Colombian radio thrives in armed conflict

Tiny radio stations and other media initiatives managed by citizens’ groups are operating successfully in regions where leftist guerrilla organisations, right-wing paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and the Colombian army have a strong presence. The University of Oklahoma in the USA, Magdalena Medio Community Radio Stations Association (AREDMAG), Universidad Javeriana and Universidad del Norte in Colombia have examined citizens’ media in areas of armed conflict. Initiatives are achieving significant results and transforming communities living in difficult circumstances.

Some years ago the radio station director in Santa Rosa del Sur del Bolívar, a small town in Magdalena Medio, was captured by one of the guerrilla groups in the region, as a way of pushing the community to support them. As soon as the radio station heard the news, it broadcast a message demanding that the guerrillas respect the director’s life as a civilian uninvolved with any of the armed groups. Immediately messages and letters of support poured in from individuals and social organisations, demanding his freedom and respect for his life.

The guerrillas then called the station and challenged the community to go to their camp to recover the director. The station broadcast their demand and within six hours 480 citizens had approached the station, ready to go. A caravan of buses, trucks, and jeeps packed with men, women, and children made a fifteen hour journey through the Andes highlands to the guerrilla camp. Two days later they returned with the director.

This collective action, facilitated by the radio station, sent a clear message to the guerrillas and other armed groups in the region that the community had declared itself neutral, and that all armed groups were expected to respect civilians’ rights. This case illustrates that more than pre-designed campaigns and messages about peace-building and conflict resolution, what communities in regions of armed conflict need are their own communication tools and skills that can be used when needed.

Clemencia Rodriguez
Department of Communication
University of Oklahoma,
610 Elm Avenue, Room 101
Norman
OK 73019
USA
clemencia@ou.edu

Evaluation of Citizens’ Radio in Magdalena Medio, unpublished research report, by AREDMAG, C. Rodriguez, J. Vega, A. Cadavid, A. García, and P. Téllez, 2004

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