Posted by English (64.12.107.21) on April 05, 2002 at 17:32:26:
Talk of the Nation, Eritrean Style
DISPATCHES FROM ERITREA A Weekly Column by Elias Amare Gebrezgheir | ||
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| Talk shows, on radio Dimtsi Hafash or Eri-TV, are fast becoming hot programs in Eritrea these days. Whether they are interviews with politicians and administrators, musicians, or scholars, the discussion is lively on Eritrea’s radio and TV airwaves. Listening to these talk shows on Dimtsi Hafash and Radio Zara (more on that later) I am reminded of my favorite radio talk show in America, NPR’s Talk of the Nation. I used to listen to it religiously everyday, especially when Ray Suarez was the host, before he moved on to News Hour on PBS, America’s public television. Well, the talk shows in Eritrea are not yet at the level of savvy and sophistication of programs like Talk of the Nation, but what they lack in professional and technical expertise is made up by the enthusiasm in audience participation and feedback. People call in to engage in the questions and discussions from all over Eritrea (well, at least from those parts that have phone connections). Like almost everything else in Eritrea, the talk shows have this unique and endearing characteristic of the innocence of a young nation taking tentative steps in its march towards progress and maturity. The programs are unrehearsed and spontaneous, and always a breath of fresh air. The callers are sometimes shy and unsure of how to exactly express themselves on the air, but nonetheless the calls keep coming from all directions. You hear, for instance, a dialogue of this sort between host and listener/caller: “Hullo, radio zara diyu ‘ezi?” (Hullo, is this Radio Zara?) “ewe, men kbl?” (Yes, who is this?) “Freweini iye” (I am Freweini.) “Freweini? . . . Freweini men?” (Freweini? . . . Freweini who?) “Freweini Girmai” “Hray Freweini . . . dmSKi gn Aw ablyo . . .” (Okay, Freweini . . . . but you should raise your voice . . .) Pause . . . “Hullo! Hullo! tsemAni aleKa?” (Hullo! … Can you hear me?) “ewe ‘semAki aleKu . . . qeSli . . . dmSKi gn tHut iyu zelo . . . Aw beli . . . deHar k’a ‘eta radio aTf’eya” (Yes, I can hear you . . . continue . . . but raise your voice . . . also turn off your radio.) “kabey iKi tdwli zeleKi’mo freweini?” (Where are you calling from, Freweini?) “kab mendefera iye” (From Mendefera) “oh . . . ab mendefera SbuQ tsmaE ‘eza radio zara?” (Oh, . . . is the reception for Radio Zara good in Mendefera?) “ewe SbuQ’ya tsmaE . . .kulu gzie ina nketatela.” (Yes, it comes on clear . . .we listen to it everyday.) “Hray emo Freweini . . . ndmSawi Uqbai Mesfin entay tblyo aloki?” (Okay, Freweini . . . what do you have to say to artist Uqbay Mesfin?) “derftatka bTaEmi bTaEmi ina nfetwo . . . enQuaE nabta tfetwa hagerkan nabti tfetwo hzbKan bselam amSe’aka . . . kemti Hizkayo zeleKa qeSlo ebleka . . .” (We really, really love your songs . . . and congratulation on being able to visit your beloved country and people here in Eritrea . . . please continue the good work you are doing . . .) [Uqbai Mesfin, the young and upcoming Eritrean singer from the UK, is on studio with Radio Zara’s host, Petros Menghis, and he thanks the caller and all other fans for their support and expresses his delight at the warm reception that Eritrea has given him . . . Freweini then interrupts with a request . . . ] “smAni’ndo Samuel . . .Samuel iKa msh Haqey? . . . Hanti wEy zbelet derfi nay Uqbay zeytesemAna? . . .derfi kmerS yke’al diyu?” (Listen Samuel . . .. you are Samuel, right? . . . Is it possible to play one of Uqbai’s hot songs? Also, can I make a special request for that song?) “no, Samuel aykonkun . . .Petros iye . . . Hray Hanti wEy zbelet derfi nay Uqbay qeribnalki alena Freweini . . . nmen iKi ktmerSlom tdelyi?” (No, I am not Samuel . . . I am Petros . . . . Alright, Freweini, we have one of Uqbai’s hot songs ready for you. Who do you want it to go out for?) “ab gnbar mereb-setit ketitu nzelo Hawey Ahferom: Asmera nzela Haftey Nigsti: ab gnbar Aseb nezala gual Haweboy Yodit: naboyrn adeyn: kem’u dma nAKatkum nradio zaran::” (To my brother Ahferom, who is on national service duty on the Mereb-Setit front; to my sister Nigisti in Asmara; to my cousin Yodit on national service duty on the Assab front; to my mom and dad, and also to you the staff of Radio Zara.) “Hray eshi . . . yeQenyelna Freweini . . .Ciao!” (Okay, Freweini, thank you . . .ciao!) . . . . .cut to Uqbay Mesfin’s unreleased hot Guaila song, which will be coming out soon in his latest CD to be released in the New Year. Well, you get the picture. Despite the technical glitches and problems in program formatting, lack of experience of the hosts, shortage of telephone lines, etc., people have warmly taken to the newly mushrooming talk shows. Radio Zara, which is celebrating its one year anniversary this New Year’s eve, is fast becoming a popular entertainment alternative to the regular Dmtsi Hafash. It’s broadcasted on FM, and its range is limited to Asmara and its environs. Radio Zara broadcasts every day from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM on weekdays, and daytime on weekends (I am not sure of their exact weekend schedule). Callers are always urging Radio Zara to have variety in its entertainment programs (it plays all kinds of music, from hip-hop to country, Indian, Sudanese and, of course, traditional Eritrean and Eri-pop music) and increase its broadcast range, as well as extend the time during the weekend, and the hosts promise that there will be improvements in the coming year. More serious topics of discussion are handled by the regular broadcasts on Dimtsi Hafash. The other day, the Tigrinya talk show on Dmtsi Hafash hosted Keren’s new mayor, Ato Tesfai Tekle, via telephone from Keren. Listening to the program, one quickly realizes the tremendous infrastructural as well as administrative challenges facing the new mayor of Keren. Two hosts were at hand to guide the discussion -- one from the studio in Asmara, and the other was ERINA’s reporter from Keren on telephone -- and pretty soon the calls start to flow form various cities and towns of Eritrea. The phone line is jammed, and once an exasperated operator interrupted the talk with a reminder to the host that they have a caller online. The callers are not shy about expressing themselves when it comes to problems that the city of mountains (as Keren’s name implies in Tigrinya) is faced with. At the top of these concerns is, of course, the problem of land allocation for housing. Mayor Tesfai deftly handles the questions, giving the impression of a seasoned politician and capable administrator. He identifies the major problem in this area as the absence of the city’s master plan, and assures his audience that the city, in cooperation with the central government’s Department of Urban Development, is working hard to get the master plan on time so that housing construction can begin soon in accordance with this plan. There is the problem of thousands of people who are grabbing land illegally and building houses, and frustrated callers bring this to the attention of the new mayor. But the mayor warns in a no-nonsense tone that the land-grabbing violators will be responsible for their illegal acts and bear the consequences. The other major problem that the city of Keren is facing now, according to Ato Tesfai Tekle, is the shortage of water supply. On top of that, Keren’s mayor identifies other social services problems, and informs his listeners that to tackle all these problems the city requires a budget of 48 million nakfa. At the conclusion of the two-hour program, one comes out with a clear appreciation of the tremendous challenges that the mayor (who has been in office only for two months) is faced with in his new administrative task. I silently wished Ato Tesfai all the good luck for his new tenure in office, and made a mental note to myself to follow up from time to time on the progress of this important city at the crossroads of cultures and regions. I also hope that Dimtsi Hafash would present its listeners with a report card on the mayor’s progress in a year’s time and expand such talk shows to include the mayors of other cities, beginning with that of Asmara. Such talk shows, if handled with professionalism, could make a significant contribution in the democratic process, ensuring transparency and accountability in government. Furthermore, as the talk shows mature to become a regular part of Eritrea’s airwaves, they will bring the diverse cultures and regions of the country closer to each other and play the role as bridges between far-flung peripheries and the center. We at Shaebia.org should also take it as a good challenge to host the real audio version of the most important of these talk shows so that Eritreans in the Diaspora can benefit from the lively discussion on Eritrea’s airwaves and get a better picture (or sound, as it is in this case) of the realities on the ground in their beloved country. After all, you can’t have democracy without a better informed citizenry, right? As I close my last dispatch for 2001, I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year!
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