ICRC News 01/29
On the evening of 22 July, just
after the local news and before a popular youth programme, the Taleban-controlled
Radio Shari'at Kabul broadcast the first part of "In the fold of humanity",
a weekly radio programme produced by ICRC Afghanistan.
The programme consists of updates on the organization's activities throughout the country and includes interviews with the beneficiaries and ICRC staff. Each week, the focus is on a special theme such as health, relief, visits to detainees or restoration of family links. International humanitarian law and mine-awareness spots are also given air time. The highlight is an episode of the drama called "Help", which tells the story of the people of two villages torn by war, and of the ICRC's efforts to assist those in need. Each episode is narrated by Afghan professional actors and is followed by a conversation between a father and his son commenting on what they have just heard. The entire programme lasts 15 minutes. It is produced in the two national languages and is repeated the following day.
"As in all of our dissemination programmes, the aim is to present ICRC principles and working procedures, and the basic rules of combat", said Mario Musa, ICRC communications coordinator for Afghanistan. "Combatants are therefore our priority audience." The radio programme began as a pilot project in Mazar-i-Sharif three months ago and will soon be broadcast in Jalalabad and Kandahar. According to Mr Musa, "In countries like Afghanistan, where the conflict and the political and geographical situation make it difficult to reach combatants and the general population, radio is a particularly effective means of communication".