Kreitim Aftim

My Love Affair with Auntie Kreitim Aftim

When you are behind the BBC microphone, nobody knows whether you are a member of staff, or a freelancer. While on the other side, listeners and certain journalists may assess you better than officials, such as a Jordanian sports editor, who credited me for making the British football clubs and players more popular and favourites than local clubs and players.

I started my career in Near East Arab Broadcasting Station, founded by the British and buried on order from London, at the height of its fame, while most of its listeners thought it was financed by Arabs, which was why it was a sort of taboo to talk about it in Parliament.

This is my broadcasting journey for almost 60 years, starting as a studio manager, before becoming a news reader, presenter, producer, writer, football and tennis commentator.

That was not achieved in an easy way. How the obstacles were surmounted, together with stories never revealed before, including a very generous gift from a royal prince, are unfolded in this book.