AS ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS


As the end of the week approaches, so to does the end of my placement at Radio Justice and my time in Tamale.

A few weeks ago, when the Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean came to visit, Somed and I headed to the airport in Tamale to meet the entourage, which we would join in a tour around the region for that day. That trip out to the airport was my first return to the area outside of the city since my arrival in Tamale in late July. Arriving in Ghana the week before was already a major step into new territory, yet the steps down to the Tamale tarmac was an even further leap.

I recall sitting in the back of a car that had come to pick up fellow JHR’r Janey. I spent most of the ride gazing out over the grass fields that stretched as far as my sight did, and picking out the well spaced trees and termite castles.

Staring out into those same fields months later brought me back to that moment of arrival, yet it also put right in front of my eyes how much has occurred over the past five months.

When I was dropped off at the Gariba Lodge that day of arrival to wait for the station car, I was eventually met by Ramadan. I had been told by the previous JHR staff at Radio Justice that Ramadan was who I would most likely work with on the majority of stories. Before finding somewhere to stay, we went to the station and I saw where I would be working for the next few months.

Now, when I sit in that very same office space, it is an intimately familiar space. While Ramadan and I have spent a lot of time together since that first day, I have also worked closely with many more members of the station’s staff.

In producing “Freedom Thursdays” (a weekly human rights focused program), I have worked closely with Layata. She has been hosting the show, and is constantly thinking about the show and presenting ideas for ‘next week’. While working on the show, much of what has been discussed in workshops at the station was brought to life. Layata, while growing in confidence as a radio presenter, has constantly sought criticism and guidance for growth. Her progress is a visible as anything one can fix their eyes upon.

Over the past few months, I have also been pushing to overcome – and to even topple – some of the obstacles sitting in the way of the station’s news department. The primary issues are as follows: a lack of resources (no microphone for the mini-disc player, no mini-discs, no editing program, no fuel in the station car and no funds for taxi fare), a low morale (the news department does not feel supported in the task of producing the best material possible), and comfort with doing the bare-minimum. One member of the station who has joined me in this effort is station attachee, Somed. He has been eager to collect reports from distant regions (even if it means taking a dusty, prone-to-break-down bus), he has been dedicated to moving beyond the web site collection of artitlces and attending programs where government representatives and other dignitaries talk about the money they are giving to the cause of the day, and he has been thoughtfully connecting current human rights issues in the region and the daily needs of the news department.

Mr. Kalala (I call him Mr. because he could be a Grandfather to me…at least a Great Uncle) has been memorable. He is either recently wedded to his second or third wife; I am quite sure it is his third wife. Apparently he has almost fifteen children. It is hard to tell when he will be at the station or when he is away, but his job gets done. When he is to be found, his calm personality and professionalism have been refreshing. He heads the Dagbani department, and plays a key role in ensuring that all of the news that is reported makes it’s way into the minds of our many listeners that speak little or no English.

All of those listed, and many more, have participated in my workshops. While promises of refreshments (soda and biscuits) have an allure, I like to think that the attendance ranging between 8-15 per workshop had to do with other factors. Information about the fundamentals of human rights and journalism skills have been our focus all along. One highlight was an activity where I asked each person in the room to right down three rights that they believe each person should have. After collecting the many small sheets of paper with each participants list, we took turns reading them aloud. Upon finishing this task, what I revealed to them (most of whom had never seen the Universal Declaration on Human Rights before) is that almost all the articles were covered by what they had combined to contribute.

Another highlight was after our “How to use your Voice: Maximize Strengths and Use Apparent Weaknesses in Your Favour”. One point in the workshop was that “when you know your material, you own the material”. A couple of weeks later, while working on a story, I heard those very same words spoken back to me. It was a surprisingly sweet moment.

The stories that I have been involved with at the station have covered an immensely broad range. In October, after attending the Jay-Z concert, the complete void of all information regarding his Water for Life campaign was a great topic of interest, next to the seemingly greater void of the falsely promised attendance of Beyonce. We have done heart warming stories about men and women finding a new grasp on their lives through projects aimed at economic empowerment through harnessing unique elements in the Northern Region (locally produced shea butter soap and original African cloth designs). There have also been stories that had a tone of sorrow, and others that could make your blood boil. One such story was of an 18 year old girl who was cut all over her body with a razor blade at the hand of her uncle for refusing to marry an old man that she didn’t even know; the saga of officers being assaulted by the community, the uncle getting a few weeks to prepare to leave the region and avoiding arrest, and her most recent return back to the house that she had run away from. Another example was the expose of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, whose morgue has been out of order for four months, leaving the bodies of poor families to rot in the heat, the and the bodies of wealthy families to be shipped two hours North for refrigeration in Bolgatanga.

In addition to doing stories, almost all of the station were involved at one point or another in our Human Rights Public Service Announcement Project. Some sat on a committee that reviewed the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and pinpointed key articles of relevance to the community in Tamale. Others took the legal language of those articles and turned them into creative and relative scripts. A team was also assigned to translate the three scripts into the Dagbani and Gonja languages. Still, new participants contributed by having their voices recording reading the scripts, and the editing of those recordings into final products. Office staff, presenters (senior and junior), the language departments, and even the marketing department have all been represented along the way.

I look back and wonder: Has Radio Justice been changed by my coming here? As I ponder this question, I know that the answer is ‘yes’. The changes are both tangible and intangible. I then wonder: Will the changes be lost and forgotten? Thinking upon this second question, I am also certain to say ‘no’. I do think that the changes could easily fade though, if the work is not continued.

Deep impressions have been made, on me and upon the station. I have also felt the quakes and tremors, sometimes subtle and sometimes strong, from my counterparts across the country.

And a moment that made me smile. Yesterday, I was monitoring the news to hear a story that Somed and I worked on for our partner station Joy FM down in Accra. While tuned in I heard a report from a conference held for journalists across West Africa. The summary stated that conscientious reportage, and exposing social divisions and injustices before they become mass scale could help to avert grand-scale crises on the continent. This sentiment is one of the key points that I clung to when learning about what JHR stands for. I believe this to be true and to be visionary. To know that there are others with the same vision makes the potential of progress all the more possible.

I now prepare to continue this work in a new environment in Accra. I also await the next person to step into Radio Justice. It is of great importance to me to know how that next placement goes, and it is my hope to contribute to continued success at a station that has a big name to live up to – ‘Radio Justice’.