February 1, 2006

FOCUS / COMMUNITY RADIOS

Giving the afflicted a voice, and hope

In Aceh, community radio stations have been helping tsunami victims rebuild their lives

By APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL

Lhoksukon, Banda Aceh _ Situated in a half-built two-storeyed concrete house is a small community radio, Nada Karya Semesta (Radio Nakata), the only one in the Lhoksukon sub-district located 300 kilometres from Banda Aceh. A small studio is the only room being rebuilt in an entire house that crumbled down due to the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami and the earthquake which struck much of the town. Syamsuddin Siregar's home and the radio station which he operated for 13 years were swept off by the killer waves and the earthquake. One year later, he and his family are still living in the half-built house. But he was able to get his radio programme back on air within two weeks after the disaster, to report the devastation and help people find their missing ones through announcements on his radio. ''We never thought this disaster would happen to us. We have lost so much but we also have a duty to help get people's lives back to normal as soon as possible in an emergency situation,'' he said.

For the wave-struck communities in Banda Aceh, community radios like Radio Nakata are a main source for thousands of Acehnese people to access news and information, emergency warnings, share their views on what has happened and how they want to see Aceh recover. However, the media in Aceh, like thousands of other people in communities hit by the tsunamis, also suffered. Many commercial and public radios were damaged by the killer waves. Hundreds of journalists lost their homes and family members. Many of them are still living in tents.

According to the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) Aceh-Nias, an estimated 200,000 people were killed and another 37,000 remain missing. More than half a million people have been displaced one year after the tragedy. Of all the places in all the countries that were hit by the waves, Aceh and surrounding areas were the hardest hit.

Mr Syamsuddin and his team of six radio staff are not the only team of Indonesian journalists who were quick to put their radios back on air. Other local Acehnese journalists who lost their families and friends to the disaster also shared the same strong will despite being short of equipment and assistance one year on.

A radio operator recalled that he lost all transmission equipment costing about US,000 to the catastrophe. Until now, he has not received any funding to rebuild his radio station, nor training skills needed for his staff simply because his station is situated far from Banda Aceh. ''All I've received are simply promises. No one has ever visited my radio station. I have been running it for more than 13 years,'' he said.

In fact, a large amount of financial aid has started flowing into Banda Aceh, including funds earmarked for media rehabilitation.

The Jakarta-based broadcaster Radio 68H, which provides programming to 420 radio outlets nationwide, is reportedly reacting to the crisis in assisting with temporary transmitters, equipment and journalistic training skills for radio stations in this remote province. Tosca Santoso, Radio 68H's founder, said his organisation got US million funding from European aid agencies for media development in Banda Aceh and he planned to rehabilitate tsunami-affected radio stations across the underdeveloped region by 2006. ''We see the aftermath of the tsunami as an opportunity to develop a platform for Indonesian press as a whole, to exchange ideas and improve journalistic skills after decades of military control, Mr Santoso said.

Other international media organisations are also trying to help find financial assistance to develop radio outlets in tsunami-struck communities. Dadang Budiana, editor of Peunegah Aceh (News from Aceh), which provides daily reports and features for many community radios in Banda Aceh, said the organisation produced the programme in cooperation with Internews Network, a US-based media advocacy. The programme is aimed at encouraging Acehnese media to realise the importance of reporting problems in the province to the public.

''In most large-scale tragedies, front-line correspondents can usually paint only a relatively small picture. The international media never remain long enough to cover the rebuilding of societies or to promote greater accountability. So it is important that local journalists are quickly trained in humanitarian awareness, enabling them to know how aid operations work and what sort of information survivors need,'' Mr Budiana said.

The programme is distributed via satellite to 33 radio stations and 150 camps for displaced persons. The content of the show is rehabilitation and reconstruction, and includes reports from throughout Aceh province mixed with traditional music, storytelling and comedy. Listeners regularly call and write to their stations in support of the programme.

An Indonesian news director said a studio would also in time be given to Acehnese radio broadcasters to run news reports by themselves. Since receiving much financial assistance from both European and US aid agencies, community radios in Banda Aceh are facing a development dilemma in this wave of capitalism and commercialism.

An established news outlet, Radio Prima FM, lost three announcers, its office building and equipment in the tsunami. After getting reconstruction and transmitter support from Radio 68H, the station has been encouraged to produce one-hour long news reports to its headquarters in Jakarta, thereby enabling the news agency to broadcast stories to more than 420 radio networks across the country.

''We aim at providing listeners with news and information. But our radio business cannot survive unless we gain enough profit to continue the show,'' said Liza Dayani, chief broadcaster of Radio Prima FM.

Despite its severe loss in the tsunami, Radio Prima still hosts the most popular call-in programme in Banda Aceh.

A storage room in the backyard of the proprietor's estate has been converted into a studio while Liza and other three broadcasters live in tents. The radio has broadcast daily news bulletins and emergency reports to over 20,000 listeners in Banda Aceh since 2001.

A live broadcast programme which allows listeners to call into the morning show, share their opinions on current issues and criticise the government, is a phenomenon that had never happened before the tsunami. It is also the first time that Acehnese media are able to do their work as journalists, she said.

However, it is difficult nowadays to continue operating a nonprofit-oriented radio programme, since there are up to 70 commercial mainstream and community radio stations in Banda Aceh. Another 70 community radios are expected to be in operation by next year.

Working in the radio medium for more than six years, a female Acehnese broadcaster said the situation had become so competitive that owners were forced, one by one, to run commercial radio and seek sponsors to support the show. That was so they could pay staff salary and improve the content of their programmes to compete with other stations. And Radio Prima is no exception.

Many radio broadcasters sent to attend skills training programmes also decided to resign from working with small community radios to go to other radio and television channels which gave them higher pay, she said.

''What we urgently need is a young generation of local journalists conscientious about access to public information, not seeking access to money and fame for themselves,'' she said. ''This should be their role in journalism.''

Nevertheless, the tsunami has also brought new hope to the Acehnese media: to monitor not only the reconstruction process but also the implementation of the new peace deal between the Indonesian government and the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Both sides signed a peace agreement in August last year to end three decades of fighting which has caused the death of over 15,000 peasants.

The media have been eager to cover the peace deal and reconciliation measures on both sides. It is also an opportunity for local media in Banda Aceh to unveil information and relay investigative reports to society.

''One year after the tsunami, there is still much more to be done. And it is the responsibility of community-based media regardless of whether it is a radio, television or newspaper, to provide long-haul monitoring of aid operations, and put the message across _ if only the international community would provide us the means to do so,'' she said.