AudiencScapes

By Paromita Pain

It’s a scene that is not too common in the violence-torn nation of Congo. In an open area, people affected by recent riots are posing to authorities of different clans and getting answers. For once, people aren’t cowed by the authorities representing different clans but are confidently trying to make sense of the violence they have endured. Although this happened in July 2009, it remains the Interactive Radio for Justice team’s favorite moment.

Operations in Post-Conflict Zones

Launched in 2008, the Interactive Radio for Justice (IRFJ) http://www.irfj.org/ works to encourage dialogue between people in regions where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating the serious crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes) and the national and international authorities responsible for rendering justice to them. Wanda Hall, IRfJ’s director, is committed to helping the goal of international justice become a reality for the people whom it is intended to benefit.

“From my experience in Rwanda trying to bring people in touch with the International Tribunal of Justice, and from my experience at working in the International Criminal Court, I believe that international justice is very important,” Hall told AudienceScapes. “It’s a social evolution that has true impact on the most important constituents: That is, the people who have suffered the worst crimes possible, as well as the perpetrators who are victims of the society that make them commit these crimes.”

The radio project started in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the ICC began an investigation in 2004. Later the IRfJ launched in the Central African Republic and today covers the Kivus region of DRC as well.

Seeking Answers from the Powerful

The war in Congo officially lasted from 1998 to 2003, during which 4 million people died. The new government is trying to repair the damage. Helping this cause is the Interactive Radio, inspired by the “distance and disconnect between the justice and the people” that Hall witnessed in the Rwanda and Yugoslav Tribunals.

“My first priority when setting the radio up was to create a safe connect and encourage interaction between justice givers and those justice was meant for,” said Hall. “It’s not particularly easy to work there the situation being such. Radio as a medium seemed the most viable alternative.”

Interactive Radio for Justice travels into communities, records their questions and finds the most appropriate authorities to answer them. Then the questions and answers are collated in a program and played back to the community who gather around a radio set wherever available to listen. “This makes it seem like they are talking to each other,” explained Hall.

Are authorities open to answering? “In the beginning the authorities at local, national and international levels were hesitant. They didn’t think of themselves as civil servants but as powerful people in the positions of lawyers and police. They were society’s elite. They had forgotten that they are there to serve a public service. The project pushes the idea that they are given the opportunity to be in this position by public money. The more they speak on the programme they understand that I am not interested in putting them in any kind of an uncomfortable situation. This is just a forum to put them in touch with the concerns of the people and open conversations with their constituents. This is for the authorities a chance to explain what they do,” says Hall.

Recently an SMS service was also incorporated into the program. “Infrastructure here is very poor,” said Hall. “So I cannot depend on telephone lines or the internet. Even if a cell phone network is available most people don’t have money to talk, but sending an SMS is very cheap. So they SMS us the questions they want answered. It’s not possible to go out and record from every community out there. We have listening clubs and nearly 5 million people in Ituri listen to us. While listening, if someone in the listening group has a question, they can SMS us and either we go or call them with our own cell phones. We communicate with our team members via SMS as well.”

Measuring Radio’s Impact

Last August, an evaluation of the project found the IRfJ is making progress on meeting its goals. The assessment reported that, in terms of beliefs, there was an increase in three of the four sites in the number of respondents agreeing that ICC officials understand their needs. Qualitative data gathered from respondents suggests a belief that the ICC is working for justice, and is not corrupt the way national officials are. In Ituri, 54 percent of respondents said that IRfJ’s programs have allowed ICC officials to better understand their needs in terms of justice.

The Vox Pop series was a three-program series developed in Goma and Kasugho in 2010 to address specific questions related to the ICC. The analysis of the Vox Pop series showed that these kinds of programs are a useful tool for educating listeners on key concepts in justice, but those three programs are not sufficient to convey complex concepts which may be new to listeners.

Beating Various Challenges

Hall shares an example of how the project is shifting people’s perception of right and wrong.

“’Debating for Peace and Justice’ was a program started in Ituri focussing on the first man arrested by International Criminal Court,” said Hall. “He came from the region of Bunia and was arrested for using children to fight the war. The community didn’t understand because there were nine armies in the war and children soldiers were normal. Families though it was normal to give a child to the armies or armed groups that protected them. They wanted to know why is this was considered a crime against humanity? The community asked many questions, like, if this was a crime then they should have been informed 10 years ago before they gave our children away. I invited the Chief Defence Lawyer to sit in front of 550 people to answer questions from the people. It was important for the people to understand that the prosecutor and defense aren’t enemies. This was a powerful image for a community that knows nothing but revenge. They spoke together for 3 hours. Sometimes there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It’s important to understand that a consensus decision could be taken. We put the whole debate on radio.”

Running the project is full of challenges. Security is an issue. They have to deal with having no electricity, bad telephones and no drinking water. Their first donors were the MacArthur foundation. The last two years they have been co-funded by the Humanity Foundation. They have also had small project grants from the Open Society Justice Initiative and Freedom to Create.

Hall explains that the project is not so much journalism as it is community engagement.

“I am not a journalist,” said Hall. “I train my team to use technology they know as journalists to form a conversation. Our job is to facilitate a discussion. Our journalists are just conduits who help people form questions that will encourage a response. For example, people often ask questions like: ‘Why is the police chief a corrupt pig?’. These questions won’t get us answers. So we help them frame the question as ‘Why am I required to pay to file a case?’ This is a question about the law and this question can be answered. Once people are informed it is much less difficult to take advantage of those who don’t know. We don’t give answers. We just encourage people to talk and have a dialogue based on mutual respect.”

Paromita Pain has been employed with The Hindu Newspaper, Chennai, India since January 2003. She writes for young people on a range of themes, with a special interest in media for young people, health issues, human rights and youth in situations of conflict. She can be reached at paromita.pain@gmail.com.
 

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