[grc] Communication from AMARC Asia-Pacific

[Frieda Werden]

For those who are not old-timers, AMARC is the French acronym for the World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.  Started in Montreal around
1982, it grew into a major force for promoting the legalization and
establishment of community radios around the world. Its international
office was shut down a few years ago, followed by the demise of its
website; but some regions still function, Asia-Pacific being the one region
that continues to communicate with North America members.


Dear AMARC members,

Firstly, on behalf of our President Ram Bhat, all board members and staff
of AMARC Asia-Pacific regional office, I wish to convey my warm greetings
to you and your family members!

The world is passing through a difficult time. Our lifestyle and
livelihoods are at risk. Our family members and friends are worried sick
for each other. Despite such exceptional challenges, I feel proud of the
fact that you have risked your well-being for the service of your
communities. Sisters and brothers in community radios across the
Asia-Pacific region are working hard to inform, reassure and support
communities. I am personally in touch with community broadcasters in
Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, the
Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste and other countries and am
heartened to know that community radios continue to actively work in the
frontline!

Our members tell us that they want to do more but there are difficulties
and that is understandable. We have no prior experience of dealing with a
situation like this. We are also facing consequences of COVID-19 in our
social and professional lives. Amidst all this, please make sure that the
safety of your colleagues at the station is accorded a high priority.
Please follow all possible precautions related to sanitation and health.

Providing reliable and factual information is important. We need to be
careful not to sensationalize or downplay. Your presence on air can make
all the difference in assuaging community members and help them fight the
fear!

It is also important to remember that women, pregnant women, senior
citizens, persons with disabilities, refugees and migrants, those involved
in the informal economy, those with inadequate social services, those
lacking other sources of information and those with limited capacity to
cope and adapt are the more vulnerable ones and we must specially take care
of them.

In AMARC, we too are trying to figure out how best to deal with the current
conditions. The Regional Office is trying to maintain contact with national
associations to find out the specific conditions at country levels. Across
the region, our governments have not thought about working with community
radios. Community radios are among the most effective mode of emergency
communication and community engagement. AMARC and national associations of
community radios can try and make our governments understand this fact.

In this regard, I would like to request you to let me know (here in FB or
by email) how you are affected as a station by the current situation and if
you have applied any counter measures. We will use this information to
strategize for putting in place a larger support net for community radio
stations.

We will keep in touch!

In solidarity and with warm regards, Suman Basnet.
(email: sumanbasnet at amarc-ap.org)
-- 
Frieda Werden, Series Producer
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org