A small radio station
in Logar, Afghanistan, built by the global media training
and support group Internews Network, was destroyed by a firebomb
in the early morning hours of Aug. 11.
“It was an intentional fire,” confirmed Internews’ Senior
Vice President For Communications And Corporate Affairs Annette
Makino. “The speed of the fire indicated that some sort
of accelerant had been used.”
Radio Istiqlal Station Manager Lal Mohamad and his son were
sleeping in the building that night, as a standard security
measure, she said. In a statement included in an incident report
on the fire, Mohamad described being awakened at around 2:30
a.m. by the sound of breaking windows, and seeing fire and
smoke coming out of the studio. He tried to save equipment,
he stated, but was only able to save a generator from the kitchen
before the fire became too strong.
He sustained burns to his hands and feet, Makino said, but
neither he nor his son were seriously injured.
The station had not received any threats before the incident,
she noted, but local security officials were speculating that
a “night letter” distributed in the town in the
days before the fire could be connected. The letter condemned “decadence
and corruption” brought by “the enemy” and
urged residents to reject music and “immodest acts” at
weddings and ceremonies and all participation in such ceremonies.
“As you have already shown your courage in the past against
other big satanic forces and you have registered your honor
in achievements in unforgettable papers of our history, you
should again accomplish your religious duties and do not let
them make a new generation again their slaves,” a translation
of the letter states.
It was written in a complex language structure that local community
members believed was not consistent with the language used
by the Taliban, Makino explained.
“We may never know if that was connected,” she
said, “but it’s an interesting coincidence.”
The fire consumed all of the station’s equipment, and
though the building walls are still standing, for all intents
and purposes, the station is destroyed.
“They really can’t broadcast at all right now,” Makino
said.
The station had been broadcasting about 10 hours a day, both
local and state news and entertainment, and Makino said that
local feedback had been very supportive.
A neighbor, Ghulam Hazrat, said in the incident report, “The
radio was our voice and we were able to bring our voices up
to the president Karzai and other officials ... .”
“We don’t have any non-Islamic broadcasts so I
cannot understand why they burned it,” a station staff
member, Taher Wafa, stated in the incident report. “We
had the station so people could learn something and to serve
to the local community ... .”
Internews is an Arcata-based organization that, according to
its mission statement, “works to improve access to information
for people around the world by fostering independent media
and promoting open communications policies.”
It is raising funds to help rebuild the station. Makino estimated
that between $5,000 and $10,000 would be needed to replace
the equipment.
For more information or to make donations, visit www.internews.org. |
