Local radio station uses airwaves to fight extremism in northern Syria
A local radio station in Qamishli, in northern Syria, is helping the community overcome the suffering they endured under Islamic State rule, while trying at the same time to prevent youths from drifting into extremism.
QAMISHLI, Syria — In a tiny room on the fourth floor of an unplastered brick house, Gandy Khalidee talks to his listeners over the airwaves in Syria’s northeastern city of Qamishli.
“Three, two, one — on air,” said Khalidee, the presenter of radio station Voice of Nas (Voice of Knowledge in Kurdish; Voice of the People in Arabic), also known as Von FM. “Did you support the national team during the last soccer match against Iran?”
Khalidee was referring to the controversial match Sept. 5 where Syria scored the tying goal in the 93rd minute, advancing Syria's team into a playoff that could lead to a berth in the 2018 World Cup. The last-minute goal gave Syrians a reason to celebrate amid a six-year civil war that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead. (Syria, however, later lost the playoff series to Australia.)
“Is it possible to have a national reconciliation? This is the topic for today. Call or write us on social media,” Khalidee continued.
