Haitian-Americans Turn to Community Radio Stations for Comfort, Information
By Kathy Ehrich Dowd | Thursday, January 14, 2010 12:09 PM ET
The stations are broadcast on a special frequency known as SCA, which can be heard only with special $50 radios that pick up the small frequencies.
Much has been made of how social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have been used to share vital information about Haiti quickly. But many Haitian-Americans, especially folks living in the New York City area, are relying on a different type of media to try and receive the latest news about the disaster and desperately gather information about their loved ones: community radio stations.
According to the New York Daily News, thousands of New Yorkers are tuning into so-called "pirate" radio stations that have been running continuously since Tuesday's devastating quake.
Haven't heard the stations on your local dial? That's because the stations are broadcast on a special frequency known as SCA, which can be heard only with special $50 radios that pick up the small frequencies.
Radio Panou 101.9 out of Flatbush, Brooklyn — where many Haitian-Americans live — is one such station that has been broadcasting nonstop since the 7.0 magnitude quake. They are staying in close contact with their sister station in Haiti and providing some of the most detailed, and personal, information about the devastation — and fielding calls from folks desperate for word from loved ones.
"My mother, I don't hear nothing at all. She is 78 years old," Shirley Diop of Harlem said during a call to Radio Panou Wednesday. "I am hoping someone can help me hear from her. It is very sad. My only hope to hear from her is the radio."
Radio Eclair 88.9 in West Hempstead on Long Island has had some success getting word to worried relatives outside Haiti. Station owner Acelus Etienne said he was desperate to know whether his parents were OK, and was panicked until a caller phoned in to say he heard from someone who saw them alive.
"Lucky for me, somebody told me they saw my parents and they're OK, and that gives me some relief," he said.
Not all callers have been so fortunate, but it's clear these radio stations at least provide a place for people to get informed, grieve and get through the unimaginable tragedy, together.
Photo courtesy of cinezi via stock.xchang.
Category: Americas, Regional/Local, US, World
Company: New York Daily News
Place: Haiti
Subject: Radio
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