SAKS Radio Director Issues Collective's Statement

link to full statement:

HAITI: AFTER THE CATASTROPHE, WHAT ARE THE PERSPECTIVES ?

Thanks to Greg Chamberlain for forwarding this Public Declaration by progressive civil society organizations in Haiti. 

It represents a strong current of thought among left-leaning Haitians who are both grieving and mobilizing, but are also deeply concerned on a political level, by the widely perceived failure to date of the Preval government to speak out to the Haitian people and the world -- to lead, as they see it; by the US military focus on 'security' vs. food aid in the immediate days after the earthquake -- and the continued US military control of logistics in the humanitarian response; and their concerns about global discussions related to 'rebuilding Haiti' that they feel reflect a neoliberal economic agenda of globalization and not a national agenda developed by Haitians for Haitians. - AC

Excerpt:

The emergency aid effort we are involved in is alternative in character and we expect to advocate a method of work which will denounce the traditional practices in the field of humanitarian aid which do not respect the dignity of the victims and which contribute to the reinforcement of dependency. We are advocating a humanitarian effort that is appropriate to our reality, respectful of our culture and our
environment, and which does not undermine the forms of economic solidarity that have been put in place over the decades by the grassroots organizations with which we work....

...Massive humanitarian aid is indispensable today, given the scale of the disaster, but it should be deployed in terms of a different vision of the reconstruction process. It should connect with a break from the paradigms that dominate the traditional circuits of international aid. We would hope to see the emergence of international brigades working together with our organizations in the struggle to carry out agrarian reform and an integrated urban land reform programme, the struggle against illiteracy and for reforestation, and for the construction of new modern, decentralised and universal systems of education and public health.

We must also declare our anger and indignation at the exploitation of the situation in Haiti to justify a new invasion by 20,000 U.S. Marines. We condemn what threatens to become a new military occupation by U.S. troops, the third in our history. It is clearly part of a strategy to remilitarise the Caribbean Basin in the context of the imperialist response to the growing rebellion of the peoples of our
continent against neo-liberal globalization. And it exists also within a framework of pre-emptive warfare designed to confront the eventual social explosion of a people crushed by poverty and facing despair. We condemn the model imposed by the U.S. government and the military response to a tragic humanitarian crisis. The occupation of the Toussaint Louverture international airport and other elements of the national infrastructure has deprived the Haitian people of part of the contribution made by Caricom, by Venezuela, and by some European countries. We condemn this conduct, and refuse absolutely to allow our country to become another military base.

As leaders of the organizations and platform who have set this process in motion, we are writing to share our initial analysis of the situation. We are certain, and you have already shown this to be true, that you will continue to support our work and our struggles in the framework of the construction of an alternative from which our country can rise again from this terrible catastrophe and struggle to break free of the cycle of dependency.

For the Coordinating Committee:
Sony Estéus Director of SAKS

Community radio stations obliterated, off the air in Haiti

See below for AMARC Correction to this CPJ Story!

Women sell fruit in Jacmel, where Radio Fondwa was completely destroyed along with much of the city’s downtown. 

By Jean Roland Chery/CPJ Haiti consultant
More than two weeks after earthquake that devastated Haiti, several community radio stations are still off the air. In the western and southeastern parts of the country, at least 16 stations are facing serious problems that have suspended their broadcasts, Sony Esteus, executive director of SAKS, a local organization of community radio stations, told CPJ. The earthquake obliterated SAKS’ office in the Bourdon neighborhood, east of Port-au-Prince.

Community radio stations play a leading role in local news coverage in Haiti’s most remote communities, filling the void left by private radio stations in the capital. Most of them operate with low power transmission equipment—between 10 and 500 watts. SAKS has a network of around 30 community radio stations throughout Haiti and has made bringing them back into operation its priority.

AMARC
Esteus, also a 1992 CPJ International Press Freedom awardee and the Caribbean representative of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, said the premises of Radio Fondwa in the city of Jacmel and Radio SAKA in Gran Goave were completely destroyed by the earthquake. No casualties were reported, he said, adding that two Fondwa reporters who were in station’s studio when the earthquake hit escaped unharmed.

In Petit Goave, Radyo Kolf Pye, a community radio station in the town of Value suffered great losses; in Leogane, the facilities of Radio Zetwal Peyizan collapsed, Esteus said.

Esteus, an experienced radio reporter, worked for Radio Haiti Inter for almost a decade till the station was closed in 2003. During the military coup of September 1991, while he was working as a reporter for radio Tropic FM, he was imprisoned and beaten at the headquarters of the in Port-au-Prince police department, he told CPJ.

From the Committee to Protect Journalists

 If you have any information on journalists and media outlets in Haiti please go to Committee to Protect Journalists or notify via e-mail msalazar@cpj.org, or Twitter: @HelpJournalists. They are collecting funds that will go directly to Haitian journalists.
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From Elizabeth Robinson of AMARC: We've received some corrections to this account from Francesco Diasio, one of the AMARC team.  He writes that Radio SAKA was not destroyed (damaged) and is broadcasting from outside.  I'm posting the latest report from Marcelo Solervicens in Montreal:

THE CPJ REPORT HAS BEEN CORRECTED BY SEVERAL AMARC MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN ACTIVE IN THE HAITI RECOVERY EFFORTS:
Community broadcasters mobilise in support of Haiti

Community radio broadcasters are mobilising worldwide in response to the earthquake that struck Haiti on 12 January. In an unprecedented global response in solidarity with the Haitian people, community radio broadcasters have organised appeals for emergency and humanitarian relief and have offered equipment and technical expertise to support Haiti's community radio stations.

An AMARC volunteer team arrived in Port-au-Prince on Sunday carrying equipment for SAKS (Society for the Animation of Social Communication), a community media production and support centre in Port-au-Prince, whose offices were destroyed when the earthquake struck. Sony Esteus, Director of SAKS and AMARC Vice President, will accompany the international team as they travel to Leogane, Grand Goave, Jacmel and other locations that are among the worst hit areas outside of the Haitian capital.

Radio Saka, the local community radio of Grand Goave, was reported back on the air, but at reduced power, and helping to mobilise local relief efforts. AMARC estimates around 12 community radios are in areas directly affected by the earthquake. The AMARC-SAKS mission will assess the impact of the earthquake on the community radio sector, provide
basic repairs and support to community media workers, and assist community radio to contribute to the humanitarian relief operation.

In the capital, most neighbourhoods have been heavily impacted. Many hundred thousand people have been left homeless and there are thousands of temporary camps. Everything happens in the streets. "The streets are the 'salon' of the people" says an old Haitian proverb. This has become a reality, even for those whose homes have not been damaged or destroyed, with people preferring to sleep in the open rather than risk staying in a building that might collapse with the next aftershock. Even the radio stations are broadcasting on the streets, with journalists afraid to work in their studios

Major international media support organisations are on the ground working to help restore Haiti's damaged communications infratructure: AMARC, International Media Support, Internews, Reporters Without Borders, are among the organisations collaborating in Haiti to avoid duplication and to assure an effective response to the disaster and the challenges of providing immediate relief.

AMARC has called on community radio broadcasters worldwide to support the Haiti relief effort, not only by broadcasting humanitarian appeals, but also be providing equipment, technical support and other resources to enable community radio in Haiti to play a central role in assuring access to information and enabling the populations affected to communicate their needs and concerns.

For news updates, further information and offers of equipment, technical and other support to assist community radio in Haiti, please visit:  http://www.amarc.org/haiti

Through service to members, networking and project implementation, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters AMARC, brings together a network of more than 4,000 community radios, Federations and community media stakeholders in more than 115 countries. The main global impact of AMARC since its creation in 1983 has been to accompany and support the establishment of a world wide community radio sector that has democratized the media sector. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels and defends and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through solidarity, networking and Cooperation.

More on Community Radio in Haiti

By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, January 20, 2010
(01-20) 06:54 PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) --

The caller from Boston was desperate.

She had just received a text message Tuesday from a friend trapped in the rubble of a Port-au-Prince school and needed to get the news to rescuers, the Haitian government, the world.

She called the right place: Signal FM, the only radio station in the city that has broadcast nonstop during the earthquake. Its building, transmitting equipment and antennas escaped damage, and the station has been a key source of information since the magnitude-7 temblor wrecked Haiti a week ago.

Day and night, journalists and disc jockeys announce names of missing persons and news of open stores and dead celebrities, while calmly taking frantic calls and e-mails from both home and abroad.

Outside, people crowd the station's parking lot with crumpled handwritten notes, pleading for the announcers to read the names of their missing loved ones or a location where hungry people need relief.

"The radio station is the people's life right now," said 56-year-old Roselaure Revil, a Haitian who runs a small church aid program that is out of food, water and clothing. "Without the radio station, the country is dead. Without the radio station, we can't communicate. We don't have anything."

Even before the earthquake, radio was the nation's most popular form of media. About half of Haitians are said to be illiterate, so they can't read newspapers, and a lack of electricity in many households means television is not an option...
******************************


Short but Welcome Message from AMARC Vice President:
Sony Esteus has written that he is alive. He was out of touch for six long days. Not much is known about his condition, but this message was received!
"Thank u all. I'm alive."
Sony ESTEUS


and about aid to Haitian stations:
WMNF Community Radio to Hold Emergency Fundraiser for Haiti Relief Organizations
WMNF is trying to raise as much money as possible, and will split the funds evenly between four organizations: Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti, Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health and Mercy Corps. WMNF will receive no proceeds as a result of the funds raised. 100% of the contributions will go to these relief groups.
WMNF News Director Rob Lorei says 88.5fm listeners are very generous and have helped out in other such efforts.
“WMNF listeners are very community-minded and they’ve been telling us about their deep concern for the people of Haiti. In the past, when we raised funds for the victims of Katrina, we raised a lot of money for relief. There’s no telling how this will turn out- given our economic problems here at home- but my guess is that they will come through in a big way,” said Lorei.
In 2005, WMNF held a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina victims. >> As it is doing this time, the FCC lifted a ban on fundraising for other non-profit organizations so that public and community radio stations could hold special on-air pledge drives. <<
In one day, WMNF raised $132,000 that was split evenly among four non-profits. Our members thanked us time after time that day for putting their money toward trust-worthy non-profits to rebuild the areas and lives ravaged by Katrina.

••••••••••••••••••••••

From South Africa:
We are working flat out on a Haiti response right now, spearheaded by Michelle. At this point, our donor does not want any technical assistance, but knowing you're there could be very helpful to us. At this point I just don't know. We will be involved in both the emergency response as well as reconstruction efforts later. Michelle will contact you as soon as she can.

Kind regards and thank you very much for your email and offer of assistance. Radio will be extremely important in the coming months.
Kristine P__ | Chief Executive | Freeplay Foundation

Haitian Community Radio Earthquake Emergency

The radio station in Fondwa, Haiti.
News from Jim Ellinger:
Very worrisome news. Radio Fondwa was destroyed.
I have been talking with the family of two US volunteers, Jamalyn Williamson and Megan Rohmeyer, two of the group that left from Milroy United Methodist Church, Milroy, Indiana. They survived, but inform me of two locals' deaths in the building collapse.

The two American women working at community radio station Radio Fondwa are confirmed to be alive by family members.
"They just made it out as the entire building collapsed," said Jamalyn Williamson's aunt Karen Potts of Cincinnati. Two Haitians reported killed in the building collapse.

Community Radio in Haiti
There are about forty community radio stations nationwide in Haiti and six in the Western District, which is the epicenter of the quake. The World Association of Community Radio (AMARC) has heard that these six have been "severely damaged." The AMARC Vice President, Sony Esteus, is unaccounted for.

Sony Esteus is a Linguist, journalist, Charter member and present Director of the Haitian NGO SAKS (Sosyete Animasyon ak KOminikasyon Sosyal). SAKS works in the field of the popular education for the communication that thus helps to basic organizations in Haiti (farmers, young people and women) to establish community radios.

From 2005, Sony Esteus is the national representative of AMARC-ALC in Haiti and member of the AMARC Regional Council for Latin America and the Caribbean. Elected in the AMARC International Board on November 2006 in AMMAN (AMARC 9).

From AMARC ALC (Latin America and Caribbean):
We have tried to communicate by electronic mail and by telephone with Sony Esteus, representative of AMARC in Haiti, and we have not had luck. We continue insisting, although we know that the communications are first that fail in these cases.
We are waiting to receive some news of our companions and companions in Haiti.

From Stephen Dunnifer, Free Radio activist from Berkeley, CA:
I visited Haiti twice in the mid 90's to work with community radio folks and set up several station - met with Aristide for an about an hour to discuss the creation of a radio station at the orphanage. We sent them their first transmitter package shortly after that. One of the young men at the orphanage visited us several years later to learn more about the technical aspects. I called the concept of a distributed network of low power stations throughout the country "coup insurance". In the past, the army would roll in, seize the radio stations in Porte Au Prince and silence the opposition. A network of transportable stations would have made that a lot more difficult. Never could generate adequate support for this concept, however.
Maybe this would be a good time to get folks behind the deployment of several dozen 100-150 watt stations in Haiti at a cost of about $2000 each.

One may wonder where the Republicans got their experience in vilifying a popularly elected black leader of a country, look no further their orchestrated attacks on Aristide. The language used is almost identical. Both Obama and Aristide were community organizers. Not that I am a supporter of Obama, but the historical parallels are rather stunning.
Best regards, Stephen

PERSONS INTERESTED IN HELPING THE SIX STATIONS AND POSSIBLY SENDING A TECH CREW DOWN SHOULD CONTACT JIM ELLINGER. AMARC/AA (512) 796-4332 jimedia@grandecom.net www.amarc.org

And this just out from the FCC:
As more news emerged about the widespread devastation caused by an earthquake in Haiti, aide organizations flooded the Web with ways to donate online or via text message. Now, the FCC is getting on-board and will temporarily lift a ban on fundraising by non-commercial TV and radio stations so that they can accept funds to help the victims. ----Chloe Albanesius, PC Magazine

January 13, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Jen Howard, 202-418-0506 Email: Jen.Howard@fcc.gov

FCC CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI STATEMENT ON MEDIA BUREAU'S HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE
RELIEF ANNOUNCEMENT
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti during this terrible tragedy. A number of noncommercial broadcasters have asked for permission to raise funds for relief efforts, which we are happy to give. The Media Bureau has posted procedures for any noncommercial TV or radio station to obtain expedited approval for such fundraising. These temporary
waivers will help tap the American spirit of generosity in this time of great need to aid Haitian relief efforts.”
For more information, visit: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/haiti_relief_efforts.pdf

Internews to Deploy Media Assistance in Support of Haiti’s Information Needs During Humanitarian Disaster
*Washington DC and Paris : *With communications crippled in Haiti after Tuesday's devastating earthquake, Internews is responding to the urgent need for information during this humanitarian disaster.

Haitians need information about the situation: how to find food, shelter and water, how to connect to loved ones who survived, and eventually, how to rebuild. A team from Internews that includes media specialists, radio technicians and humanitarian liaison experts are deploying to assess the extent of damage to Haiti's media infrastructure, which provides crucial information to vulnerable populations. In addition, the rapid response team is bringing broadcast equipment that can quickly be used to broadcast emergency information. Internews previously used this type of portable broadcasting equipment in Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami.

The team is conducting a rapid assessment of local and national media transmission capabilities, audience reach and infrastructure damage. It will make recommendations for assistance to facilitate the flow of vitally need information between the international relief operation and Haitians. Internews is able to deploy its team with generous support from the MacArthur Foundation and other donors.

Internews recently completed a project in Haiti working with 40 community radio stations throughout the country called RAMAK (Rasanbleman Medya pou Aksyon Kominoté). The project, which was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, focused on journalism trainings and technical skills for radio production personnel. The head of RAMAK, Jean Fedner Chéry, was in Washington, D.C. last year to accept the 2009 Internews Media Leadership Award for the radio network's track record of providing essential medical, educational and humanitarian relief information to its listeners.

For further information :
* Mark Harvey mharvey@internews.fr +
44 7703 180 524
* Caroline Giraud cgiraud@internews.fr
+ 33 666 9439 54

Note of Caution: Internews is closely allied with the US State Department, having been a primary agent for privatizing stations in the former Soviet Union, and currently engaged with major initiatives in Afghanistan in collaboration with the US Military. Much of Internews' funding comes directly from agencies associated with the NSA. The sorry condition of the Haitian economy and misery of the population even prior to the quake has been attributed to the questionable role of US trade (and military) policies in the country.
US Government funders of Internews:
USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)
US Department of State (DOS)
US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)
US Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM)
US Department of State, Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)
US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
World Bank


MEANWHILE THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS REPORTED ON THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY RADIO:
Haiti earthquake: Community radio stations help worried kin get news of loved ones
BY SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM, JAKE PEARSON AND SAMUEL GOLDSMITH
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/01/14/2010-01-14_earthquake_kin_get_help_from_local_radio.html#ixzz0cd00zmjA
Phone lines are down. Internet connections are spotty. Cell phone towers sit in piles of rubble. Faced with no way to reach loved ones on the island, desperate Haitian immigrants in New York have turned to community radio broadcasts for the latest news.

Several so-called "pirate" stations broadcasting on a special frequency have been running nonstop since Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

The stations, which broadcast on a frequency called SCA, can be heard only with special $50 radios that pick up the small frequencies. "My mother, I don't hear nothing at all. She is 78 years old," Harlem resident Shirley Diop told Radio Panou 101.9 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, yesterday.

"I am hoping someone can help me hear from her," said Diop, 40. "It is very sad. My only hope to hear from her is the radio." Diop was one of thousands who called the stations broadcasting out of Brooklyn and Long Island, where large numbers of Haitian immigrants live.

"They are relying on the radio to give them news about their families," said producer Ronald Baptiste, 34, of Radio Optimum 96.3 in East Flatbush. "The biggest challenge is they can't get through to loved ones." NRadio Panou stayed in contact with its sister station in Haiti to provide some of the most detailed coverage from the ground.

"Today we're giving news all day long," said Acelus Etienne, 52, owner of Radio Eclair 88.9 in West Hempstead, L.I. "People are calling from all over the tristate area, even from Miami," he said. "They ask, 'Will you please ask if anyone has spoken with someone I know in Haiti? Can they call me and tell me if they're okay?'"

Etienne didn't know the fate of his mother and father until a listener called to say he had heard from someone who saw them alive. "Lucky for me, somebody told me they saw my parents and they're okay, and that gives me some relief," he said.

A frantic dad from Queens called Radio Panou yesterday looking for news about his two teenagers in Haiti - neither of whom has been in touch since the quake. "I can't get in contact with my daughters," said Jonathan Phillips. "I try to connect by phone, but I can't get through. I am depressed. Can you help find them?"

Deejay Lynch Garbard fought back tears as he fielded calls from the studio in Flatbush."There are a lot of phone calls, and everybody is crying," he said. "They can't find their families." He, too, was searching for loved ones. "I got a call and heard I lost everything in Haiti," he said. "I am missing most of my family. I don't know if they died. I'm not dying, but I feel like I am."

sgoldsmith@nydailynews.com