interaction of capitalism with dispersed
ethnic groups—not just the staid history of financial flows or the heroic
stories of nation builders—constitutes one of the critical elements in the
evolution of the global economy' (Kotkin, 1992: 17). The control over both
government projects and international aid investment in Afghanistan
attained by the "expatriate Afghans" are classic cases in point. Several
ministers, advisors and hundreds of directors have been recruited from
Afghans abroad. President Karzai and his brothers used to live and do
business in the US before his return to Afghanistan. Much of the private
media is also owned by "expatriate Afghans" with the exception of, a
handful of small outlets.

Karim Karim(1998) in his paper presented to the XXI biennial conference of
the International Association for Media and Communication Research in
Glasgow suggested that we can even think of such diasporic communal
networks as 'a third tier of inter-regional connections', after world
organizations and nation-states. Indeed, the Moby Capital group owns Tolo
television, Lemar television, Radio Arman and several marketing agencies.
It was set by three Australian-Afghan brothers with funding from USAID. An
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television report on
13 November 2006 by Trevor Bormann covers the Australian reared Mohsenis'
family business: "As well as Tolo TV, they run a radio station, publish a
magazine, and there are plans for a million dollar feature movie." Bormann
adds "This from a family with absolutely no media experience anywhere
else." The Mohsenis did not work in media in Australia, in attempting to
explain their success Bormann offers "… with the help of a new generation
of entrepreneurs, schooled and skilled abroad". Ariana Television and the
Afghan Wireless Communication Company are owned by an Afghan-American. At
this level, diasporic membership can be "a source of real power, both
political and economic, in the world system" (Friedman 1997, 85), and
'diasporic consciousness and style of life well adapted to the new
opportunities presented by globalization' (Cohen 1997, 165).

Yet, for many Afghans, their diasporic movement is an effect of global
investment patterns and international inequalities. For instance among the
Afghan community of Glasgow there are a few dozen Afghans who avoided
deportation after their requests to remain in Britain were refused. They
found employment in black labour market, usually in the construction and
food industry, and attempted to make as much money as possible before being
caught and sent back to Afghanistan. Among them is ia university graduate
who finished a Master degree at the University of Glasgow. Such structured
class and economic differences are in tension with mythic notions of common
ethnic origins and cultural belonging (Sinclair and Cunningham, 2000: 21).
The situation of Afghan illegal workers in Glasgow and other major British
cities could be best explained in the framework of global capital and
'flexible accumulation'. David Morley writes on the issue of post-modern,
upper-class 'migrancy': the contradiction of people who have come from
dominant-class origins in peripheral nations and become complicit in "a
rhetoric which submerges the class question and speaks of 'migrancy' as an
ontological condition" (Morley 1996, 347). While it might be true that "the
rich also cry" and have their own forms of alienation, it is clearly a
fallacy to identify the diasporic experience exclusively with the subaltern
and to not observe the dangers of a naive postmodernist culturalism
(Sinclair & Cunningham, 2000:18).

In a New Yorker report on January 20, 2003 Jane Kramer gives an account of
the kind of people from Afghanistan who came to the UK and the benefits
they can potentially bring to their new society. She writes of a woman
named Afsana:

'Among refugees, England is the destination of choice. It is doors are
ajar, if not entirely open; it is pockets are deep, if not actually
stuffed with cash; and it is big cities are so polyglot that no one
who survives the trauma of what is by all accounts a humiliating and
very dangerous journey will find himself entirely alone'.

Afsana is an "immigrant" straight out of the stereotypes. The arrival of
continuous waves of immigrants to the UK, escaping oppression and war and
looking for a better life, has been a matter of concern for the British
Home Office and wider public opinion. The burden placed on the welfare
system by immigrants leads to a popular belief that Britain is being
targeted by the poor.

It is almost impossible for ordinary Afghans to make it to the UK. The
journey is long, dangerous and full of traps, if using the services of a
human trafficker, fees in excess of £ 6000 are required and often out of
reach for ordinary Afghans. Afghans who left the homeland during the war
and were granted residence in the UK were generally rich and resourceful
enough to break the poverty circle and run away. Some Afghan migrants have
made the most of the new opportunities presented to them in Britain. Kramer
reminds us of Afghans, including women, who used the expertise they gained
in Afghanistan when they arrived in Britain:

'Shakiba Habibula … today, a research fellow at the London School of
Tropical Medicine; Najiba Kasraee … a producer and writer at the BBC
World Service who broadcasts childrens's stories to the Farsi speaking
world; Seema Ghani, who came as a medical student and [now] … devoted
herself to an orphanage and a health clinic for women and children she
had founded with her first British pay check'[11]

The prolonged conflict in Afghanistan has prioritized the homeland-diaspora
relationship both directly, through family and friends, and indirectly
through media. It appears that throughout the diasporic cultural history
immigrants are closer to their homeland in times of crisis than in times of
peace. Dona Kolar-Panov (Kolar-Panov, 1996) studied the Croatian diaspora
in Australia in the light of the war in the former Yugoslavia. The study
traces gradual and often nervous formation and reinvention of Croatian
cultural (diasporic) identity which, in turn, became fully fledged
diasporic nationalism, through the use of media, during Balkan wars.
Further, according to The last few decades have witnessed numerous bloody
ethnic clashes in all four continents diaspora had played a strong role in
most of the clashes; among others. Khaching Tololyan (Kokot, Tölölyan and
Alfonso, 2000) is cited in Huntingdon (Huntingdon, 1996: 274) "diaspora has
played a major role on both sides of the prolonged struggles between
Israelis and Palestinians, as well as in supporting Armenians, Croatians
and Chechens in their conflicts. Through television, faxes and electronic
mail, the commitments of diaspora are reinvigorated and sometimes polarised
by constant contact with their former homes; "former" no longer means what
it did".

The sociocultural influence of media consumption among diaspora is an issue
which deserves some deliberation. I would caution against a uni-dimensional
approach to media influence. Paddy Scannell argues that the political
outlook which conceives media as a tool of representation as an approach
which "systematically misunderstands and misrecognises it is object"
(Scannell, 1986: 156 and 136) argues that broadcasting is not to be
understood as 'form of social control… cultural standardisation or
ideological misrepresentation … [but] as a public good that has
unobtrusively contributed to the democratisation of everyday life most
notably through it is promotion of a "communicative ethos" of more
inclusive and extensive forms of sociability among it is audiences'[12].

The relationship between Afghan media and the Afghan diaspora could be
characterised less as one of inclusive sociability and communicating
through a public good medium and more as one of an obtrusive
politicisation. The positive social contribution of diaspora via Afghan
media cannot be understood unless media is seen as a forum for community
representation. The representational role of transnational media has been
reinforced by the politically driven mushrooming of international
broadcasters and the financially-motivated establishment of private
channels. Afghan media seeks a diaspora audience and its participation in
order to broaden their reach. The content of Afghan media discussed below
is yet another indication to the extent it is influenced by power and
politics.

Lila Abu-Lughod argues that transnational television has had a profound
democratising effect in Egypt. Abu Lughod writes that television's central
importance is that it 'brings a variety of vivid experiences of the non-
local into the most local of institutions, the home' (Abu-Lughod, 1995:191)
also confirmed by Meyrowitz (Meyrowitz, 1985) and Papasterdiadis
(Papasterdiadis, 1998). She notes that when Nobel prize winning author
Naguib Mahfouz lamented the decline of the traditional public sphere in the
form of the Cairo coffee house, where people would go to listen to
storytellers, he 'forgets that this older form of entertainment, with the
imaginary non-local worlds it conjured up, was only available for men' (Abu-
Lughod, 1995:191).

Islam is an integral part of Afghan culture and is a strong element shaping
Afghan media content. Diasporic Afghans, despite their physical distance
from Afghanistan, remain within the meticulous details of Islam. Afghan
media provides the platform for Afghan Islamic discourse in the UK. Afghans
connect through media to discuss faith and to communicate Islamic
practices. Islamic teachings could prevent Afghans from progressing to
assimilate into British society, by internalising and sharing some of the
secular-western values. Western values, in sharp contrast with Islam and
Afghan culture, have a strong emphasis on the right of women to equality,
and the right of the individual against conformity, yet Islam does not
grant the individual the right to personally decide their choice of food,
drink, dress code, behaviour and thought. In British society human rights
are highly regarded as a code of conduct and the individual is the decider
of their own faith. In Islam, human nature and the rights of conduct are
ultimately derived from the final revelation of Allah to Mohammad as given
in Quran. Unlike Christians and Jews, Muslims live strictly by teaching of
Islam; for instance the first article of Afghan constitution assures
nothing in Afghanistan could be contrary to Islam and Sharia. Islam is safe
from criticism because Islamic states have outlawed criticism but also the
teaching of Islam prohibits individual Muslims from questioning and
allowing others to question, even in the UK and the rest of Europe. Islam
endorses cruelty[13] and deplorable treatment of women is instructed by
Islam on numerous occasions[14]. The right to free expression is not
substantiated by Islam and censorship is a common practice in Afghan media.
Peter Mandaville argues that the influence of Islam on diasporic media is
not always a source of threat. The media provides channels for new or
previously disenfranchised voices of Muslim diaspora (Mandaville,
2001:169). Both activists and Islamists have exploited the media for their
own benefit. An outright refusal of Islam by disenfranchised groups of
Muslims might result in their alienation and a narrower reach of their
message, while an acceptance of Islam as a faith system but allowing moral
autonomy and situational interpretation might be more of a common practice
among diaspora. Peter Mandaville (Mandaville, 2001: 169) argues that media
offer spaces for communication in which the identity, meaning and
boundaries of diasporic community are continually constructed, debated and
re-imagined. Such a role could only be materialised if free and honest
debates are not overshadowed by Islamic principles. Discretionary
discourses, reserving expressions which might be deemed un-Islamic, by
diaspora in media allow the flow of communication but might not be the
place to re-imagine boundaries.

Of particular interest is how media outlets have made use of the market
potential of the diaspora. Media organisations have created markets out of
dislocated peoples, even if it is assumed that diaspora redefine their
cultural identities in hybrid terms. The dichotomy of Afghanistan and
British diasporic media cultures develop in the intersection of national,
regional and transnational spaces. I divide the media used by the Afghan
diaspora, under the term Afghan media, into five tiers:

National: produces content in and for Afghanistan also made available
to diaspora through technologies. Example: Ariana, Tolo and Tamadon
television stations
International: produced by foreign media organisations for Afghans in
and outside Afghanistan. Example: BBC Persian, RFE/RL, Ashna
Transnational: interpreting the mainstream for Global audience. Ariana
in US, Farda in Sweden
Local: interpreting the mainstream for a diasporic locality – example
Radio Ariana Holland.
Community: produced locally in Afghanistan: Radio Zafar, Radio Amu,
Radio Sahar and etc; available for the locality in Afghanistan through
FM signal and globally on the internet for smaller diasporic unit – a
specifically locally affiliated version of diaspora.

Afghan media of each tier are of various sizes, levels of professionalism,
success and lifespan. They employ different technologies and have different
entrepreneurial, cultural and political goals. What they all have in common
is that they address Afghans or a particular ethnic, linguistic or
religious group.

Afghan media, produced and targeted at national market, is influenced by
diasporic culture. The most popular television programme in Afghanistan -
Afghan Star[15] – is an imitation of Britain's 'The X Factor'. Afghan
television schedules, copying popular western genre, and are full of
reality shows, soap operas and paranormals. Television stations such as
Tolo and Ariana, set the standard for style and genre and are run and owned
by diasporic Afghans. The managers of the television stations are
influenced by western media which they have been exposed to since
childhood. When any of these television stations are launching a new
programme, it is often inspired by western programme ideas. Quite often the
television station brings an Afghan or foreign media consultant who lives
in the west to oversee the initial launch period. The projection of a pro-
modern tenor is partly a populist approach to increase ratings but also
another method of self-censorship, something regularly practiced by media.
Serious current affairs programmes such as 6.30 and Haqiqat on Tolo and
Ariana stations have caused tension on several occasions with the
authorities and warlords. Stations and producers of investigative
programmes have been threatened and harassed when programmes challenge an
authority, Nassir Faiz producer of Haqiqat programme is currently in the
custody of NDS (National Department for Security) a move condemned and
labelled illegal by the Afghan parliament too. Entertainment programmes, on
the other hand, are raising little social, governance or cultural
controversy. It is more often at a 'soft' entertaining level. In the short
term, self-censorship helps to avoid conflict but in the long run, as
Silverstone argues, it gives rise "to anti-politics of withdrawal from the
public sphere … of conformity, self-interest and exclusion". (Silverstone,
1997:14)

Methodology

Do Diasporic Afghans use mass media to sustain their shared sense of
identity? Acquiring a reasonable answer needs more than theoretical
speculation about Afghan diaspora and patterns of media consumption. The
objective of the empirical investigation will be to analyse media
consumption patterns and assess activity and passivity, choice and control,
creativity and constraints. The research will combine creative problem-
solving abilities with analytic rigour.

Cultural studies, media studies and diasporic theories are used to
supplement the survey questioning. Media audience studies by scholars such
as Stuart Hall and John Fiske having pioneered the field moved the study to
follow the method of assessing a link between media consumption and
cultural identity. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative
methods of investigation. The study benefited from a questionnaire method
of reaching a larger number of informants, and, therefore, evidence based
legitimacy for the findings The questionnaire was distributed using a
random probability sampling method: meaning, data was collected from those
who volunteered.

The research involved 47 respondents in the survey. The data was used to
make analysis of how the media consumption patterns can vary within
diasporic audience. A smaller group of 3 people were interviewed to collect
qualitative data. The aim of the open-ended interviews was to complement
the analysis drawn from quantifiable information, as well as understanding
the underlying reasons for audience habits. Interviews were unstructured
but, wherever possible, focused: interview schedules were not used but nor
was the open to indefinite length. The purpose of the interview was to
gather insights in order to make better sense of the data collected by the
survey.

Media is at the centre of culture in contemporary social life, and this is
particularly true for diapsoras. The survey questions aimed to understand
the context of media use. The research questions are designed to find as
much information as possible about informers' creative lives. The
questionnaire (see Appendix pp. 38) covers, among other things, personal
communication, cultural and media venues, taste and preferences, social
activities, media product ownership and social contacts. The first part of
questionnaire was designed to acquire personal data, in order to construct
a demographic analysis, to address the difference between lower class and
middle class diaspora media consumption and tribal politics, the effect of
assimilation and secular notions of equality.

In conducting the research, lessons learned from previous work to produce
analysis in a particular locale was taken into consideration. For example
the work of (Gillespie 1995); (Lull 1988b, 1991); (Gray, 1992); (Hobson,
1980) and (Morley, 1986).

Any quantitative approach to audience study is hindered by generalisation.
No sampling quantitative method could be developed to reach the entire
target. The use of qualitative method, along with cultural and diasporic
theories has reduced the reliance on quantitative findings. The qualitative
method offers a different perspective to the study of the audience, i.e.
the active choice of the consumer. In order to make any diasporic and
cultural analysis of Glaswegian Afghans' media consumption, it is
imperative to assess the recreational meaning of media content for the
audience. The recreational use of the audience is informed by different
processes through which the audience appropriate, accept and reject the
media. In fact, the connection of both qualitative and quantitative
findings with macro issues such as politics, economics, culture and
language could be more valid by observing and investigating the creativity
and underlying assumptions in audience choice. Qualitative and quantitative
methods are interwoven in this research. Observational interviews offer
individual insights while the survey data generalises the group's media
patterns.

For the purpose of this study, the diasporic Afghan is aged over 18 and
includes both men and women. The participants are drawn from both the
working and middle classes with the knowledge of one of Afghan languages,
Farsi or/and Pashto. The Farsi language dialect spoken in Afghanistan is
referred to as Dari or Farsi-Dari. In this research, I refer to it as
Farsi. The choice of city was made on the basis that Glasgow has the
largest Afghan community in Scotland. Glasgow is also the city where I
study and I have the most knowledge of among British cities.

The Research Process

The questionnaire proved to be an intimidating method to survey Afghan
diaspora. Only those who personally knew the questionnaire administrator or
were outgoing to bond and talk in a first encounter responded less
hesitantly. Informants were specifically intimidated by the depth the
survey was investigating: they were happy to talk about scattered bits and
pieces of their media usage, but some of them hold back when alerted by the
curiosity of the researcher to investigate further. Some informants'
reservations to share their experiences in depth was apparent in both the
questionnaires and interviews. It would be safe to state that the use of
structured interviews as an alternative to questionnaires would have also
been hindered by hesitance of some informants. Having that said, it is
worth mentioning that the Afghan community in Glasgow is probably fairly
resentful towards questionnaires and forms, this relates to their broader
experience of dealing with British bureaucracy as asylum seekers, Afghans
have to fill out a lot of forms, while they come from a communal culture
where state bureaucracy does not exist or is not of concern to them.
Filling out forms is a collective activity for most Afghans and assistance
is provided by the Afghan Scottish Society. Volunteers help fellow Afghans
to fill out forms for employment, migration, social benefits, health care,
housing and other requirements

Although an attempt was made to make the questionnaire short and compact, a
shorter version might have gathered more responses at the cost of shallow
analysis of the group media usage.

Group over-politeness in the preparatory stage of research tended to raise
false expectations of the number of respondents who might take part in the
research. It was initially thought that around 100 respondents could be
reached. It was wrongly understood that the group is open and available to
provide information due to the cultural expectations of a helpful
behaviour. A culturally determined mindset among those participating in the
survey can also encircle a group determined "reasonable" response, ignoring
evaluation based on personal beliefs. Such rationalisation of responses
results in gathering ungenuine data, a risk that the study bears.

A total of one hundred and fifty respondents were identified in and around
Glasgow who could be reached by questionnaires. Majority of which, forty
seven respondents participated in the survey. The majority of respondents
were Pashtoon. Majority of Afghans living in Glasgow, although are
Pashtoons, other ethnic groups such as Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and Baluch also
took part. Attempts were made to include families from different social
classes, but the educated middle-class, by Afghanistan standards, was the
group most willing to take part. It was more difficult to reach women, and
the women surveyed are those who either have a responsibility outside home
or are outgoing and influential housewives. It was hard to reach women
through their husbands, though some success was achieved. Husbands were
confident that they could speak for their wives and women in general, and
seeking women's views brought little contribution to the survey when
balanced against the time and effort to get in touch with them. Youngsters
under 18 were not included in the survey when designed, nevertheless it
proved easier to access youngsters and they were more communicative and
open than their parents. All questionnaires returned were in Farsi, English
questionnaires were not preferred by respondents.

Figure 1: Surveyee Profile

"ID #"AGE "SEX "OCCUPATION "YEARS IN THE UK"
"1 "48 "M "ARCHITICT "NO RESPONSE "
"2 "23 "M "STUDENT "2 "
"3 "24 "F "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"4 "25 "F "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"5 "37 "F "UNEMPLOYED "7 "
"6 "35 "M "PhD ECONOMICS "NO RESPONSE "
"7 "43 "M "PhD LITERATURE "NO RESPONSE "
"8 "32 "M "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"9 "NO RESPONSE "NO RESPONSE "NO RESPONSE "6 "
"10 "45 "F "HOUSEWIFE "NO RESPONSE "
"11 "42 "M "UNEMPLOYED "NO RESPONSE "
"12 "22 "M "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"13 "31 "M "SHOPKEEPER "NO RESPONSE "
"14 "48 "M "UNEMPLOYED "NO RESPONSE "
"15 "21 "M "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"16 "51 "M "PENSIONER "NO RESPONSE "
"17 "31 "F "UNEMPLOYED "NO RESPONSE "
"18 "30 "M "UNEMPLOYED "5 "
"19 "47 "M "UNEMPLOYED "1 "
"20 "65 "M "PENSIONER "1 "
"21 "47 "M "UNEMPLOYED "9 "
"22 "19 "F "STUDENT "NO RESPONSE "
"23 "24 "M "SOLDIER "20 "
"24 "26 "M "NO RESPONSE "14 "
"25 "23 "M "UNEMPLOYED "8 "
"26 "36 "M "DRIVER "8 "
"27 "32 "M "SHOPKEEPER "NO RESPONSE "
"28 "56 "F "FORMER DOCTOR "NO RESPONSE "
"29 "30 "M "ARCHITICT "12 "
"30 "44 "M "BUSINESSMAN "1 "
"31 "42 "M "DRIVER "NO RESPONSE "
"32 "34 "M "UNEMPLOYED "9 "
"33 "25 "M "UNEMPLOYED "12 "
"34 "48 "F "HOUSEWIFE "NO RESPONSE "
"35 "20 "M "STUDENT "2 "
"36 "52 "M "FORMER ARMY OFFICER "NO RESPONSE "
"37 "22 "M "STUDENT "2 "
"38 "45 "M "SHOPKEEPER "10 "
"39 "NO RESPONSE "M "WRITER "3 "
"40 "31 "M "INTERPRETER "8 "
"41 "21 "M "UNEMPLOYED "5 "
"42 "28 "M "DRIVER "NO RESPONSE "
"43 "36 "M "MECHANIC "12 "
"44 "34 "M "DRIVER "4 "
"45 "29 "F "HOUSEWIFE "7 "
"46 "41 "M "CARPENTER "9 "
"47 "28 "F "HOUSEWIFE "12 "


The research includes three open interviews. Three out of six originally
contacted came forward to participate after anonymity was ensured.
Interviewees had previous acquaintance with the researcher and were first
contacted by telephone. Three declined the request on the assumption that
they did not have much information to share about their media use. Two
potential interviewees with no previous acquaintance with the researcher
are among those contacted. They raised more concerns than those with prior
acquaintance. Although informants were assured of the anonymity, they asked
questions such as: 'Do you need to record our names and addresses. Will
anything we say affect our status in the UK? Why do you need to record us?
Will the University of Glasgow share it with the Home Office?' Particular
concerns were raised about any knock on effect of the information provided
by respondents, whose asylum cases are still awaiting responses, regarding
their state in the UK as refugees and the case they had presented to the
Home Office. One of the interviewees said

'the case I have presented to home office is a complex retell of my
life; they [Home Office] are reviewing my asylum request for the last
two years and I have to go for questioning every month and provide the
same answers every time to similar but differently asked questions…
every month they seek information on me and I do not want them to find
anything new. It could negatively affect me and my family here.'

They were also concerned about being recorded despite the fact they were
assured it was for the researcher's own reference. As a result, it was
decided not to record interviews and instead relied on note-taking during
sessions which came as a relief for those participating in interviews.
Concerns of potential interviewees were not limited to practical personal
information. Some expressed doubts about the outcome of the research
despite it being explained to them that the information was to be used
solely for the purpose of the researcher's degree requirements. It was
asked whether the interviews benefit them and Afghans in anyway. Those who
consented to be interviewed were at ease to speak openly. Interviews were
carried out in public places during or after a social event. The choice of
location helped to keep the interviewee at comfort and consequently open,
but it also made it difficult to keep him focused. The interviews, on
average, lasted ninety minutes. All interviews were carried out in Farsi.

Figure 2: Interviewee Profile

" "Interviewee A "Interviewee B "Interviewee C "
"Residence Place "Glasgow "Glasgow "Glasgow "
"Origin in "Logar "Sarobi "Parwan "
"Afghanistan " " " "
"Gender "M "M "M "
"Age "38 "26 "42 "
"Language "Pashto/Farsi "Pashto "Farsi "
"Occupation "Taxi Driver "Jobless, Graduate"Jobless, Poet "
"Ethnicity "Pashtoon "Pashtoon "Tajik "
"Residence in UK "7 years "2 years "10 years "


Survey Findings and Analysis

Glaswegian Afghans who took part in the survey are of a wide age group with
the youngest being 19 years old and the oldest 65 years old. The median age
of participants was 32 years old. The median is the middle age in the age
range of respondents - an equal number of older group falls above it as
well as an equal number of younger groups below it. The median age is not
the average age.

Figure 3



Survey participants have lived in Britain from one to twenty years. The
median of respondents' residence in the UK is eight years with an average
of 10.5 years. The median of UK residence is the middle number of years the
informants have spent in the UK in the range provided by total respondents.
This proved to be a sensitive or difficult question to ask and 21
respondents did not provide a response.

Figure 4



As obvious from 'Figure 5' women are underrepresented in this research for
the reasons discussed in the methodology section.

Figure 5



Survey participants come from diverse backgrounds, however the majority are
unemployed or studying. Some respondents were not sure about their
occupation and unwilling to discuss it. This includes the two largest
groups of respondents, i.e. unemployed and student. They felt that
providing their occupation details along with some other personal
information might compromise their anonymity even if they did not give a
name or address. Most of the unemployed and some of the students are on a
key benefit scheme which officially means they should not be working while
some of them take work in the unofficial Black labour market or help out
with family businesses. Respondents who identified themselves as a PhD,
student, a former officer or former doctor are effectively unemployed. They
maintain the designations from Afghanistan because they are perceived as
lifestyle rather than job. A tendency exists among respondents to mention
their former designation as their occupation, but they were encouraged to
only provide one title for their occupation and that it should be the job
they have now.

As outlined in the literature review, it was concluded that there is a
strong correspondence, on one hand, between diaspora occupation and social
class and, on the other, media consumption and lifestyle. On the contrary,
the analysis does not find any noteworthy correlation between occupation
and media consumption or the broader lifestyle. This could be explained by
respondents' occupational experience in Afghanistan and the common
employment challenges and opportunities they face in the UK. The group is
predominantly from the rural middle class in Afghanistan but there are some
urban middle class and urban upper working class among the respondents too.
The rural middle class of Afghanistan is defined as an educated individual
who had been to university in Kabul and could have had a job in Kabul but
his family, or at least a big part of the family, lives in the village and
he would consider the village as home or original home. The rural middle
class tends to be politically and socially conservative. Respondents have a
collective experience where they had to abandon their former occupations of
Afghanistan while they carry an idealisation and myth about it. Their
struggle to establish their professional careers in the UK has left most of
them unemployed or studying. Some have managed to find some manual jobs
Social benefits in the UK are another element which influences respondents'
occupation. This did not exist in Afghanistan and social benefits
homogenises groups professional experiences. The differences between
Afghanistan occupation has been overshadowed by the collective myths and
idealisation. Afghanistan occupations have changed to mythical ideals. A
homogenised occupational experience has no significance on media
consumption differences.

Figure 6



Afghan media is heavily consumed by respondents, they reported using one or
another medium to receive Afghan content, with 81% of respondents accessing
more than one medium of television, radio, book, newspaper, magazine or
online media. Twenty one percent used more than three mediums to receive
Afghan contents. Television is by far the most common form of medium; some
87 percent of respondents come in contact with Afghan media via Television.
Radio is the second most popular medium with 57% regular access to radio,
and 51% read Afghan books; that are books in Farsi or Pashto from
Afghanistan or about Afghanistan.

Figure 7



When asked to name their favourite media outlet, participants produced a
diverse range of outlets. Twenty seven respondents listed 20 different
outlets, the remaining 20 respondents either did not give a station or it
was counted invalid due an error. The most popular outlet was the BBC,
among the first three choices of which ten respondents. However, the
information about the BBC channel was not specific. It was also not clear
whether respondents were referring to BBC programmes in English or for
Afghanistan, with the exception of one respondent who stated BBC Scotland.
The second most popular outlet was Ariana television followed by Radio
Salam Watandar. The fourth choice was the British newspaper 'The Sun'.

Figure 8

"Indicate top three media outlets you" Respondent "Percent"
"use? " " "
"INVALID "12 "26% "
"BBC "9 "19% "
"NO RESPONSE "8 "17% "
"ARIANA "7 "15% "
"SALAM WATANDAR "4 "9% "
"SUN "3 "6% "
"SKY "2 "4% "
"THE MIRROR "2 "4% "
"GUARDIAN "2 "4% "
"STV "2 "4% "
"ITV "1 "2% "
"BAKHTAR "1 "2% "
"DAILY MAIL "1 "2% "
"METRE "1 "2% "
"ARMAN FM "1 "2% "
"RADIO WATANDAR "1 "2% "
"MUJAHEED "1 "2% "
"CAPITAL "1 "2% "
"CLYDE "1 "2% "
"BBC SCOTLAND "1 "2% "
"RADIO FOUR "1 "2% "
"RADIO AZADI "1 "2% "
" Total Number of outlets "20 " "


The survey also found that Afghans respondents maintained extensive
personal contact with Afghanistan. 62% telephone Afghanistan to talk with
family and friends at least once a week and 28% call twice a month.
Diasporic contact with Afghanistan is through both interpersonal
communication and mass media. It is hard to establish the relationship
between the level of Afghan media consumption and the level of personal
communication. The survey data suggests the level of both British and
Afghan media consumption. An analysis of the relation between general media
use and personal contact with Afghanistan yields no particular pattern.

This is an area of interest for those Afghan media outlets targeting
diasporic communities. Given the difficulties of establishing personal
communication, in Afghanistan, the precariousness of the postal system and
mobile phones are also limited to a few urban centres with low quality and
high costs. Afghan outlets are attempting to bring personal communication
to mass communication, a feature already popular in Afghanistan and are an
important issue of marketing in order gain diasporic participation. Linking
mobile phone and other forms of person to person communication with mass
media brings revenues to the media outlet. The radio or television station
either charges a premium on the caller or broadcasts the message for a fee.
Personal advertisement in the form of obituary, classified advertisings,
marriage and other ceremony announcements, and many other public service
announcements (PSA) are a good source of revenue for the stations. This way
the diaspora can contact their families, community and the radio and
television stations with better quality and for a smaller fee than mobile
phone.

In addition to the substitutive relationship between media and phone
communication, there is also the possibility of a complementary character
between media and interpersonal communication. Interviewee B personal
experience describes such a link:

'I call my family in Afghanistan at least once a week on average, it
could be more frequent but sometimes I do not talk with my family for
up to three weeks… I call if I hear something in the news; like I
called them last week after seeing reports and pictures of a suicide
attack in Kabul … I wanted to make sure they were all fine. I know "the
sound of the drum is loud farther" [an Afghan proverb meaning negative
events are amplified in the distance] they [the media] make things
sound worst than they are… it is also useful to keep up with the news,
the family might not tell you all about the general situation or might
not know.'

The extensive interpersonal relations that exist between the Afghan
community in Glasgow and their relatives in Afghanistan creates a flow of
communication and information which places Afghan media messages and
contents of Afghan media about Afghanistan in a particular context. This
extensive interpersonal link reshapes media content and makes it relevant
to a diasporic context. The effect of such a mediated media is far greater
than an isolated use of media. There is also a counter explanation for the
relationship between interpersonal connection and extensive Afghan media
use by abandoning the active approach to media use and audience selectivity
and assuming that Glaswegian Afghans are dogmatic in their media use.
Glaswegian Afghans live under certain cultural and personal circumstances,
the effect of selectivity, choice and personal communication is shaped by
diasporic values, beliefs and habit under peculiar cultural and personal
circumstances.

Figure 9



Survey participants were heavy media users: thirty three – or 70% of-
respondents consume more than 50 hours of media a week.. Twenty eight
percent of respondents used more than 40 hours of Farsi and Pashto media a
week, while 23 percent use used more than forty hours of English media and
32% use between 30 to 39 hours. Fifty three percent of respondents consumed
a mix of languages, predominantly Farsi and Pashto with English or another
foreign language.



Figure 10



The extent of media use is connected with the audience interpretation of
the content. The heavy use of media by respondents could be explained by a
relatively light reading on content. Interviewee C, while talking about
television at his home, said:

'The television set at home is switched off for a good part of the day
but my wife switch it on in the afternoons to watch her favourite soap…
it is on in the evening and watching television is a family activity in
the evenings. I try minimising kids viewing in the evening and my wife
try to keep occupied with chores during the day so she does not get
stuck with the television. Television in this country could be a waste
of time, newly arrived families with no job and not many friends here
spend most of their time watching television… children and my wife
watch television on holidays and weekends.'

From what C is describing it could be understood that passive television
viewers spend more time than interpretive and engaged viewers. Similarly,
women and children who seem to be reading less on television are more
frequent viewers. The questionnaire cross tabulation also showed a tendency
among female participants towards slightly more frequent media use. The
table below shows the use of media according to respondents' gender. On
average, women consume 34.5 hours of media per week Compared to men who, on
average, use 25 hours of media. Figure 10 shows the relationship between
gender and time spent with media.









































Glaswegian Afghans have a distinct relationship to that media content aimed
at diaspora. The production of such content and text is isolated from the
consumption. On the other hand, the broader British media is more connected
with everyday affairs. Thirty two percent of respondents said they consumed
30 hours of British media, especially television and video content. Some
60% of respondents reported owning a collection of English video CDs or
DVDs. Interviewee 'A', on the purposes of his media use, said

'During the day when I am working I have my car radio on… tuned to BBC,
Clyde or Radio Four. I listen to a lot of music and try to understand
talk shows on Radio Four to improve my English. When I am home I
usually spend time with children in the living room watching English
television. I often listen to BBC Afghanistan or another Pashto or Dari
station [alone]… I would like to stay aware of Afghanistan issues and
the coverage in British television is bias and for entertainment
purposes of British audience… my wife also listens to Afghan radio
stations during the day.'

It is, perhaps, that British media seems to be more for entertainment and
passing time, but it is also used for practical purposes too. Throughout
the interview with 'A', it became apparent that he used British media,
especially radio in his car, to listen to traffic news, weather forecast,
local events, community information, learning English and general
education. Whereas the use of Afghan media is more like a ritual, an
activity connected with an idealised home. The content of Afghan media is
more subject to interpretation. The light use of Afghan media could be
explained by the concept put forth above regarding the connection between
interpretation and the extent of media use. Interviewee 'A' on the use of
Afghan media added

'I would like to see my children and other Afghan children using more
Afghan programs. Using Afghan media would improve their language
skills as well as educate them about their country and people…
especially programs about ethics and morality would help children grow
up as Afghans… a relative of mine who lives in London records morning
programs on Afghan media for his children. They can not catch up with
the morning programs, because of time difference. Then he plays the
programs for them at the evening. His children are very polite and
kind and they speak better Dari and Pashto than I do. They sometimes
imitate radio presenters and talk with a formal language for example
"at this morning press review program we will look at Kabul morning
papers; Hewad is out this morning in colour print and broadsheet
binding. The front page is editorial" the children could imitate an
entire program. Sometimes they ask me what editorial is or broadsheet
binding is and I frankly do not know… People who use Afghan media talk
about issues that we would not normally discuss.'

Both Afghan and British media shape Glaswegian Afghans lives in ways that
extend their characteristic values, and styles that are already in place. A
possible lack of influence of Glasgow on its Afghan community could be
attributed to a stalled transition of their diapora's characteristic
values. Survey participants have spent a median of 8 years in the UK, while
only 11% have contact or friendship with white Britons, an substantial
number, 50%, of the respondents are only in contact with other Afghans
while 23% have contact with more than one social group. Figure 12 displays
social contacts among Afghans.

Diasporic Afghans in Glasgow are starting to shape a community, similar to
other ethnic minorities. The community is created as a result of social
interaction, individuals and groups with home diasporic Afghan socialise
are within their boundaries and those outside the boundaries directly and
often conversely effects diasporic Afghan. Despite most of the community
members come from educated middle class background and they choose to live
in a liberal society but their aspirations and world views are traditional
and conservative. These conservative views are formed in the process of
establishing relationship and interaction with other individuals and groups
in Glasgow. Diasporic Afghans' aspirations are similar to those of other
Muslim minorities and the general Muslim community. Aspirations of a
Glaswegian Afghan with a university degree and middle class experience in
Afghanistan are contrary to their Afghan counterpart. For instance, the
presence of British troops in Afghanistan is one of the issues of the most
concern to the British Muslim community and in particular Afghan diaspora.
The General consensus among Glasgow community seems to be in favour of
withdrawing British troops from Afghanistan. Afghan Scottish Society was
among the organisers of Scotland against the war parade in March 2008. This
is sharply different than public opinion in Afghanistan. A survey conducted
in 34 provinces of Afghanistan by The Asia Foundation (TAF) in 2006
discovered that the majority of Afghans do not want foreign troops to
leave.





Figure 12



Glaswegian Afghans are making good use of media technologies: 38
respondents, 81% of the total participants, own more than one media device
and 43% own more than three media devices Figure 13 illustrates the
ownership of media devices.

From the results of this survey, it appears that media can smoothly
infiltrate traditional groups. The use of media devices and content
reception is predefined as well as other routine domestic activities
including the function of viewing spaces, children viewing and women access
and control of media. Media could also be hindered by tradition and it is
use limited to certain aspects of it is features. There is also a positive
sides media and it is technologies could challenge conformity and transform
culture when it challenges dogma and fosters free expression.







Figure 13

"Value "Frequency "Percentage "
"MORE THAN ONE MEDIA DEVICE "38 "81% "
"Television set "37 "79% "
"MORE THAN TWO DEVICES "31 "66% "
"VHS/DVD/CD player "28 "60% "
"Radio "27 "57% "
"Satellite "25 "53% "
"Broadband "21 "45% "
"MORE THAN THREE DEVICES "19 "40% "
"Cable "6 "13% "
"NO ANSWER WAS PROVIDED "1 "2% "


Although respondents said they were extensive media users, at the same
time, they are pluralist in the choice of medium, channel and language. A
little over half of the respondents used media in English or another
foreign language. The single largest group of respondents used 32% between
30 to 39 hours per week of English programmes. Respondents were quite
pluralistic about the space and people they use media with: 66% used media
alone and with either their family or friends, while 47% of respondents
consumed media alone as well as with both family and friends. Multiple
spaces of media, especially television viewing, allows the audience to
appropriate programmes for each viewing space. All three interviewees used
public home spaces, private spaces and family home space to view television
or video in general depending on the type of programmes. It became
apparent in the course of the interviews that interviewees refrain from
watching unknown and unrated western television programmes with their
families due to the fear that it may contain sexually explicit scenes or
nudity. All three interviewees, similar to some survey respondents, watched
western made films but preferred watching alone or with male friends. The
television programmes and channels that are watched collectively at home
are confirmed to be free; of nudity; often not trusted by producer or BBFC
recommendation but personal experiences. British and Western in general,
represented in Hollywood movies, standards of evaluation of nudity and sex
do not seem to be trusted by interviewees. In the case of unexpected nudity
or a sexual scene, the family male controls the remote and he would fast
forward the video or change the television channel.

The questionnaires also showed the lowest consumption form is watching
western programmes with the family: only 19% of respondents consume western
media in family circles. The difference in usage is perhaps linked with the
apprehension about the perceived effect of media. A general anxiety was
expressed by interviewees about the effect of media, which seemed limited
to western content. The heavy use of Afghan media is not perceived as
'dangerous' as western media and it is negative effect on vulnerable groups
i.e. children and women.

Figure 14



Respondents are also pluralist in consuming media content; they have access
to a wide and diverse number of media genres from news and current affairs
programmes to art and comedy programmes. Fifty seven percent of respondents
consume more than five genres of programmes.

Figure 15: Type of Media Content Consumed



News and current affairs programmes are the most popular: 81%, - 38
respondents - stated news and current affairs programmes in Farsi or Pashto
among the genre of programmes they used; while English news and current
affairs programmes were favoured by 47%. Afghan music programmes were
second, with 79 % saying they listened to Afghan music. The third most
popular programme was western-produced feature films with 55%. The least
popular genre was western art and literature with 9%. The globalisation
reach of news programmes showed an interesting dilemma in this survey. Why
is it that Afghan current affairs programmes that are not produced to
target Glaswegian Afghans, but rather primarily for a homeland Afghan
audience, how these programmes could attracted an unintended audience from
a better resourced British media? Glaswegian Afghans are connected to
Afghan media because of their interest in the region. Realities,
speculation, trivial events and rumours are covered differently by Afghan
media and British media and the Afghan coverage appeals to Glaswegian
Afghans. It is not only the cultural meaning of news and current affairs
which differs in a culturally sensitive media viewing but also the meaning
of entertainment, music and education differs too. Interviewee 'C'
describes why he follows news and current affairs.

'I was not very interested to be aware of events under Taliban; I
decided with myself that the war has been going on for too long and
nothing was changing, same fighting was continuing day in and day out.
Things have changed now, events in Afghanistan are important for
everyone and in a way it is interesting to listen to news… once you are
a regular news listener then it become a habit; for me it is a habit.'

The language diversity of Afghanistan is not well represented in Afghan in
all five genres of media including international broadcasters transmitting
into Afghanistan. BBC Afghanistan and the Afghan state broadcaster RTA
(Radio Television Afghanistan) broadcast a few hours – off peak – for
minorities but the services are said to be underresourced. In interviews,
respondents said that language is an important determinant of audience
loyalty. According to C:

'I usually tune to radio stations which are in Dari, although I
understand Pashto. Some radio stations have mixed Dari and Pashto
programmes which I listen to but I do not go looking for Afghan
programmes in Pashto… it is easy to understand when the station is in
Dari; I do not like stations which are bilingual; it feels very crowded
in the station.'

Minority languages such as Uzbeki, Turkmani and Baluchi are not mixed in
Afghan media in the same way that Farsi and Pashto are. Minority languages
are spoken by a big part of Afghan population – for example, Uzbeki is the
first language for around three million Afghans - and a large part of
diaspora. Interviewee C quoted an Afghan Uzbek acquaintance in Glasgow who
watches television programmes from Uzbekistan because he is comfortable
with the language.

Conclusion

In the last few years diasporic Afghans have become even more interested in
Afghan media. This research shows extensive use of Afghan media by
diasporic Afghans in Glasgow. Glaswegian Afghans also maintain vigorous
personal contact with their relatives in Afghanistan. The apparent reasons
are their interest in affairs of their home country and the technological
improvements which make such a connection both feasible and cost effective.
Nevertheless, the analysis presented in this research points to a direction
with complex relationship between research informants and media use.
Glaswegian Afghans' consumption is not taking place in a vacuum but
effected by their diasporic experiences and aspirations. The existence of
this context underlies the use of Afghan media and also an important factor
when we try to understand the effect of media and audience consumption
habits.

Media interpretation is also crucial in the discussion of diasporic
interest and engagement with content and the media itself. Diasporic
society is a tight knit for those who opt to live within it. The
interpersonal connection effects the media message, it is reshaped to make
it relevant for diasporic problems. The meaning of media content for
diaspora depends on their level of education, occupation and contact with
other diasporic Afghans in Glasgow and with family and friends in
Afghanistan.

Media usage patterns were not found to be connected with diaspora's social
class in Afghanistan. Contrary to the emphasis on significance of class in
former home and diasporic identity, outlined in the literature review; no
particular link was found between working class, urban middle class and
rural middle class media consumption. Diasporic Afghans with various
backgrounds from PhDs and writers to students and labourers used media not
much different from each other. This could be partly due to the small
number of survey participants, preventing the research to find patterns to
group participants. It could be argued that the context of diasporic
audiences have an effect on their media use, perhaps greater than Afghan
class background. The heavier use of media than the British average as well
as the extensive use of British media by Afghan diaspora reinforces the
significance of media use context and interpretation. The patterns of
British media use vary between respondents depending on their professional
statue, social interaction and free time. The context of British media
consumption relates to the interpretation which could be made by audience,
their knowledge of English and attitude to Britain and Afghanistan are
important.

Diasporic Afghan background shapes their identity and cultural practices in
Glasgow. Extensive interpersonal communication with family and friends in
Afghanistan and strong connection with each other inside Glaswegian Afghan
community, have strong influence on diasporic identity and are as a result
of their Afghan background. Glaswegian Afghans' experiences and aspirations
bear influence from their Afghan background; the experiences of the survey
written above under the 'Research Process' shows the attitude and
sociability of Glaswegian Afghans maintains Afghanness.


Appendix: Questionnaire

which Media are used by the afghan community of glasgow?

This questionnaire aims to gather data for a survey to explore media use
patterns among Glasgow's Afghan community. My name is Sanjar Qiam and I am
a Master's student at Centre for Cultural Policy Research (CCPR) in the
University of Glasgow. This questionnaire is in connection with the
requirements of my dissertation and the data gathered may inform future
publications. It will take less than 10 minutes of your time to fill this
out. If you want to share more about your media use, that would contribute
greatly to my study. Further contribution will take the form of interviews;
in which case your contribution can remain anonymous as in this
questionnaire. I will happily call you back to arrange a time at your
leisure if you leave your contacts with this questionnaire; alternatively I
could be reached on (+44) 079 48 25 4642 or [email protected] ;
add: 22 Winton Drive D3, Glasgow, G12 0QA.

Please write details

Age: Sex: Occupation: How
long have you been living in UK:

1. Indicate top three media outlets you use?

A.……………………………………………………….B………………………………………………………C……………………………………

Please encircle more than one option if appropriate

2. How often do you call family and friends in Afghanistan?

A. Once a week B. Twice a month C. Once a month D. once every
three months

3. Which ethnic group has the largest number of your UK contacts and
friends?

A. White British B. Afghans C. other ethnic minorities D.
Other, ………..

4. How do you socialise in the UK?

A. With Afghans and in Afghan setting B. With White British and in
Afghan Setting

C. With Afghans and in British setting D. With White
British and in British Setting

E. Other, please give detail ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Which of the following media equipment do you have at home?

A. TV set B. VHS/DVD/CD player C. Satellite D. Cable E. Radio
F. Broadband

6. Which Afghan media do you access?

A. TV B. Radio C. Books D. Newspaper/Magazine
E. Online media

Please mark circles as it applies

7. How often do you attend each of the following venues?

" "Museum "Cinema "Concert "Library "Other, ……….."
"Once a week" " " " " "
"Once a Month" " " " " "
"Once in " " " " " "
"three months" " " " " "
"Other, please specify "


8. Which of the following media collection do you have at home?

" "Video "Audio "Magazine/Newspa"Books "Other, ……….."
" " " "per " " "
"Farsi " " " " " "
"Pashto " " " " " "
"English " " " " " "
"Other, please specify "



9. How many hours of media in each of the following languages do you
use in a week?

" "40 Hours "Between 30 "Between 20 to"Between 10 "Less than "
" "or more "to 39 "29 "to 19 "9 "
"Farsi and " " " " " "
"Pashto " " " " " "
"English " " " " " "
"Arabic " " " " " "
"Other, please specify "



10. With whom do you use media?

" "Alone "Family "Friends "
"Farsi/Pashto media" " " "
"British/Non-Afghan" " " "
"media " " " "
"Comment: "



11. Which type of media content do you use?

"News/current affairs "Documentary "Feature film "Comedy
"Culture/Art/Literature "Music "Other,… " "Farsi/Pashto " " " " " " " "
"English/western " " " " " " " " "

Please provide any extra comment that you feel is important:


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-----------------------
[1] Afghan media is referred to all media contents produced for Afghans; it
could be by Afghan producers inside or outside Afghanistan or by
international broadcasters inside or outside Afghanistan. The literature
review provides a detailed breakdown into five tiers to what is referred to
as Afghan Media. see pages 14 - 15
[2] On Afghan diasporas' aspirations and views see pages 31

[3] Scotland 2001 Census

[4] Nigel Chapman Director of BBC international on Persian TELEVISION,
Retrieved July 28, 2008, from
http://er.bsysmail.com/go.asp?/.pages.071025.overtoyou/bBBC001/u05ZZA/x6IFV5
1

[5] AboutFast facts of VoA Farsi TVTELEVISION, Retrieved July 28, 2008,
from http://www.voanews.com/english/About/FastFacts.cfm

[6] About Radio Farda in English, Retrieved July 28, 2008, from
http://www.radiofarda.com/inenglish.aspx

[7] Media News in Farsi, Retrieved July 28, 2008, from
http://www.medianews.ir/fa/2008/07/09/persian-language-tv.html

[8] About Khyber TVTELEVISION, Retrieved July 28, 2008, from
http://www.avtkhyber.com/website/about.htm

[9] Afghan civil society is a loose term and different to what is commonly
known as civil society. It is best described as a group which is not purely
inspired by Islamic sentiments, unlike the government. Afghan civil society
is the space which has embraced the most diverse actors. The institutional
actors include NGOs, media, women's organizations, business associations,
individual academics and writers, coalitions and advocacy groups. The
function of this group is administered liberally in comparison with state
and clergy sponsored institutions.

[10] cited in Morely 2000: 157



[11] Jane Kramer, January 20, 2003, New Yorker report

[12] Scannell, 1986:136

[13] As for the man or woman who is guilty of theft, cut off their hands to
punish them for their crimes. That is the punishment enjoined by Allah.
(Quran, Surah 5: 38)

[14] Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior
to other and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women
are obedient. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them
and them to bed apart and beat them. (Quran, Surah 4:34)

[15] http://www.afghanstar.tv



-----------------------
*40 Hours or more more = 49 based on the 9 number different
between each coded value

**less than 9 = >1

*** Value average for band A is driven from average of 20 and 49 hours

Value average for band B is driven from average of >1 to 29 hours

Value average for band C is driven from average of 0



Figure 11