- Title: CHAD: Chad loses historic voice in looting of state radio
- Date: 21st February 2008
- Summary: (AD1) N'DJAMENA, CHAD (FEBRUARY 16, 2008) (REUTERS) HALLWAY OF RADIO BUILDING, BURN MARKS ON CEILING, BIKES PARKED IN ENTRANCE BURNT OUT CORRIDOR, RED TAPE BLOCKING OFF AREA BURNT OUT OFFICE, DESK BURNT SHELVES WITH BURNT RADIO SPOOLS VARIOUS OF BURNT RADIO REELS DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALI, WALKING AROUND BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALIHALIMI, SAYING: "This is my office. The secretary was there, and I was here." (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALIHALIMI, SAYING: "Unfortunately there is nothing left." (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALIHALIMI, WALKING AROUND HER OFFICE, SAYING: "There's nothing to be saved." (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALIHALIMI, SAYING: "Part of it was looted and the rest of it was burnt." EXTERIOR OF RADIO STATION, WORD 'NATIONAL' VISIBLE ON TOP OF BUILDING VARIOUS OF HALIMI SITTING UNDERNEATH TREE, IN MAKESHIFT OFFICE, READING PAPER SIGN ON TREE READING: 'PERMANENCE RNT' (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF RADIO NATIONALE DU TCHAD (RNT), HALIMI ASSADIA ALIHALIMI, SAYING: "This is the question I'm asking myself: 'Why did they loot the radio station?' Because the station has existed since 1955, Chad has experienced many events, but this is the first time the radio station has been looted, burnt, destroyed. We've never known this before." VARIOUS OF LOOTED ITEMS THROWN INTO COURTYARD RADIO WORKER RUMMAGING THROUGH LOOTED ITEMS RADIO WORKER PICKING UP TAPE REEL DRAWERS IN AN OFFICE HANGING OPEN, ITEMS DANGLING EXTERIOR OF MOSQUE MOSQUE MINARET COURTYARD IN MOSQUE SIGNBOARD READING: 'KORAN FM' RADIO STATION VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS WORKING IN MAKESHIFT OFFICE JOURNALISTS SEATED AROUND TABLE, HOLDING MEETING PRESENTER LOOKING TOWARDS TECHNICIAN IN BOOTH JOURNALIST TALKING INTO MICROPHONE (SOUNDBITE) (French) BROADCAST JOURNALIST, BARRIBO TALO, SAYING: "Certain Chadian artists who are dead, left an important cultural heritage. I don't know how we can get this back again. It's difficult, we've lost a lot, but more than anything it's the memories of the country which are now gone." MEN ARRIVING TO PRAY AT MOSQUE/SCHOOL BOYS CYCLE PAST ON BIKES
- Embargoed: 7th March 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Chad
- Country: Chad
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Communications
- Reuters ID: LVA6039IWGXRM50RPP32VYSXCA6Z
- Story Text: Chad state radio loses historic archives after the station was pillaged by civilians following the recent rebel attacks on the capital, N'djamena.
From landmark speeches made at independence to recordings of beloved musicians long since dead, Chad lost historic audio archives in the looting frenzy that accompanied a rebel assault on its capital this month.
Like many other state institutions in N'Djamena, the Radio Nationale du Tchad (RNT) was pillaged by civilians who ran amok during two days of chaos on February 2-3 when government forces were busy repelling the insurgents in the city.
All that remains is the charred shell of its offices.
Inside the gutted building, every public audio archive since Chad's independence has gone up in smoke, including recordings of the former French colony's independence day itself.
Ash and twisted metal crackled underfoot as journalists tried to salvage what they could from the wreckage.
"This is the question I'm asking myself, why did they loot the radio station? Because the station has existed since 1955, Chad has experienced many events, but this is the first time the radio station has been looted, burnt, destroyed. We've never known this before," said Halime Assadia Ali, RNT's director as she inspected the burnt-out shell of what used to be her former office.
The uncomfortable truth is that civilian looters did the damage as they poured into the streets, ransacking parliament buildings, ministries and foreigners' residences, many driven by resentment against President Idriss Deby's 18-year rule.
Deby's forces said they beat off the rebel raiders on the city, whom they said were backed by Sudan -- a charge denied by Khartoum. The rebels said they withdrew and would strike again.
Following the destruction of the state radio station, its journalists left for N'Djamena's main mosque, where 'Koran FM', the mosque's in-house radio station, opened up its offices.
In between calls to prayer from the mosque's twin minarets, state radio is now back on the air, broadcasting in French, Arabic and a host of other local languages.
The station normally employs 350 people, but only a fraction of these can fit into Koran FM's tiny offices.
Traditional music, as well as landmark speeches including those by Francois Tomalbaye, Chad's first president after independence, and Hissene Habre, a former dictator now awaiting trial for crimes against humanity, have all been destroyed.
"Certain Chadian artists who are dead, left an important cultural heritage. I don't know how we can get this back again. It's difficult, we've lost a lot, but more than anything it's the memories of the country which are now gone," said broadcast journalist Barribo Talo.
Officials say it will cost more than 6 million US dollars to re-establish RNT. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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