21 January 2010 | Interviews | Free Honduras | Resisting neoliberalism
Back on air
Reconstruction of Garifuna community radio prepared in Honduras
length: 1:50 minutes
Download: MP3 (1.3 Mb)
On January 6, the Honduran community radio Faluma Bimetu, of the Garifuna community was set on fire by unknown gunmen who seized the transmission equipment.
The radio station has played a key role in the defense of the Garifuna territory of the community Triunfo de la Cruz and the communities near Tela Bay during its ten years of existence.
It is a highly conflictive zone because the Honduran private sector constantly seeks to obtain lands from the communities to destine them to touristic mega projects.
To reconstruct Faluma Bimetu radio station, a national and international campaign will be organized from February 1 to 7, so the roof of the house that used to host the radio will be replaced, the space will be adapted, and the electricity will be reconnected, and transmission and audio edition equipment will be installed.
Real World Radio interviewed Miriam Miranda, General Coordinator of the National Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH, one of the organizations that is promoting the initiative to rebuild the radio.
“This radio has been a defense and a avant gard in the struggle and defense of land. It played a particularly important role in strengthening the identity, since the radio broadcasts in two languages, the Garifuna mother tongue and Spanish.
Therefore, it has become a problem for the people who have interests over land and the resources of the Garifuna community.
The radio also played a key role in the crisis, during the coup, to report and inform about what was happening with the Garifuna community nation wide” said Miranda.
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