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Press ReleasesSPECIAL APPEAL: YOGYAKARTA EATHQUAKE RELIEF – GIVE A VILLAGE A RADIO!
On May 30, Internews sent an assessment team to visit local media in the zone of Yogyakarta, where an earthquake struck on May 27, killing over 6,000 people. The team talked to people made homeless in the quake zones, and asked what information they needed and how best they could get it. The answer was radio. Timely and accurate information is vital to the earthquake survivors and those trying to help them. Please help us get critical information to those who desperately need it. Whatever dollar amount you can contribute will help, whether it’s $25, $100 or $1,000. Donations are needed to:
Donate Now and be sure to mark your contribution in support of the emergency response with the words “Yogya Relief.” Internews Media Support Mission to Indonesian Earthquake ZoneJune 9th update from Wayne Sharpe, Internews Indonesia Country Director – Situation Report: The Media and the Yogyakarta Earthquake Radio is traditionally a strong medium in this province, and now it has become essential. Newspapers are all Yogya-based and are not being distributed as they were before the disaster. Televisions were destroyed in collapsed homes, and even those that survived are not useful in the power blackouts these zones are experiencing. Some people Internews talked with did have small battery radios, and the consensus was that radio is the key source of information for the people in this region. Yogyakarta is a unique region of Indonesia in many ways, including its strong longstanding tradition of community radio. Virtually all of the 37 community stations in Yogyarta city and 19 surrounding zones were deeply affected by the disaster, and many are now off the air due to structural and equipment damage, or have diminished work forces due to staff injuries and displacement.
Most stations are in blackout or brownout situations and cannot resume their regular broadcast schedules. In the earthquake zones of Bantul, Gunung Kidul and Klaten, radio staff were injured in the quake, many station structures were too damaged to be functional, and many stations had their broadcast equipment destroyed in the quake or by the rains that flowed into damaged studios afterwards. Many people said that radio is vital for fact-checking the rumors that have circulated post-disaster; the rumored tsunami after the quake, and recurring reports of Merapi’s eruption are two examples. Earthquake survivors drew attention to the lack of substantive disaster coverage experience in the media here; they told Internews that they are tired of seeing and hearing the dramatic stories about how the tragedy has ruined lives, and now want to see stories about how their society will recover, rebuild and move forward. Internews has an extensive community and independent radio development program in Indonesia and continues to work with the international community and local media in Aceh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to help reconstruct the media following the December 2004 tsunami and October 2005 earthquake. Internews’ emergency work in disaster zones empowers local people by
delivering information crucial to survival and rehabilitation, including
consistent, factual “anti-rumor” news and information needed to get access
to food, water and shelter. Prior to the earthquake, Internews radio
partners COMBINE and JRKI had set up a system to disseminate information
and warnings on the activity of the Merapi volcano to community radio
stations for rebroadcast to local populations.
Internews is also leading an emergency appeal for relief funds to provide radios to villagers in IDP camps in the district of Bantul – one of the most devastated areas. Your support is critical to ensuring the successful delivery of accurate and timely information to earthquake survivors in Yogyakarta. See also news about Internews' ongoing work in Aceh assisting survivors
of the SE Asia tsunami: For further information on the Indonesia media support effort and to find out how you can support Internews’ work in disaster zones, please contact: JoAnne Sullivan Woolley Kathleen Reen |
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