This story is told by a young woman, Annie, whose father was abducted. "My father’s kidnapping began on November 22, 1999 and ended August 13, 2000. He was kidnapped by the FARC and kept in 38 different places, spending the first months of his kidnapping alone, with only his guards and a radio, for company."
Annie's father was extremely lucky to have access to a radio, because his family was able to go to a radio station in Bogota and like so many others "send messages to hostages every Saturday night from midnight to 6 a.m. The (radio) show is called Voces del Secuestro, or Voices of Kidnapping." This media has helped the hostages by giving them hope and encouragement for survival while simultaneously giving their family members a voice.
Enjoy this story of community media.
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Wow, this is incredibly powerful. The recording from the transom website described how kidnap radio was not concerned with discussing politics or soccer, but rather with people’s accounts of family members who were kidnapped. That comment made me recall Neil Postman’s critique of television and other mediated devices because discussing politics and soccer can be quite amusing at times. Of course, discussing politics is certainly necessary knowing that there are plenty of controversial issues and I am not implying that we should disengage ourselves from politics, but sometimes only discussing politics and sports blinds us from other important issues (such as the kidnappings in Colombia). At the same time, however, this use of media has been extremely life giving to the people who were kidnapped and to the families of the kidnapped. It is interesting how kidnap radio focused on listening to their guests and how the hosts allowed people to tell their stories, which affects other listeners of the radio show because it is a first-hand account of their story and just like community media aims to do, it empowers them. It makes me feel like I am there with them in the midst of their pain. Even more powerful was how families could connect to those who were kidnapped and how the kidnapped were comforted by hearing family member’s voices, at least that was the hope that they had. Obviously, I cannot begin to understand how much hope they would have by hearing loved one’s voices on the radio, but I can guess that it is what kept them going. This form of community media should serve as awareness to us and those in Colombia because thousands of people who are kidnapped never come back. I do not mean to end on a sad note, but there is no disguising the truth of the matter. Kidnap radio is full of pain and hope, which also allows us to take part in their struggle and hopefully make a difference to combat these kidnappings.
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