Internet and Radio for the people of Agh at nistan

[anna balint]

(please forward to those who could be interested) 

Internet and Radio for the people of Agh at nistan.
a radically democratic communication initiative also known as 
Radio Reed Flute "Broken glass becomes stronger" (Hazara saying) 

We propose to use internet and radio to enable Afghans in Afganistan and in
diaspora to communicate and create a civil society network aimed at
rehabilitating and reconstructing Afghanistan. Joining a variety of forces and
skills it can be realized step-by-step in different places according to partners
and local situations. You may want to join this initiative by contributing
contacts, advice, money, content, ideas or written support. Our ideal is to
move beyond aid and advocacy and stimulate the use of information
technology in a do-it-yourself approach. 
 
After the military, the politicians and the diplomats the time is now for the
people of Afghanistan to get a chance to express their needs and opinions.
Afghans in exile, the diaspora, have found their ways to the media or created
their own infrastructures which enables them to speak. But for who? Who do
they represent? And to whom are they actually speaking? Intellectuals who
left their country 20 or 30 years ago, and even the younger generation that
escaped the Mujahideen and the Taliban in the last ten years have to admit
that they have grown distant from the reality of local Afghans  in many ways.
And this is often a personal tragedy in itself.  

Meanwhile the international community is pondering ways to bring relief,
to rehabilitate and to reconstruct the country and the society. Over the last 
months practically all ex-pats left Afghanistan leaving local staff and local NGO's 
to save whatever could be saved. We believe that reinforcing these nuclei
of civil society and (re)connecting them with the outside world is vital for a
number of practical and principal reasons. At the same time, the Afghan
diaspora, is challenged to engage itself in positive moves to act for their
homeland. This communication initiative is also meant to support them. The
ultimate goal is of course, to reconstruct, and possibly re-invent Afghanistan
as a nation, a home fit for human beings. 

We all know that the internet is an essential tool for communication by
literate people, including Afghans around the world, NGO's, Aid-workers,
human rights activists, grass roots community developers, (media) activists
and roaming kite-flyers and other poets. 

We also know that many people in Afghanistan are uprooted and dependent
on aid for their survival and for the rehabilitation of their environment. With the
exception of some priviliged urbans they never did have access to the
internet. In fact a huge majority of perhaps 80% is illiterate. Therefore a
combination of internet facilities and independant community radio run and
owned by Afghans seems to be an appropiate option to provide some 
necessary communication facilities. "Necessary"  if the intention is to enable
Afghans to fully participate in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction
of their lives and regions.  

What we propose is a communication platform that is independent and at 
the service of Afghan civil society and its supporters. 

The media situation is as fluid as the policitical situation. The Northern
Alliance forces took over Radio Sharia'a and still control Radio Aghanistan.
Commando Solo is still broadcasting from his airplanes. The BBC and Voice
of America are doing their job. Especially the BBC Pashto and Dari programs
are broadly considered a reliable source of information. In Herat the first
internet cafe is open again, it seems. Hopefully Kabul will follow soon...  

However, these media are not enough, to serve as a communicator for civil
society and the people in general, who have a whole range of needs: ranging
from logistics to education and channels for independent expression.  

The internet could, in combination with radio -- and other traditional media --
be of vital importance to link people around the globe on various issues. It will
help to get as many people as possible involved in the reconstruction of
Afghanistan. It can be a vehicle for contact, exchange, education, debate and
democracy  

Jo van der Spek and Chris Swart have been working on various related
projects in Amsterdam, Hungary, Kosovo, Lesotho, South-Africa and
Romania. 

--- 
first nodes in Peshawar
the right to communicate A node is a place that offers internet access and tools for radio
production. 

Zubair Faisal Abbasi, development consultant and journalist based in
Islamabad, is doing a fact finding and liaisoning study in Peshawar. A
presentation of the concept to representatives of the Afghan Women Council,
the University of Peshawar and Radio Pakistan received serious interest from
the AWC and a willingness to share technical facilities of Radio Pakistan and
the University with radio reed Flute. They are establishing a community radio
station that would cover the area around Peshawar up to Jalalabad and Kabul
in Afghanistan. This project is supported by German donor FeST.  

Another option is an internet and radio facility in ARIC, Peshawar. From
their home page http.www.geocities.com/mstanikzai/mainfile/Intotoa.htm
we quote: 

Objective ARIC aims to collect documents generated by all members of the NGO
community and from the UN system working for Afghanistan. It then
disseminates information about these materials throughout the aid
community and to interested parties in Pakistan and abroad, including
donors and academic institutions. 
 
Contents 

The ARIC Collection contains books, reports, maps, newspapers, journals,
periodicals, posters, pamphlets, and a rare collection of the Mujahideen
press, bibliographies, videos and audiocassettes. Many documents relate to
NGO and UN agency reports and surveys. 

Specific subjects include analytical and descriptive writings on health,
education, agriculture, veterinary sciences and animal husbandry, women,
children, law, music, folklore and archaeology, history, political science,
monuments, literature, language and other aspects of cultural heritage. 

ARIC is also the depository for the minutes of ACBAR sectoral and regional
meetings. (ACBAR is the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief,
website http.www.afghan-resources.com.pk 

ARIC BOX LIBRARY EXTENSION (ABLE) 
ARIC extended its services  inside Afghanistan in 1996. By 1999 there were
31 mobile libraries operating in 22 out of 32 provinces, with a total of some
10,000 books. Other agencies following the ABLE model have also placed
libraries in villages, district centers and provincial capitals. The number grows
steadily and there are now some 400 libraries spread throughout Afghanistan. 

The subjects range from technical works on health, including mother-child
care, to agriculture and animal welfare; Islam; history, poetry and literature
toy making and a variety of vocational subjects such as carpentry and
masonry. The aim is not only to provide instructional materials but also to
spread the word that reading is entertaining. 

Jurjen van der Tas, program officer Central-Asia of NOVIB is investigating 
if ARIC is willing and able to host a node of Radio Readflute. 

Access to these facilities and services would be open to: 
- the staff of involved partners
- civil society groups in Peshawar, NGO's and community organisations
- the public: ordinary people who wish to use communication facilities
(email, fax, web surfing). E.g. people who wish  to contact family members
abroad, students, artists, (re-)emerging entrepreneurs, etc.
- ex-pats, foreign aid workers, journalists, researchers
- special hours of free internet access and training for specific groups
(recovering mine victims, children, groups nominated by local
organisations) 

content: 
The purpose of Radio Reedflute and of the various nodes is to produce and
distribute  radio programming.  Internet makes it possible to collect
input without borders in a cheap way. 

The content would be produced by a local editorial team, to be recruited by
the local partners. each node will have its own characteristics according to
location and partners in their situation. 

Radio production aimed at literate and illitarate audiences in and from
Afghanistan is a basic aim of radio reed Flute. But with the same technical
facilities other products can be developed:  web sites, mailing-lists, Audio CD
production, publishing,  etc. 

a prototype in The Netherlands
a challenge for diaspora 
Again, a node, in our conceptis a place that offers internet access and tools
for radio production. Some four or five prototype nodes are now being 
developed in several places in the Netherlands. 
Each node has internet connectivity, (some broadband), CD writer 
(for Audio CD's and CD-roms), a printer, a telephone connection. 
The internet connection supports streams (dynamic audio signals 
broadcast via the internet) allowing Reed Fluters to send and receive  
audio/radio peer to peer and also broadcast to up to 900
listeners on-line. Thus each node is a production place and virtual radio
station for radio journalists. Audiofiles or live streams can be picked up from
the web site and relayed on various ether frequencies around the globe (short
wave, community radio, "official" radio). On-line listeners need a computer
with sound card and internet access. 
 
The working title of this radiostation on internet is Radio Reed Flute. It is a
musical instrument, a brilliant poem by Molana Djalal eddine Roemi written in
the 13th centry and it is a song that was played every morning on the radio in
Aghanistan. It's a song known to every Afghan, because that's what you
woke up with or played as a sheppard. Qader Shafiq, community worker and
writer from Kabul and living in Nijmegen plays a key role in defining this a
project as culturally open and emancipatory, inclusive and respectful. He is
collecting contributors in the Netherlands and Germany for a variety of
columns, informations, music, poetry and stories. Nasir Rahim, also from
Kabul, is a producer of a local radio and TV programs for Afghans (RTV
Asmai). The editors and contributors are mostly Afghans who live and work in
the Netherlands and share an urge to do something for their country and
people. They are already producing content relevant to the reconstruction of
Afghanistan.
 
We have contacted interested persons in New York and California ond offered
them to link with this networking concept.  

Radio Reed Flute is to be an environment for people to meet eachother, to
reach out and to relieve the Afghans and all those that share a compassion
for their plight. 
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jo 

planning and time line 
december 2001- january 2002
identifying partners
defining project details
10 day visit to Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan to meet with partners
draft a definite plan, organizational framework and budget proposal
testing technical infrastructure
web site construction 

february - may 2002
implementation of first 3 nodes in Peshawar, 
the Netherlands training and workshops with local editors, journalists 
and technicians 

project developers 
Zubair Faisal Abbasi, journalist and development consultant in Islamabad 
Nasir Rahim, student and radiomaker with local Radio Asmai in Amsterdam 
Qader Shafiq q.shafiq at planet.nl, writer and community worker in Nijmegen 
Jo van der Spek jo at xs4all.nl,radio journalist and tactical media consultant in Amsterdam
Chris Swart gris at saloon.dhs.org, programmer and tools developer in
Budapest and Amsterdam 

interested partners in Pakistan .
Afghan Women Council,  (AWC) was formed in mid-1993. Composed solely
of Afghan women, including doctors, teachers and university lecturers, the
AWC is headed by Fatana Gilani. Its aim is to provide educational and health
facilities to Afghan children and women in the refugee areas, and to train
Afghan women in the area of women's rights within the framework of
Afghanistan's religious and cultural traditions. It maintains a well-organized
school and a mother-and-child health clinic in Peshawar, Pakistan, as well
as a hospital and a clinic in Kabul. contacts: Zia Habibi , Dr. Afifa (AWC-
health), Ms. Nadia SDNP, Sustainable Development Networking Programme
http://www.isb.sdnpk.org/ University of Peshawar, department of journalism
Radio Pakistan  

interested partners in the Netherlands
Global Ministries of the Uniting Churches in the Netherlands (Kerken in
Actie), Evert van Bodegom 
NOVIB, Jurjen van der Tas 
SFO-CAF, Communication Assistance Foundation 

"A world without walls needs windows nor gates" (anonymous Linux developer) 
Amsterdam  December 2001 

--- 
content 

Among the Afghan diaspora and the serious observers there is a well based
trust towards new transitional government, because of the bad records of
many of its constituants, the socalled broad government is based on
military logic, not on democratic or humanitarian logic. In this situation
the civil soiety can be expected to be critical if not opposed to the
government.

If it is true that civil society in Afghanistan can not rely on authorities to
respect their independance and may therefore be hampered in some of its
operations, then they may seek (more) support and protection from external
agents. However  we feel that a complete dependance on external support
and aid might  lead on the long run to another form of "clientelism". 

That is why we hope to create a structure in which a board or team of
content managers/editors consisting of a majority of Afghans that will
decide the agenda, editorial policy and development of related projects and
collaborations of this project. A process of networking, consultations and
workshops should build the capacity for a smooth and quick hand over to this
board. 

This process is already under way in the Netherlands. 

The content is to be culturally open-minded and emancipatory. The attitude is 
to be inclusive and respectful, looking for means to connect, finding common 
ground, confronting tradition with compassion, presenting modernity
with humility, emanating curiosity, more personal than political, eagerness to
learn, create, change The principal purpose is bridging the distance between diaspora,
generations and between urban and country side. Education (distribution of
educational material and software), cultural expression (poetry, music,
story telling) and direct secure communication between distant relatives
are the main targets at this stage. 

Another matter for consideration is whether Radio Reedflute, through its
various channels, will be able to provide accurate and non-partisan news
and information. This would require the involvement of journalists, and
possibly seeking collaboration and linkage with other souces (e.g. BBC
Worldservice, Pashto and Dari department, but also a selection of afghan
websites, links to relevant sites on Human Rights, Health Matters, gender
issues, legal matters, etc. 

This will probably require a program of training 
and exchange to attain certain professional and ethical standards. 

Jo van der Spek,
radio journalist, program maker & tactical media consultant
H. Seghersstraat 46
1072 LZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
tel. +31.20.6718027
mob. +31.6.51069318
jo at xs4all.nl
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jo 
better a complex identity than an identity complex