PAKISTAN: Radio offers hope to quake survivors

MUZAFFARABAD, 11 September (IRIN) - Radio programmes that target the needs of quake survivors are gaining in popularity in displaced persons camps like the one in Upper Bab-e-Neelum in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

"This radio is useful for me and my family," Mohammad Abdullah told IRIN outside his tent. Mohammad, along with other survivors, is using the radio to get information updates on the government's ongoing compensation scheme to home owners (approximately US $3,000 for each home damaged or destroyed), reconstruction and recovery efforts, as well as programming on hygiene promotion and camp safety.

Following a donation by Internews, a media development NGO, the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in August distributed 10,000 radio sets throughout affected areas of northern Pakistan, where more than 75,000 people died and more than 3.5 million people were rendered homeless after a powerful 7.6 magnitude quake ripped through Pakistani-administered Kashmir and the country's rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on 8 October last year.

Surrounded by the abject misery of life in the camp, all the camp's 300 residents are eager to hear what is happening and how it will affect their lives.

"Hearing about what is happening gives me a sense of hope. That there is a community out there that cares about what is happening to me and my family," 70-year-old Mohammad maintained.

Eight-year-old camp resident Nadia Hussain is also a fan of the programmes. "I like this radio," she said, tucking the multi-powered set, running on solar, battery or electric power, close to her ear.

"It gives us a lot of valuable information about health and hygiene. Now we listen to it as a family," she said, "and we talk about the future".

That's exactly the objective UNHCR sought when it distributed 6,500 radio sets to 46 camps and a number of non-camp areas, including medical units, in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, and another 3,500 in quake-affected areas of NWFP.

As part of the effort, the UN refugee agency is also co-sponsoring a radio show called "Himmat Jawan Hai" or "Don't Loose the Courage" with the Pakistan government's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and Radio Power FM 99 from the capital, Islamabad, and the quake-affected cities and towns of Abottabad, Muzaffarabad and Bagh.

Aimed at reaching those affected by the quake, the daily 30-minute show (90-minute on Sundays) offers news and information about the rehabilitation process, alongside interviews with officials and those living in displaced persons camps and return areas.

"As many people living in the camps are illiterate, many of them were not aware of the efforts being made on their behalf by the government and international community at large," Ilyas Javed, UNHCR protection/community services assistant in Muzaffarabad, said.

Many families, such as Nadia's, lost their homes in the first phase of the disaster, only to be told that they would have to be relocated after their village was designated by the government as a "red zone", a high-risk area susceptible to further geological movements and possible landslides.

"That information needs to come to the people – most of whom simply do not have the access to it," Javed maintained. "Now people can hear the information as it is coming regarding policies towards those who are now landless, as well as the ongoing [government] compensation scheme to rebuild, including the criteria to qualify [for it]."

Listeners in NWFP and Islamabad can tune in at 17:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with repeats at 10:00 the following day, while those in Bagh can hear the programme at 19:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with repeats at 10:00 one day later.

Listeners in Muzaffarabad can tune in at 18:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and again at 10:00 the following day.

© IRIN