The ‘Voice of Shinkai’: Rock Star status in a box

Story by Sgt. Chris McCullough

Combined Task Force Arrowhead Public Affairs

An ongoing series on the Radio Literacy Program (Part 1 of 3)

 

FOB Lagman, Afghanistan – Shinkai district is an inauspicious place in southern Zabul Province, Afghanistan, where the population lives a humble existence in contrast to western standards. There is no electricity, televisions, computers or internet. The only working telephones in town are a few satellite phones that are available for use by locals who can afford to pay per minute to use them.

The communities here are largely comprised of poor farming families, most of whom are uneducated. Schooling in Shinkai has been nonexistent since the Taliban kidnapped and later murdered several village elders in March 2011. Consequently, the literacy rate here is negligible – most residents cannot read or write – therefore there are no newspapers or magazines.

The outcome is that most residents get their news and information from word of mouth or radio, said Sgt. Kat Klosinski, one of the Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul non-commissioned officers from the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wis.

“It is hoped that the school will reopen soon, but until it does, radio is the only form of education in the area,” Klosinski said.

Recognizing that widespread illiteracy only strengthens the Taliban by allowing them to control the dissemination of knowledge – and therefore power – in Zabul province, and across Afghanistan, the U.S. State Department put into practice a program called the Reading Literacy Program to counter the Taliban and instill in the local populace a desire for education.

“Radio Literacy’s purpose is to … push them (the Afghan people) to demand more education from their government and therefore lead to legitimacy in their government,” said Master Sgt. Joel E. Fix, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Fort Belvoir, Va., who oversaw the Radio Literacy program during 116th IBCT’s deployment to Zabul province.

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An ongoing series on the Radio Literacy Program (Part 2 of 3)

FOB Lagman, Afghanistan – The 432nd Civil Affairs Team began the Radio Literacy Program in Shinkai district with approximately 100 literacy books and 200 radios that were stored at Forward Operating Base Sweeney, Zabul province, Afghanistan. 

The literacy book is an easy-to-follow guide that allows the “students” to follow along on the pages according to the programming on the radio. The Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force partners hand out the literacy books and handheld radios to the local Afghans. The radio allows the villagers to listen to the broadcasted lessons over the airwaves.

“This radio is a hand-crank radio that has a diode in it so it can charge via hand-crank, a solar panel, or can operate off typical AAA batteries,” said Master Sgt. Joel E. Fix, of Fort Belvoir, Va., who oversaw the Radio Literacy program during 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s deployment to Zabul province.

Once in the villages, Atta Muhammad, a 21-year old Afghan who works as the local Radio in a Box disc jockey, took the lead in selling the Radio Literacy Program to the village elders.

“We were going to the villages and we distributed the radios … with the notebooks, with the pens,” said Atta. “I was with them (the soldiers) to distribute the boxes to the people.”

“Our lead DJ, Atta, has been very instrumental in promoting the program,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffery Mader, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wis. “We actually took him out village to village, along with some of the radios and the books and the writing material (and) had him explain the program to the locals, which I think helped a whole lot.”

“Instead of trying to work through translators, we actually had him explain it; showing them the book, when to expect the program, asking the locals what hours they would like to hear the program,” Mader said.

“THE RECEPTION WAS BETTER THAN EXPECTED”

“They (the locals) were actually very receptive to it,” Mader said. “The further east we went, they seemed a little more iffy about the program; but here, closer towards the mountains and the pass and around the FOB, they actually were pretty receptive. A lot of them even talked about incorporating the women, and letting them learn, which was actually quite surprising.”

Hereafter, a 30-minute lesson was played four times every day – except Friday (the Islamic holy day) – at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight.

“We chose those times according to the recommendations of various elders in a couple different villages,” said Sgt. Kat Klosinski, also from the 432nd CAB.

Between scheduled shows – to include the Radio Literacy Program – we broadcast a variety of other programs, said Mader. The topics include local and provincial news, radio interviews from the district governor, the district chief of police, as well as Col. Dost from the Afghan National Army. They also broadcast important information, such as scheduled shuras.

“We would play that on the air for everybody to hear,” Mader said. “(We) also have children’s programs (and) health and wellness issues.”

The Shinkai district PRT detachment also aims to broadcast at least 15 minutes of current news, every four hours, around the clock, beginning at 6 a.m.

“When a scheduled program is not playing, the default will be songs and commercials,” said Klosinski.

According to Klosinski, the Radio in a box broadcasts traditional Pashtu music in the mornings and contemporary music after 4 p.m.

Commercials are 20-second spots that are played a couple times each hour, said Klosinski, they are often a mix of health, education or public safety announcements. Topics such as fire safety, reporting insurgent acts, the importance of education and being kind to others have been a few of the themes previously broadcast.

A PROGRAM IS REBORN

When 432nd CAB arrived at Forward Operating Base Sweeney, in July 2011, the Radio Literacy program was largely undeveloped. The Radio in a Box – a self-contained unit that includes a CD player, an audio-visual jack, a laptop connection and an amplifier – was broadcasting a 90-hour loop of Pashtu music and little more. There was not a disc jockey to broadcast any news or information, that is until two days later when a 21-year old Afghan, by the name of Atta Muhammad, approached 432nd CAB at FOB Sweeney.

“He’d never had a job in his life, but his English was good, his ‘radio voice’ was excellent and he was smart enough to see the difference he could make in Shinkai,” said Klosinski.

“I joined the PRT team to earn some money for my family as well as serve for the poor people of the Shinkai (district),” said Atta. “Everything for me was different; strange to me. That was my first time talking into a microphone.”

With Atta onboard, the PRT at Sweeney set about reviving the Radio Literacy Program.

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An ongoing series on the Radio Literacy Program (Part 3 of 3)

FOB Lagman, Afghanistan – Many radio stations throughout Afghanistan have a call-in show, or an office with a telephone for the public to call and state their opinions to the radio station, said Sgt. Kat Klosinski, a non-commissioned officer from Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wis. The Shinkai district, however, is devoid of phones, so we had to come up with some other means of reaching out to the local populace.

“Atta Muhammad (a 21-year old Afghan who works as the local Radio in a Box disc jockey in Shinkai District) had the excellent idea of creating a box to hang in a populated area where people could write notes for the radio, as phones are non-existent here,” said Klosinski. “We decided to paint an old ammo box blue (and) Atta used a black permanent marker to write in Pashtu, ‘Voice of Shinkai Letter Box.’”

“We hung it on a HESCO (basket) in the bazaar, just outside of the clinic, in front of the District Center, (and) then we held our breaths to see how long it would be until someone destroyed or vandalized (it),” Klosinski said. “To our delight the box still hangs there unaltered in any way.”

“After that, I got the letters about the Literacy Program,” said Atta. “Really, they were very thankful, and they were appreciating my PRT Team … and they were saying that they need this kind of help to provide for our children.”

“The first week we got about 15 letters; then 50; then 120; then too many to keep counting,” said Klosinski.

“Most letters are requests for Atta to find certain songs that people like,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffery Mader, 432nd CAB. “He (Atta) has a live show every evening from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. where he reads the letters and plays the songs. Sometimes people write poems for him to read.”

“Atta actually gets a bunch of ‘hey thank you, you’re awesome, we like hearing your voice’ messages,” said Mader. “He’s kind of reached rock star status out here. Of course that’s a motivator for him to keep doing what he’s doing.’”

Some of the letters even praise the literacy program and ask questions about the lessons.

“A LOT OF IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSONALITY OF THE DJ”

Since its revitalization, the Radio in a Box program in Shinkai has been a success story. The proof is in the populace’s reaction when the local RIAB was off the air in mid-January due to technical problems. The problems have since been resolved.

“We know that this (RIAB) is important to the people in the area, as the last foot patrol into the bazaar had many people asking what the problem was with the radio,” said Klosinski. “Also the letter box that is up in the bazaar was filled with at least 20 letters from people asking what is wrong and requesting we start broadcasting again.”

So what is it about the Shinkai model that has allowed it to thrive and be a model for success for other RIAB programs in Afghanistan?

“A lot of it depends on the personality of the DJs and how willing they are to work,” said Mader. “I think that was (the) key to it being successful here; having a DJ who understood the program (and) is really into it himself. He’s a rather energetic person, he doesn’t mind going out there and talking to the village elders and putting his face out there for people to see.”

Another factor in the success of the Shinkai Radio in a Box program was the decision by the PRT at FOB Sweeney to place the RIAB on the base and allow their deejay to live on the FOB. This ensures the program is not susceptible to Taliban influence.

“It also helps to have the actual DJ station here (and) a secure place for him to live,” added Mader. “Some of the other districts where it’s failed, they were trying to run it out of another location but those people (the DJs) were getting night letters (threatening letters from the Taliban) and decided to quit.”

TRANSITION

The 432nd CAB’s time in Afghanistan is drawing to a close, but their mission is not. Even as they plan to depart for home in a few months, they are working to ensure they leave the people of Shinkai district with the best radio program in Afghanistan.

They are working on a new program that involves interviewing the children, said Klosinski.

“We want people to feel they are a part of the radio, especially in a non-political way, and recording children saying their ideas or answering various questions seemed a great way to do this.”

Such approaches help the people of the Shinkai district develop a relationship with the Radio in a Box and the programs it has to offer, such as the Radio Literacy Program.

“I’m very excited to see that they are eager and willing to learn, because we all know that knowledge is what pushes people to make changes; to (do) better things for themselves,” said Mader. “It’s exciting to see them moving in that direction.”

Perhaps most importantly, the ‘Voice of Shinkai’ is not going anywhere. Both, the RIAB and Atta, have become a fixture in the Shinkai community. The villagers have seen the benefits of the Radio Literacy Program and have embraced the RIAB as their own.

“Atta will still be here, so it will be completely transparent when the new PRT comes in and takes over out here,” said Mader.

Tags: afghan national army, afghanistan, ANA, army, DJ, education, Feature, featured, independence, literacy, nato, nato training mission, NATO Training Mission Afghanistan, NTM-A, radio, Shinkai, soldier

Category: Literacy, News - Afghan National Army, News - General