Focus on the power of radio in refugee camps

Whether it is during their country's long drawn-out peace negotiations, keeping in touch with the latest information on food rations or repatriation, or merely a way to pass the time in the evenings, for Burundian refugees, listening to the radio is important. It is their link with the rest of Tanzania and home. And for those caring for them, it is a way of bringing messages to hundreds of thousands of people. The few refugees who have radios are often surrounded by many others who do not. And, more often than not, they listen to Radio Kwizera, a station that was set up in 1995 by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), a Roman Catholic relief organisation, following the influx of refugees who were fleeing the genocide in Rwanda the year before. Voice of the voiceless Although most of the Rwandans left Tanzania in 1996, the service was maintained for many of the Burundian refugees remaining in the Kagera and Kigoma regions. "JRS thought it was very important for the refugees to be able to express themselves," Father Romeo Cagatin, the JRS country director in Tanzania, told IRIN on 2 October. "So, we hoped that through Radio Kwizera, they would be able to express their opinions and what they are doing in the camps." "In short, I think Radio Kwizera is the voice of the refugees. The voice of the voiceless," he said. Initially, Radio Kwizera was funded through the UN, but, Cagatin says, JRS thought that it was important for the radio station to be fully independent, in order for it to serve its purpose fully. "If they have some complaints we can help them express themselves, especially if they cannot do so in front of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] and government authorities," he said. Mass education The radio is also a useful educational tool for the refugees and Tanzanians in the area. Programmes cover a broad range of issues such as peace and conflict resolution, environmental degradation, health, sexual- and gender-based violence, and the need for a tolerant attitude toward refugees. Local authorities and humanitarian workers recognise the station's popularity and use the medium to relay messages to the hundreds of thousands of refugees in western Tanzania. The messages broadcast can take the form of a specific announcement or sponsorship of a programme by a humanitarian organisation. UNHCR, which provides some support in terms of training of refugee journalists, said Radio Kwizera was "a great help on just about every issue" and "a valuable partner in the field". One such issue is the youth. The station runs a radio programme for adolescents, which is sponsored by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The programme encourages youth to discuss and inform the population about issues that are important to them in the camps. "The youth themselves choose the topics and the format of the programme," Justina Marwa, the production coordinator for Radio Kwizera in Kibondo, said. "It makes it easier for them to discuss issues because they have a programme dedicated to them and in their language - Kirundi. They feel free to talk and express what is going on around them." Marwa said that other organisations supported different programmes, with a view to promoting similar communication campaigns. These include the UN Children's Fund's promotion of programmes on women and children's affairs and Norwegian People's Aid support for projects on education and against sexual- and gender-based violence. Peace and reconciliation Similarly, a peace and conflict resolution programme is aired regularly to try to promote a spirit of reconciliation among the refugees, many of whom have lived in camps for over a decade. A Burundian refugee journalist who works on the programme, Cyriaque Muhawenayo, told IRIN that after initial hesitations among the refugees the programme was beginning to have an impact. "As a broadcaster, I saw the trouble at the beginning," he said. "People would say that Burundi was for [former President Pierre] Buyoya and the Tutsis and they were scared." He added: "But they now know the importance of the programme because they tell me the truth and of the need for Burundians to reconcile. They have had cross-border meetings with people who came from Burundi and they don't fear going back. But the problem is still the war." Broadcasting from 8:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. in Kirundi, French, Kiswahili and English to people in Ngara and Kibondo districts, in Kagera and Kigoma regions, respectively, Radio Kwizera can be heard by at least 250,000 refugees. Add to this the many Tanzanians who also tune in because the broadcasts of other stations cannot be heard in the area. Of even greater interest to the refugees is the relationship that Radio Kwizera - which means Radio Hope in the local languages of Kirundi and Kinyarwanda - has with a Bujumbura-based station, Studio Ijambo. Reporters at Radio Kwizera collect information portraying the realities of life in the camps and send this to Burundi, while Studio Ijambo provides the refugees with information about what is happening back home. Search for Common Ground, an NGO based in Washington DC, manages Studio Ijambo. It is funded by USAID. "We love it, especially during the peace talks when everyone's ears are glued to their radios so they can try to find out what is happening at home and in the negotiations," a refugee in Kanembwa Camp told IRIN. Not always easy However, there are occasionally stories that the authorities do not want told. When interviews with refugees were broadcast, during which many refugees said they were leaving because food shortages and restrictions in the camps were becoming unbearable, the local authorities were upset. "The district commissioner was not happy. He said we were advertising crime through advertising the views of the refugees," Marwa said. And, on the lighter side, the producers said that listening to the radio was also a way to pass time, something the refugees have plenty of. They air various types of music, and in the evenings some people dance to popular tunes from Burundi. There is even a programme dedicated to playing music that has been written and performed in the camps.