Page 27 - DIVA_No.24_2006

reacted and liow people react racters of tbis "soap". The
to liim. Tliis is now going orit story contains all 16nds of
tbi'origh tl'ie scliools because tliings: life in tlie camps;
of tlie problems in soutliei'it drunkenness; tlieir own pro-
Africa. Nobody wants to blems; what liappens when
admit tliat they are tliey go home; other affairs. It
order to see wliat aspect tliey HIV/AIDS positive as there is a way of getting tliem to

worild like to focus on them- is a stigina attaclied to it. Tliis tell tlieir own stories, but it is
means that even when drugs also a way of gettiiig the peo-
are available, tl'iey do not go ple back liome to get tliem to
Are you not afraid that people and get tliem because they do laiow tliem better. It is also
will become tired oj' alwa)is not want people to lcnow. So broadcast iii Bunmdi twice a

seeiiig thesamepictures of the tliis colleague offered to week by forir of the n'iajor

famine in Ethiopia for imtan- write about this as a way of radio cliannels. It is done lilce
ce, and tliat one da)i they will h'ying to encourage people to a proper "soap".
sa)i no matter what we do come into the open and to
things will never cliange? take rip the offer of drugs W7vat are your objectives,
available to anybody. and what wordd you iiice to

This is a problem, and I tlc do if )iou had the necessary

we liave faced this situation iii TVlzere will IRIN be in ten fimds? contiinie to support us in
tlie hrunanitai'iaii coinimuffty years ? terms of funding. I am
ever since I can remember. If I had enougli money to do lioping tliat what we are
"Fainine fatigue"-you see the In tlie next ten years, I worild everytl'iing, I really worild doing in the Middle East will
same pictiires over and over like to tliink tliat we are cove- like to expand tlie visual side also be exciting and tliat we
agaiii. Neveitheless, I have ring more cormtries and we of what we are doing, to can lielp provide a bridge

great faith in tlie priblic. When will liave a reputation for expand orir ability to get into between tlie two criltures-tlie
they can see it and wlien tliey being a solid provider of crises earlier so as to sl'iow West and tlie Arab cultiire.
are really confronted witli it, luunanitarian news. This will people wliat is happening and Right now tliere is little
they have never failed to l'ielp broadcasters to do better to explain the reasons for it. I cross-fertilization of infor-
respond. Yes, tliere are emer- progi'ammes and also help think it is a process of lear- mation from one to another.
gencies, sucli as those in tlie people on the other end ning-if we can reacli tl'ie If you look at n'iost of tlie
Northern Uganda and even receiving tlie programmes. priblic and convince them Arab press, tliey do not cai'i'y
in Daffur, which to a degree We also want to give tlie so- tliat it is not only a question anytliing about humanitariari
did not get proper publicity. called victims a voice, whicli of responding to malnoriris- programmes. And vice versa,
As soon as the TV screens is increasingly what we are lied babies, but more a ques- there is very little about in
exploded with all these pic- hyiiig to do througli radio tion of getting tlie right aid to the Western press aborit wliat
tures about what is happe- and film. It is very important tlie riglit people at tlie riglit is liappening in Arab corm-
ning, people staited to as tliese boys and girls do not time. Mucli of tliat is deve- tries from a humanitarian
respond. So tliey miglit be liave any anotl'ier cl'iatuiel to lopment aid. That is one of poii'it of view, aborit NGOs,
saying tliat they are tired of malce tlieir voice lieard. Tliis tlie reasons why you liave tlie wliat tlie healtli problems are,
seeiiig pictui'es of fainine, but is one of tlie reasons wliy we problems in Niger right now, etc.
generally they are veiy gene- started do radio prograinines. as there is veiy little money
rous when they can see the going into development. Tliat For furtiver i4ormation
Two years ago, we larmclied is wliat is needed in order to about IRIN visit tjieir websi-
a "soap opera" through IRIN stop tlie pictures te.' yvww. irin. org

Africa is deeply affected by radio for

the HIV/AIDS pandemic. t 11 e
Wlqat liave yovi doiie in this Burundian
field? refugees in
camps 111
In 2001, IRIN saw tliat there Tanzania.
was a need for a specialist It's very

news service for people poprilar. It
living witl'i HIV/AIDS iii ts even
Afi'ica and all tliose involved more SuC-
in fighting the pandemic. c e s s f xi I
Thus, PlusNews was bom. It because tlie
kept people infoi'ined of the actors are
latest developn'ients. We have tlie refu-
one staff member in gees them-
Joliannesburg wlio is selves-they
HIV/AIDS positive. He wi'i- are trained
tes a diai'y every week wliich a tn a t e ri r s
tells liis stoiy, talking about and they
what it's like living witli have taken
HIX7/AIDS, liow liis family on tlie clia-
26 2 2006 Diva