UNMIK on
AIR
IDP Media
Network
July 2004
By Andrea
Saula
SLUG: As the question of Status looms on the horizon, the issue of minority involvement in civil society is increasingly becoming a part of conversation in Kosovo’s political circles. As such, a multiethnic non-governmental organization based in the Serbian enclave of Gracanica near Pristina leads two radio projects aimed at providing relevant and informative content for the Serb minority in and around Kosovo.
Hello and welcome. In this edition of our UNMIK on AIR
programme
JINGLE FOR “Kucni prag”
So begins “Kucni Prag” – a news programme that features information for Kosovo’s Internally Displaced Persons or IDPs. The program explains to IDPs the “How’s” and “Where’s” of returning to their homes.
The group producing the radio program is the “Communication
for Social Development” - the brainchild of Kosovo Serb and Albanian media
makers who decided to launch their own local
journalistic NGO in the beginning of 2003.
Oliver Vujovic, who leads the organization says that “the
locals know better than anyone what is missing” in any social equation.
According to Vujovic, the initial multiethnic partnership was a radio youth show “Blah, Blah café”, that broadcast in two languages, Serbian and Albanian. Now the efforts are focused on returnee information through “Kucni prag.”
[SOUND Fragment from the show.]
Oliver Vujovic: “We are providing information about
education and health capacities, also about transportation issues and
employment possibilities. Mainly when they are visiting communities, they are
trying to find all the necessary information that one needs when one comes
back.”
Bojan Trajkovic: “We have extraordinary cooperation with radio stations both in Kosovo and Serbia. B92 and numerous radio stations that are part of the national media network in Serbia re-broadcast our programme and that’s the best index of our success. Five people are engaged on the production of this programme. Three of us are in Gracanica and two of the staff are in Nis. We are covering the whole of Kosovo - we are going to places that 80% of Kosovans have never heard of. Colleges in Nis are working on stories with IDPs. In these shows you can hear what they think, if they want to come back or not, what should be done in order them to come back to their homes.”
Vujovic and Trajkovic estimate that a vast number of people are eager to come back, something they attribute to the fact that most IDPs have hard lives in Serbia and believe that they could live a better life in Kosovo.
But Vujovic and Trajovic say that all of this is
conditional on the reconstruction of their houses and a need to fee safe living
in them.
CDS head, Vujovic emphasizes that after the March violence it was difficult to avoid a pessimistic approach to IDP issues.
Vujovic: “It was hard to find a real story, to find
something positive in all of that but we succeed to find some light at the end
of tunnel, and to find reasons why the people should return to their homes. I
think that we are successful in this respect. During March everything was
focused on events like murders, burning houses etc nobody was saying that
people should stay in their homes. What to do now? We are here, this is ours
and we can’t escape from here. We have to stay and to fight for our rights.”
For this group of journalists working with CSD, it is extremely important to balance the Kucni Prag programmes – mainly in Serbian. As Vujovic says, on past programmes it was important to talk to Kosovo politicians like Prime Minister Bayram Rexhepi to gain a local governmental perspective.
Vujovic: “We succeed in having balanced programmes; we
are not taking sides. We talk about reality; we show that somehow people live. Like
here in Gracanic - there are primary and secondary schools. There’s even
university faculty here. There’s a hospital, a health center. We have
transport. People have limited freedom of moving but there are some basics
necessary for survival.
[ATMOSPHERE sounds of Gracanica traffic…]
In overcrowded Gracanica there is very little for the youth to do. People working with the NGO “Communication for Social Development” understand this.
The problems for the youth are the same no matter if they live in Gracanica or Pristina, or elsewhere in Kosovo. Which explains the impetus for CSDs second multiethnic media program, “Blah, Blah Café.”
CSD spent the last 6 months on this program – a series of radio shows for youngsters that were produced together with an Albanian team on over 35 radio stations in Serbian and Albanian.
Vujovic explains that shows were focused on wide spectrum of topics in which youngsters are interested.
Vujovic: “Blah, Blah has the aim to move youngsters to
take their participation in rebuilding this society, to give their voice, to
say what do they need, to say if somebody is making a mistake. Also it has the
aim to promote those successful young people that don’t know how to break the
ice. We have very talented 15, 16 years old people that write poetry. There’s a
girl that wrote a book about her life since the conflict started till now.
These are kids that write but they don’t know, just like their parents, how to
promote it.”
[More Atmosphere sounds from Gracanica…]
The Canadian Government and UNICEF have been a primary
source of funding for the “Communication for Social Development” [CDS’] radio
programme initiatives.
CSD is seeking new funds in order to continue “Blah, Blah
Café” and of course to maintain their production mandate for the IDP Media
Information Network.
That was all for this edition of UNMIK on Air… Thanks for listening and stay tuned!