Essay
An Alternative Voice-Gambian Journalists launch online radio
An Alternative Voice
Gambian Journalists Launch Online Radio
People in The Gambia are no longer cut off from uncensored information. A group of ten
Gambian media practitioners based in Dakar and Banjul have recently launched an online radio - the first of its kind in the region - that focusses mainly on issues affecting the lives of Gambians inside and outside the country. "Radio Alternative Voice", found at www.radioavg.com, offers programmes in English, Mandingka and Wollof and wants to serve as an alternative means of communication enabling people to make informed choices on the political, economic, social and cultural development of The Gambia.
The Radio AVG project is meant to monitor and report on human rights issues in The Gambia and promote respect for a free flow of information and opinion. Amie Joof, General Coordinator of the project and a well-known journalist from The Gambia now living in Dakar, said "This is like a dream come true! I am excited about the online radio and I hope it gives more voice to Gambians. We cannot continue to live in a country where divergent views cannot be expressed."
In order to reach out to the Gambian communities, especially those without internet access, programmes will be relayed by local radio stations in Senegal whose signals reach The Gambia. The programme will also be downloaded onto CDs and tapes for free distribution across the country.
In The Gambia, where adult illiteracy is 52% and only a minority can afford to buy newspapers, radio is still the most accessible source of information.Until 1970, when the first private radio station in Africa was set up in Banjul, the government-owned Radio Gambia was the only radio station in the country. In the meantime, numerous private FM stations have been established in the country. Presently, there are six of them (excluding Citizen FM and Radio Sud which were closed down by the government) plus four community radio stations. Most private stations are based in and around the capital and their signal can hardly reach beyond a few kilometres outside Banjul. For fear of being closed down, they almost exclusively play music and rarely disseminate local news bulletins.The only news that can be heard throughout the country are those broadcast by the national broadcaster, Radio Gambia.
Since the introduction of the National Media Commission Bill in 1999 subjecting journalists to a regime of threats and restrictions, the media situation in The Gambia has deteriorated at a fast rate. Freedom of expression is virtually non-existent. As a result of frequent arrest and detention and the arbitrary closure of their media houses, most Gambian journalists have either quit, left the country or resorted to self-censorship.Indeed, after the closure of both Citizen FM and Sud FM, apparently for carrying critical news about the government, all remaining private radio stations have virtually steered away from politics or anything that would put them on a collision course with the government.
Print media also are treading softly, particularly since the brutal murder of Deyda Hydara, co-owner and managing editor of The Point newspaper in December 2004. An increasing crackdown on independent media followed in 2006 when numerous Gambian journalists, including the Director of the Independent newspaper, Madi Ceesay, were arrested and detained without charge. Since then, many journalists have gone into hiding or exile in Senegal or elsewhere, thus further undermining the independent media in the country.
With the current political atmosphere in The Gambia which is characterized by unlawful detentions, closures and burnings of media houses, eavesdropping by security agents, suppression of information and a general sense of fear, a group of Dakar-based journalists with their counterparts in Banjul felt it necessary to provide the Gambian people with an alternative means of accessing information that is impartial and independent.
As it is, the vast majority of people in The Gambia rely on state-controlled media outlets and have almost no chance to learn what is really going on in their country. They do not know, for example, about forthcoming food shortages or the extent of the AIDS pandemic, about economic developments and their human rights. Radio Alternative Voice seeks to fill the gap by giving a voice to the voiceless and by sharing information that would not only create awareness, but also build support for empowerment and attitudinal change. The project aims to monitor human rights issues in The Gambia and wants to promote dialogue and public debate on the future of the country. It also wants to provide space for civil society organizations to project their activities and encourage people to take part in them.
Feedback received to date from both Gambians and non-Gambians is very positive. Apparently, people have long been waiting for an alternative and uncensored source of information. The government in The Gambia has kept quite so far. According to Amie Joof, "our colleagues in The Gambia have not been questioned or harassed yet...but it is a wait and see situation.We do not expect any negative feedback from the government because we are simply doing our job as journalists."
Radio AVG is part of the ongoing campaign for the defence and promotion of freedom of expression and press freedom in The Gambia. The project is initiated in partnership with International Media Support (IMS), Network of African Freedom of Expression Organisations (NAFEO), Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Network Media Programme of the Open Society Institute (OSI), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), International federation of Journalists (IFJ), Africa Regional Office, Foroyaa and Inter Africa Network for Women, Media, Gender Equity and Development (FAMEDEV).
Amie Joof, General Coordinator of the project, will be present at the Global Media Forum
This article has been first published in 5/2008 in "Kommunikation Global - Global Perspectives"
Author: Barbara Skerath
Impressions 
News 
