He has been in the midst of natural disasters, terror and war. Experienced and observed things we others do not even get to see on the screen – until it is too intense.
Nevertheless, TV 2 journalist Kadafi Zaman (48) is grateful.
That’s because he got to grow up in this very country, which his mother and father chose when they left Pakistan in the 70’s.
– And when we are so lucky that we live here, we have to show things that happen in the world, says Zaman when he meets Dorthe Skappel in Bjørvika in Oslo, not far from employer TV 2.
There he has spent an extraordinary number of hours during the pandemic. Fewer trips. More time to reflect and think. And to write a book about it all – “The Norwegian dream”.
Rifle against the temple
It was then that he discovered that some of the strongest impressions from a long journalistic career had been suppressed.
– DIRECT REPORT: This is how we have seen Zaman on TV 2 for a number of years. Here from the demonstrations in Cairo in Egypt in 2011. Photo: TV 2 The news
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– When I started writing, I emailed some of the photographers who had been on the most intense trips. I thought they could supplement a little, but they supplemented so much. At times it was like, “Oh my God, it was so sick, we got a gun to the temple, I did not remember,” says Zaman.
In addition to reporting from major news events, Zaman has for a number of years poked around and immersed himself in environments that would rather not appear in public. Right-wing extremists. Islamists. Hat-criminals.
This is how it gets into trouble. Then the e-mails and SMSs flow in. Sometimes it even rings in the middle of the night.
“Fucking Muslim fan, get out of our country,” from right-wing extremists.
“Fucking betrays, you fail your own, you must die,” from Islamists.
Zaman has been incited and threatened from both wings. But he is in no doubt about what is worst.
Threats through eavesdropping
– It is if the police have caught something and come to the employer and say that it is a threat against Gaddafi. Something I have no idea about, which is planned behind my back, captured through wiretapping. It’s really scary, because then you do not have an SMS or an email to deal with, he says.
And it is precisely these threats that he has chosen to keep close. Even for those closest to them. Wife and his two children. Sibling. Parents. Only now does he tell about it, in a separate chapter in the book.
Watch the entire interview with Good evening Norway and Dorthe Skappel in the video window below:
– There is a lot the children have not known about. So when a police car suddenly appears outside the house or cameras have been set up, I have tried to de-dramatize it a bit, and not tell them the whole truth. It is only in the book now that they will read details. Now they are adults, says Zaman.
It has been a conscious choice to shield the family. Both because they have not sought the public, but also as a result of the threat against him.
Excluded details
– Growing up, they probably understood that dad makes cases about criminals, right-wing extremist circles, Islamists, which means that people can get angry, but I have left out the details. I have also not told how intense it has been abroad at times. But sometimes it has been impossible to hide because there are live photos or live broadcasts, says the father of two.
There was one incident in particular that shocked the Zaman family at home in Lier near Drammen.
– ARRESTED: Gaddafi Zaman was beaten several times by Pakistani police when he was arrested in 2018. Photo: Private
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– That arrest in Pakistan in 2018 was a very brutal experience for them. Then there were pictures of me being beaten and being in the cell, it made a very strong impression, says Zaman.
Fortunately, it also went well. Zaman was released and allowed to travel to Norway. The country he was born in in the 70’s and has never taken for granted that would be his home.
At the same time, he has always been proud of his Pakistani background, and has done what he can to make the children feel that way too.
– YOUNG: Gaddafi Zaman grew up in Lier near Drammen. Photo: Private
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– For me, it has been important to continue the Pakistani culture and language, so that they will be confident in themselves. You have to be confident in your Pakistani background and proud of it, to be able to feel like a real Norwegian, Zaman believes.
He thinks this is a thought that more people should take into account:
– It is a great recipe for newcomers, to be confident in your religion and your culture, and take in the best of the new.
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