SPOTLIGHT: Radio Miraya - The Sound of Sudan!

I have prepared this article as part of an occasional feature series called Spotlight, focusing on smaller, lesser-known and interesting shortwave broadcasters. Look for more articles in coming months.

Currently, Radio Miraya is providing great reception and pleasant listening during my afternoons on 11560 kHz between 0400 and 0600 UTC. Their Morning Breakfast Show has that unique feel of local programming that we used to hear regularly 20 years ago from tropical band African broadcasters -relaxed chat, great African music and listener input. The only difference now is that listeners communicates via telephone, email, SMS or twitter, with only the occasional letter being read out!

So, what is Radio Miraya? The station's studios are located in Juba, the current capital and largest city of the very recently recognised (July 9, 2011) independent state known as the Republic of South Sudan. The station describes itself as a "generalist" radio station offering news, sports, music, current affairs, needs-based programming and "interactivity". They describe themselves as:

…an essential tool for promoting pluralism, diversity and education and the forging of a truly national identity. Radio Miraya plays a central role in keeping the public informed, the government and other senior officials accountable, and could ultimately become a platform for reconciliation and conflict mitigation efforts".

Their website also outlines their values:

core principles of fairness, accuracy and balanced programming
independence from political and economic pressure
integrity in reporting the facts and in their interactions with third parties such as governments, authorities, donors etc
diversity, an open approach to the world, with staff made up of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious beliefs
peaceful co-existence

High ideals, indeed!

The station has programs in English and simple (non-classical) Arabic, operating between 0300 and 0600 daily. It's a feed of part of their FM service that is heard 24-hours daily via 26 relays. However, the nice thing about this station is that they still feel the need to use shortwave facilities in order to access all parts of the country and neighbouring states, currently via a transmitter in Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (through the services of Broadcast Belgium).

South Sudan (formerly known as Southern Sudan) is a country of approximately 8 million people. It's a land-locked nation bordering with Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, D.R. Congo, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Sudan. For many years, the Sudanese region has been rocked by two long, drawn-out civil wars, where millions were killed and tortured. The economy is one of the world's most underdeveloped, with little infrastructure, a high infant mortality rate and very low female literacy rate. While it has natural resources (oil, minerals), the population relies heavily on agriculture (which is largely subsistence). Regular water supplies are a constant challenge.

Given this background, Radio Miraya performs a most important and relied upon role in communicating with and educating its own people.

Still very much a young station, Radio Miraya began operations on June 30, 2006, before the new republic was born. It is operated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in partnership with Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss non-governmental organisation of journalists and humanitarian aid professionals. You may be already familiar with Fondation Hirondelle through their support and partnerships with such stations as Radio Okapi and Radio Ndeke Luka. The foundation's slogan is "Media for Peace and Human Dignity", and works to develop media outlets with popular appeal and a wide audience, creating sustainable media that will ultimately run themselves without help from the foundation and its donors.

Throughout the day, Radio Miraya's FM service transmits a broad selection of programs, many with a strong emphasis on listener interactivity as a way of directly engaging people across the country. News bulletins at the top of each hour "provide objective information and serve as an effective form of rumour control and counter to misinformation in times of strife or conflict". The station encourages participation in the political process, with the aim of giving a voice to marginalised groups. A look at the weekly program schedule also shows a strong emphasis towards education, agriculture, legal information, cultural programs, sport, science and current affairs. The station considers the Miraya Breakfast Show to be their flagship program, and this is the one that is heard on 11560 kHz SW. A popular feature of the show is "Miraya Connects" - a daily feature connecting lost family and friends.

Music on Radio Miraya is always enjoyable! On the Breakfast Show you can hear Afro-beat, R&B, and even Reggae and Hip-Hop. Singers use English, Kiswahili (a local Bantu language), simple-Arabic and local dialects. Artists such as Emmanuel Kembe, Yaba Angilosi and Emmanuel Jai can be heard regularly.

Want to know more? Check out this wonderful 10 minute YouTube video that takes you inside the R. Miraya studios, antennas and shows some great vision of life in South Sudan.

Note 1: The shortwave frequencies listed at the end of the video are now out of date. 11560 kHz is currently the only frequency in use.

Note 2: For the B13 transmission period (starting Oct 28), there is a tentative frequency change registered as 9940 kHz between 0300 and 0600 UTC via the Kichinev transmitter site in Moldova.

Sources:
http://www.radiomiraya.org
https://www.facebook.com/radiomiraya
http://unmiss.unmissions.org/
http://www.afronline.org/?p=13169
http://www.hirondelle.org/home-page/south-sudans-independence-radio-miraya-rocks/?lang=en

73 and have a great weekend everyone!

Rob VK3BVW

Radio stations featured in the Spotlight series

Note: This series covers more than ten years, so the frequencies and times mentioned in some of the articles may be out-of-date. Refer to the latest schedule information for current operating times.

SPOTLIGHT: SICHUAN ETHNIC RADIO

SPOTLIGHT: IFRIKYA FM

SPOTLIGHT: THE VOICE OF JINLING

SPOTLIGHT: TAJIKISTAN ON SHORTWAVE

SPOTLIGHT: TRANS WORLD RADIO AFRICA

SPOTLIGHT: BBC ASCENSION ISLAND RELAY STATION

SPOTLIGHT: JAPAN’S PRIVATE SHORTWAVE STATION

SPOTLIGHT: VOICE OF BEIBU BAY RADIO

SPOTLIGHT: WONDERFUL WOOFFERTON

SPOTLIGHT: RADIO MIRAYA - THE SOUND OF SUDAN! (Sadly, this station no longer operates on shortwave)

SPOTLIGHT: RADIO VANUATU

SPOTLIGHT: KYRGYZSTAN ON SHORTWAVE