BC-DX 841 04 Jan 2008 Private Verwendung der Meldun

land villagers in trouble. "They have been warned that they must hand in
those radios. It has become a subversive tool," says Rob Jamieson,
chairperson of the Southern Africa Editors' Forum. "It is quite shocking
to see the situation in Zimbabwe. No professional media in Zimbabwe can
operate," says Jamieson, who was part of a week-long mission that went to
Zimbabwe.
(ZW News via Southgate Amateur Radio Club; via WDXC Contact magazine June)
From a back room in a London commuter town, a secret radio station is
broadcasting the voice Robert Mugabe's government doesn't want his people
to hear.
The SW Radio Africa studio.
It's a constant battle, but exiled Zimbabweans are fighting to ensure SW
Radio Africa's programmes reach their compatriots back in Africa.
Station manager Gerry Jackson started the station in Harare in 2000, but
it was quickly shut down by the government. Since then she and her team
have struggled on in the UK against attempts to block the transmission.
"It regularly jams broadcasts using Chinese equipment and expertise. We
get around that by going on additional frequencies," she said.
Current affairs programmes and talk shows reach their home country on
shortwave and over the internet, targeting people in rural areas in
particular. A special programme called 'Callback' gives ordinary people in
Zimbabwe the chance to describe the day-to-day horrors of living under
Robert Mugabe's regime.
"They're desperate to speak, they're desperate to have their voice heard,"
Ms Jackson explained.
"They're desperate for the world to know what is going on, because they
feel let down by the world community, particularly the regional countries
who they feel have left them to suffer terrible violence and torture at
the hands of the government."
Most people in Zimbabwe can't afford to call in, so the radio station
provides a local mobile phone to text in contact details. Producers in the
UK then call people back - although it's not easy getting through to a
country where mobile phone signals are often blocked. There is also an
element of risk for the programme's participants, many of whom prefer to
stay anonymous.
"People are being made to feel afraid, but the opposition is very much
alive,' said Callback presenter Mandsi Mundawarara.
"People are clinging to the hope that the opposition will one day take
over the country and they see a brighter future for themselves and for
Zimbabwe."
Zimbabweans who do have the courage to air their views tell of their
frustration at the recent election. "They wrote our names down and then we
were sent to vote," reported an unidentified caller from Zimbabwe.
"Then we were told to say to the polling agent that we were blind or
couldn't write. The polling agent would say who do you want to vote for
and obviously I would say Robert Mugabe. Then they said if they see any
evidence you voted for MDC they would check on the list and go around
beating everyone who is MDC supporter."
Despite these strong messages coming through the airwaves, SW Radio
Africa's journalists have only seen change for the worse in Zimbabwe in