Announcement: Radio Dabanga on The Listening Post

The Listening Post – Al Jazeera, Saturday 1 September: Radio Dabanga Editor-in-Chief, Kamal Elsadig, gives us an insight into the current situation in Sudan, how mainstream media report on the country, and why 3.3 million listeners rely on Radio Dabanga for independent, uncensored, impartial news broadcasts every day.

As the government censors and gags the Sudanese press, reports of ongoing violence in the Darfur region and Nuba Mountains are sparse throughout in-country and mainstream international media.

Radio Dabanga fills this void in the media landscape by covering news from every corner of Sudan, including news about bread and fuel shortages, floods caused by extreme weather, and outbreaks of cholera. This news is brought not only to international audiences but also to those who rely on it most via the radio and satellite. According to Kamal Elsadig, “occasionally, we even get phone calls from European news outlets for our opinion on a topic.”

The effect of Radio Dabanga is expressed by Mukesh Kapila, Head of UN for Sudan from 2003 to 2004 who blew the whistle about the genocide in Darfur: “Even as the rest of the world may appear to have forgotten the suffering of millions of marginalized Sudanese gripped by long-standing oppression, Radio Dabanga keeps faith with them by bringing them truthful news, providing a voice for the people, and keeping hope alive.”

“Radio Dabanga must be kept on air.” – Click here to help!

Kapila adds that “Radio Dabanga must be kept on air,” referring to the crowdfunding campaign for shortwave radio airtime which revitalized awareness for a serious lack of press freedom in Sudan.

Censorship of the news by the Sudanese government affects the operations of Radio Dabanga on a daily basis including overcoming blocking of TV Satellite broadcasts. But, as Kamal explains on this upcoming segment of The Listening Post, the station carries on fighting to serve all those in Sudan with independent information.