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| A dance troupe kicks off Radio Veritas Asia’s 50thanniversary celebrations at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) center in Dhaka on Nov. 1 (Photo by Stephan Uttom/ucanews) |
In 1983, 10-year-old Ashik Iqbal was given a small radio and
a list of stations to listen to by his elder brother to overcome times of
boredom in their village in Bangladesh's northern Rajshahi district.
One
of the stations was the Bengali Service of Radio Veritas Asia (RVA).
Iqbal,
a Muslim, found the RVA programs very interesting, and became a regular
listener of the Philippines-based Catholic shortwave radio service.
"RVA
programs can attract and hold a listener's attention for ages. It is a voice of
people like me. There are various religiously-affiliated media but the RVA is
different. It is Christian but doesn't limited itself within religious
boundaries," Iqbal, now 47, told ucanews.
RVA
first went on air in 1969, while the Bengali Service stated in 1980.
The
Bengali Service is jointly produced by Dhaka-based Banideepti, the multimedia wing of the
Bangladeshi Catholic Bishops' Christain Communication Center and Chitrabani, a
Jesuit-run communication center based in Kolkata, the state capital of West
Bengal, India.
Bangladesh
and West Bengal have a Bengali-speaking majority but less than one percent of
them are Christian. About 90 percent of listeners are non-Christian. In its
heyday, the service boasted more than 200,000 listeners.
Over
the last 37 years, Iqbal says RVA programs have been "based on values but
not inherently coated with a religious flavor."
Among
his favorite programs are "Chetona" (Awakening), which focuses on
social and contemporary issues such as justice and peace, "Jibon O
Jibika" (Life and Livelihood), "Mohot Jibon" (Great
Personalities) and "Mohilangan" (Women's Space).
"RVA
has remained committed to truth, love, justice and dialogue all these years. It
provides a platform for giving a voice to the voiceless," said Iqbal, now
an NGO activist.
He
was among about 100 regular 100 listeners from various parts of Muslim-majority
Bangladesh attending an RA 50th anniversary
celebration at the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh on Nov. 1.
The
event drew about 200 participants including Catholic bishops, priests, nuns,
media professionals, and former and current producers of the RVA Bengali
Service.
RVA
launched jubilee celebrations in April this from its center of operations in
Quezon City, in Manila, Philippines.
The
Dhaka event was just one of two RVA Bengali Service celebrations to mark the
golden jubilee. The second event will be held in Kolkata on Nov. 10.
Shortwave to digital world
RVA
started as a shortwave radio station with funding from the Catholic Church and
donors in Germany.
From
an early stage, it has operated under the guidance of the Office of Social
Communication (OSC) of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), the
collegial body of Catholic bishops in Asia.
One
of the primary objectives was to offer a platform on the airwaves for
"voiceless people" in communist and military-ruled Asian countries
including China, Vietnam, Korea and Myanmar.
Pope
John Paul II, visited the RVA offices in 1981 and called the station the
"voice of Asian Christianity." In 1995, when RVA marked 25 years of
broadcasting, the pope called it the "missionary of Asia."
In
the beginning, RVA had 14 language services but has now expanded to 22
languages.
However,
since 2000 many partners have withdrawn funding which has meant Catholic
Churches in respective countries are now financing RVA productions.
The
radio was digitized in 2007, a significant move that saves about US$ 1.6
million in annual costs.
A journey of love, truth and dialogue
Saifuddin
Sabuj, 48, a Muslim father of three from Dhaka, worked for RVA's Bengali
Service from 1992-2011.
"My
dream journey in media started from there. There are things that happened
during this time that continues to influence me now, and my life in the RVA is
something that I continue to cherish even today," Sabuj told ucanews,
adding that 50-year anniversary commemorations were a "celebration of love
for life.
Since
leaving RVA, Sabuj has worked for several national and international
organizations including Bangladesh government departments, the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) as a media consultant and coordinator of several community
radio projects.
Currently,
he runs Radio Bangla Wave, an online radio station for the Bengali speaking
community in Bangladesh and across the globe, and also Prokirti Media, a
Dhaka-based publishing and media organization.
Sabuj
says he never felt he was a Muslim in a Christian place during his time at RVA.
"The
love, space and cooperation I received was incredible. Such a wonderful
environment filled with love and the trust of so many people encouraged and
inspired me every day to do better work. I worked in every section of the RVA
Bengali Service and this experience has made who I am today," he said.
Besides
promoting truth and love, RVA has also promoted dialogue among people of all
faiths and ethnicities, he noted.
"RVA
offers a platform for dialogue. This is a Christian organization but the
principal audience are non-Christians. At listeners' gatherings, most
participants are Muslims who interact quite freely with Bishops, priests and
other Christian leaders," he said.
Sabuj
said to remain relevant and sustainable, the RVA needs to work continuously to
produce "contemporary and creative" content and should make more
effort in publishing and marketing to earn revenue.
"But
first it should produce contemporary programs that the new generation wants
with the same old values of truth and love," he added.
Committed service in challenging time
RVA
has evolved over the years and has succeeded in "beholding and propagating
truth," says Father Augustine Bulbul Rebeiro, director of the Christian
Communications Center in Dhaka and a RVA Bengali Service producer.
"RVA
has given a voice and power to voiceless and powerless people in many
countries, filling gaps in the absence of democracy. It has taken a strong
stance against corruption and for the welfare of peoples. So, in broad sense,
RVA has been successful in reaching out people, propagating truth, promoting
culture, dialogue and giving people a voice," Father Rebeiro told ucanews.
All
this has been achieved amid various challenges, he said.
Producing
quality content with local and little resources, competition in the digital age
"non-commercial" ventures restricting advertising and dependency on
donations are few of the major challenges the Bengali Service has had to face,
the priest said.
Recently,
it launched a Facebook page, which now has about 8,000 followers. The page
offers audio and video content regularly.
To
improve content further opinions have been sought and publicity campaigns
mounted to reach out to a bigger audience in Bangladesh and in West Bengal.
"We
have held meetings with various institutions and civil society groups, and also
plan to ask Catholic parishes to get priests to encourage people to tune in to
RVA programs. We are also engaging with online activists, so they can help
strengthen our online presence," Father Rebeiro said.
Various
gatherings will be held to gather feedback, he added.
Mohammad
Koli, 30, a Muslim father of three from Kansat in northern Chapai Nawabganj
district, has tuned in to RVA'a digital version for the past three years.
"I
learned about it from my friends, and I have found it different from other
stations," said Koli, a handloom businessman, who like Iqbal said it
transcended religious boundaries.
"I
expect RVA to continues its mission, but also want it to focus more on regional
issues, cultures and traditions, ethnic minorities and small and medium
enterprises."
END
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