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REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
town was overrun with militia and ubiquitous gunfire. Despite
the danger, RCR continued and our transmitter never stopped
broadcasting except when the whole town briefly emptied after
the worst violence.”
RCR played an integral role in reuniting families separated
during the conflict. “We broadcast messages and ‘dedicaces’
(greeting messages) containing important family
information day and night. There were no telephones then,
so people had to risk travelling through town to bring us
their messages scribbled on slips of paper. Sometimes the
messages had to be phrased delicately, just to indicate that
someone was still alive without revealing where they were.
Hundreds of families were reunited this way. I recall the
story of a man whose family had organised a funeral
ceremony because they thought he was dead. Through our
messages, the man discovered that funeral dirges were being
sung for him, and he raced to his family to tell them that he
was alive.” The station also receives emotional messages
addressed to warlords and pleading for peace: “We want
peace in Bunia. Those who want war, get out of Ituri! Let’s
rebuild our country! We must stop killing each other, the
war is finished!” The ‘dedicaces’ remain an important
element of RCR’s programming, keeping people connected
when it is too dangerous to reach certain areas. The station
receives up to 200 letters and messages a day.
RCR transmits educational programmes, filling the gaps left
by the lack of a good educational system. (Schools were
often closed due to fighting and even when they were open,
many students simply could not get to school.) Pre-recorded
messages sponsored by Oxfam and other NGOs provide
much needed information about agriculture and health
issues such as HIV/AIDS. Broadcast content also includes
Western and African music and studio talk-time about issues
of concern in
Bunia. With the
recent arrival of
mobile phones in
Bunia, they are
now able to do
requests and live
p h o n e - i n s ,
although a lack of
equipment means
that the phone still
has to be held up
to the microphone.
“The community really enjoys the music and phone-ins; it
helps them forget their troubles, if only for a little while,”
says Pituwa.
RCR’s success is such that the station has started to build up
a journalistic capacity in the region with many budding
broadcast journalists who now run the station on a volunteer
basis. They learn on the job and participate in all areas of
programming from presenting to engineering. The station has
started a youth club programme where “young people from
all ethnic groups can come together and enjoy common
interests, discussing major topics of interest to youth,
watching videos and playing games – just meeting in a calm
environment away from their overcrowded homes,” says
Pituwa. With the support of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), RCR have developed an outreach
programme in which the station’s volunteers travel into the
surrounding areas and instigate informal discussions with
local youths to raise AIDS awareness and improve life skills.
At one point, the local authorities tried to close down the radio
claiming that they had failed to pay certain taxes and had not
renewed a broadcasting licence, which was actually no longer
a requirement. Many people in Bunia reacted, as did the UN
peace-keeping authorities: Mr Utuma Toto, who refers to himself
as ‘Ambassador of Peace’, wrote a letter to the authorities that
was read out on the radio – “It’s with great regret that we learn
of the closure of Radio Canal Revelation by the ANR [the State
Security Organ]. No one can ignore the impact and the
contribution of this radio to the social development of this
region.” Other strong messages called on the power brokers
not to put a brake on activities that contribute positively to
peace and stability. RCR was allowed to continue.
The station operates on a budget of around £10 a day,
most of which is provided by local contributions and
payments for the ‘dedicaces’. The money is used to buy
fuel for a generator, allowing broadcasts despite recurrent
power cuts. Thankfully, the equipment is no longer limited
to three battered audio cassette players, a mixer, three
microphones and a homemade transmitter; it is slowly
getting better. RCR’s coverage area extends 60km to the
west and south, but a bit less towards the mountains of
the east. The station has requested that the UN
disarmament programme provide them with another
transmitter in the hills above Lake Albert where two major
militia groups are based. “If we can broadcast that far,
we would have access to the youth militia still fighting in
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