Gabriel er en av radiovertene i Umoja Radio og når millioner av lyttere verden over fra flyktningleiren i Tanzania. Foto: Ingrid Prestetun/Flyktninghjelpen

Oppfylte barndomsdrømmen om radio

Nashon Todo, Ingvild Vetrhus og Thale Jenssen|Publisert 28. aug 2017
Tanzania Krig og konflikt
Med Radio Umoja når Jonathan millioner av lyttere over hele verden fra Tanzanias største flyktningleir.

I Tanzania og Den demokratiske republikken Kongo blir journalister ofte trakassert og arrestert. Det stoppet ikke kongoleseren Jonathan fra å starte sin egen radiokanal.

Da han kom til flyktningleiren Nyarugusu i Tanzania i 1997, var det lite informasjon å få tak i om saker som angikk leirens beboere. Det foregikk mye i Nyarugusu, en av verdens største flyktningleirer. Det var bare ingen som visste om det.

Noe måtte gjøres. Jonathan fant en høyttaler og en liten radiosender. Om dagene gikk han rundt til hjelpeorganisasjonene som jobbet i leiren og samlet informasjon. På kveldstid kunngjorde han det han hadde fått vite. Det tok ikke lang tid før en gruppe mennesker samlet seg rundt høyttalerne hver kveld for å høre siste nytt fra Jonathan.

Lyttere fra hele verden

Nå sitter ikke Jonathan lenger utendørs med høyttaleren sin. Han har et ordentlig studio. Radio Umoja 92.3 FM er en populær radiokanal i flyktningleiren, hvor over 120.000 kongolesiske og burundiske flyktninger har søkt tilflukt fra volden i hjemlandene. Etter nesten 20 år på lufta har radiokanalen nå lyttere fra hele verden, blant annet fra USA og Norge.

– Ved hjelp av internett er vi i stand til å nå millioner av mennesker, forklarer Jonathan. Han får hilsener fra lyttere i land som Sør-Afrika, Nederland og Australia.

– Radio Umoja er en uavhengig kanal og tilhører flyktningene, sier han.

Radio Umoja er en uavhengig kanal og tilhører flyktningene.
Jonathan, radiovert

Flyktning og journalist

Gabriel og Maria er to av Jonathans kolleger. De er frivillige radioverter og reportere som informerer beboerne i flyktningleiren om siste nytt.

Gabriel har blitt tvunget på flukt fra hjemlandet Burundi flere ganger. Kongolesiske Maria har levd som flyktning i Tanzania siden 2001. Å jobbe frivillig for Radio Umoja gir hverdagen deres mening.

– Jeg har drømt om dette siden jeg var barn, forteller Gabriel. – Jeg har alltid ønsket å bli journalist.

Maria jobber som utegående reporter og rapporterer fra studio. Hun synes jobben hun gjør er viktig, også for å inspirere unge jenter. Som barn likte hun å høre på radio om kvelden. Nå er hun voksen og alenemor, og hun ser på seg selv som et forbilde.

– Folk har alltid lyst til å snakke med meg når de ser meg på gata, og barna kommer bort for å hilse på meg, forteller hun.

Radio Umoja was established by Jonathan (in yellow t-shirt) in March 1997. When he first entered Nyarugusu refugee camp, he observed that there was a lot of misinformation or lack of information reaching refugees on issues affecting them. He immediately swung into actions. Using available resources, he acquired a loud speaker and a small transmitter and during the evening he would announce information that he had acquired through UNHCR and other agencies through the loudspeaker. Many people used to come to gather around the loudspeaker to listen to latest information. Gaining acceptance and support, he started putting together radio station equipment through support from humanitarian agencies. He also obtained a 6-month license from the Tanzanian government to broadcast information. During the six-month pilot phase, he received supervision and content scrutiny from Tanzania’s Ministry of Home Affairs. He used to get permits to stay out of the camp in order to travel to Dar-es-Salaam capital to follow up on equipment such as transmitters, microphones and studio controls. He also received permits to bring on board radio announcers and field reporters. His main goal is to use the radio station to raise awareness among the refugee population about pertinent issues and solutions. For example, how the youth can be productive and avoid engaging in criminal activities. He also speaks out against sexual violence targeting women and girls. The radio transmitter covers a radius of 30 kilometres. “People in Nyakitonto usually call the studio to say that they can hear our voices loud and clear,” says Jonathan. Initially his radio station was called ‘Radio Taarifa Tangazo na Salaam’ (RTTS), translated as News, Announcement and Greetings Radio. Later he decided to specialize in religious songs and changed the name to Umoja Radio, which means Unity radio. There are 26 workers in the studio, including security staff, editors, cleaners, field reporters among others. These are all volunteers. Operational challenges “Lack of funds to pay workers and services that we receive is the biggest challenge. This leads to a high turn-over since the workers also need an income to support their families,” says Jonathan. This means that the radio station cannot operate optimally since fuel shortage are bound to occur. 15 litres of petrol is needed per day to guarantee full-time broadcast, while a litre of petrol costs 2,500 Tanzanian Shillings (XXX US Dollars). Jonathan has a better idea, he thinks that solar as an alternative green power option can solve all the energy and fuel demands. As can be expected from a remote refugee camp like Nyarugusu, there are other challenges faced by the radio station staff. “The station infrastructure needs an upgrade. We need to fix the ceiling, buy office facilities such as tables, chairs, shelves, monitors and central processing units. We are also using an improvised antennae to transmit radio frequencies,” says Jonathan. Most importantly, they need money to pay for transport for field reporters, or to purchase a scooter for ease of transportation. Umoja Radio broadcasts from 6am up to midnight on Sundays to Thursday and 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays. However, due to shortage of fuel, radio hours can sometimes be shortened. To subsidize running costs, they sometimes sell greeting cards and on-air advertisements. “Listeners are not happy when we shorten the radio hours,” says Jonathan. The most popular programmes are “Vijana na Maendeleo” (youth and development), “Sauti ya walemavu” (voices of people with disabilities), “Wakati wa utamaduni” (Time for traditions) and “Afya yetu” (Our health). Except for one, all other programmes are broadcast in Swahili language which is well understood by both refugees and host communities. They also publish a monthly magazine called “Mwangaza” which means “Rays of light”. Community engagement According to Jonathan, it is very important to work closely with the refugee community and be seen to be part of camp activities. We cannot afford to operate in isolation, any perception of being an ivory tower automatically leads to loss of trust. For example, a children’s parliament visits the radio station once every term to discuss and debate issues. Listeners can also call in and express their views. The station is running broadcast courses for students who are interested in journalism. The third cycle of courses has been started with a total of 21 students. Twenty-one learners completed the first cycle, followed by 17 students on the second cycle. They hope to secure their own building structures to offer the courses. Subjects taught include History of radio and broadcasting, language of radio, communication processes, broadcasting chain, interview techniques, radio production, advocacy and media ethics. Radio staff regularly visit local hospitals to speak with patients and discuss health issues. These inform health programmes such as ‘Ugua pole’ translated as ‘quick recovery’. However, at times the hospital staff and management become hostile towards field reporters and put a ban on speaking to the media. They also visit farmers to better understand their livelihood activities and farming methods. “Generally the host communities perceive refugees as troubled people who have fled their country and cannot depend on themselves for daily survival. We are also perceived as people whose movements are restricted, which is a challenge when we try to access services. When I used to travel to Dar-es-Salaam using my movement authorization people used to be suspicious when I informed them that I was a refugee. One man suspected that I was plotting a coup to overthrow the government,” he says. In addition, host communities perceive refugees as being criminals or lazy. He hopes that through his programmes, he can help to reverse the negative attitudes. Online radio Interestingly, Umoja Radio can also be heard through the internet and through mobile App ‘Umojaradio’ which can be downloaded via Googla Play. To listen to the radio via the web, go to: www.umojaradio.nl. On Facebook, the address is ‘Umoja Radio Nyarugusu’. Through the internet, they are able to reach millions of active and potential listeners. Listeners regularly send greetings from as far as the United States of America, Australia, The Netherlands and South Africa. One listener from Norway also showed up at one time. The main challenge is that they rely on a modem with a speed of just 7.2 Megabytes per second. Background and early days Jonathan has spent 20 years in Nyarugusu camp. He first arrived in 1996 fleeing tribal conflict locally labelled ‘Songa Mbele’, or ‘move on’. He was born in Fizi Zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is 47 years old. He started learning about radio in the DRC. He used to write articles for ‘Jua’ newspaper (Jua means Knowledge in Swahili language. He was a reporter for Radio Channel Africa from 2004 to 2005. Quotes from Jonathan: "I am working here at Radio Umoja situated in the Nyarugusu refugee camp, I am happy because our radio station informs and teaches the refugees all the time. We begin our broadcast at 8am in the morning until midnight." "It is important that refugees listen to the information through our radio. It is important because they listen to information across the world from Nyarugusu." "Radio Umoja is independent and belongs to the refugees. This includes the refugees from Congo DR and Burundi as well." Photo: NRC Ingrid Prestetun
Jonathan (midten) jobber sammen med Gabriel og Maria i Radio Umoja. Kanalen har sendinger fra tidlig morgen til sent på kvelden. Foto: Ingrid Prestetun/Flyktninghjelpen

Utfordringer

Selv om det er meningsfylt arbeid, er det ikke alltid lett å drive en radiokanal i en flyktningleir. Jonathan, Gabriel og Maria har sendinger fra tidlig morgen til sent på kveld, men de har få midler å rutte med.

For å betale for løpende kostnader, må de noen ganger selge reklameplass i sendetiden.

– Lytterne liker det ikke når vi kutter ned på sendetiden, sier Jonathan.

Selv jobber de frivillig uten lønn.

På tross av utfordringene, mister de ikke motet. Tvert imot har Radio Umoja stadig større ambisjoner. Teamet holder radiokurs for unge flyktninger som er interessert i journalistikk, og slik blir neste generasjon klare til å ta over når den tid kommer.

Du kan høre på Radio Umoja online på www.umojaradio.nl.

Relaterte nyheter

Nyota Kiza, 59, refugee from DR Congo. “The camp is OK, except food. There isn’t just enough food. We eat the same things every single day. I would like for the food to change, or for there to be more of it.” “I came here in December 2017. I fled because of the civil war in my country. When I lost my in-laws, I decided we had to flee. The first time I fled was just internally in DR Congo, but later, I decided to leave the country altogether. I fled with just my daughter, the others were killed. I don’t know where my husband is.” Whilst most Congolese refugees in Nyarugusu refugee camp have been in the camp since the 1990s, there are also recent arrivals, fleeing conflict in the neighbouring country DR Congo. Photo: Guri Romtveit/NRC

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