On the air since the first week of August, Hawwa radio station in Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip aims to become the voice of Palestinian refugees, and women in particular. It is the product of years of preparation, efforts to find funds and volunteer work.
“I first had the idea to start a radio station in 2011, but it took me until 2013 to find the financial means to start online broadcasts,” Bahaa Abed, Hawwa’s director, told Al-Monitor. He had no money to pay for an FM broadcast band so he used the internet. Abed saved until he could afford headquarters and equipment, and since Aug. 5, the radio station broadcasts both online and on the air.