Radio C - Rain in the Desert
By Silvester Varga, Budapest




"Jukel ("hello," in Roma), brothers, your show is OK, let God bless all Gypsies," this is what a delighted listener wrote to Radio C, the only Roma radio station in Hungary. Another letter, signed by Mari, Szilvi and Csilla, said the station's employees were kings, and the girls insisted they wanted to meet them personally.

Radio C is probably the only Roma radio station in Europe broadcasting around the clock. It reaches Budapest and its surroundings. Roma living in the city adore it and consider those working for it heroes of the community. The "C" in the station's name stands for gypsy (the Hungarian equivalent), which in Hungarian does not have the derogatory meaning common to many other languages.

Radio C is located on Lujza Street, which Budapest Roma call the "Gypsy District." The street is only two subway stops away from Vaci Street, the city's pedestrian zone and a favorite stop for tourists visiting Budapest. Foreigners as a rule do not enter Lujza Street, but there are many Chinese and Eastern Europeans selling goods at Joszevaros Market near the train station.

After the station began broadcasting, Hungary was praised by various international organizations even though the state has almost nothing to do with it. The station's chief editor Kerenyi Gyergy, 40, says the former Viktor Orban cabinet used to cite the station as an example of positive change in every one of its reports, and that the new cabinet will do the same.

"We are a handy and almost costless opportunity for political window dressing. It is far simpler to issue a broadcasting permit and approve small grants to Radio C than prepare a serious strategy for improving the position of Roma in Hungary," Kerenyi says. However, he agrees with Hungarian sociologists that the founding of the station meant a lot in emancipating Roma, and a step forward in ensuring their equality.

Yet the road was not an easy one for the station's founders. In 1999 the State Radio and TV Council announced it was granting four broadcasting frequencies in the Budapest area. A group of citizens, led by Nobel Prize winner Biro Andras, urged that a Roma radio station be allowed to go on the air. The request was rejected, but in the fall of 2000 a new opportunity arose. At the beginning of March 2001, the Radio C project was finally accepted, and began broadcasting on Oct. 8, 2001.

According to the 2001 census, about 190,000 Roma live in Hungary, but many experts and Roma associations claim that this is not nearly true. They say there are about 500,000 Roma altogether, 100,000 of whom reside in Budapest.

According to the latest survey by Szonda Ipszosz, as many as 60 percent of Budapest Roma listen to music on the station, whereas 30-40 percent listen to other programs dedicated to employment, health care or sports.

"This is more than just working in the media; we have a great responsibility. Roma now have their own station and they no longer have to beg for 20-minute shows elsewhere. Who knows better than they do what they need, what they love, and how to make a good show," says Kerenyi.

About 80 percent of the station's collaborators are Roma themselves. Technicians Veres Krisztian and Baranyi Sandor, both 35, proudly show us around the two studios. The station is well equipped, it uses digital technology, and everything is wired to the computer system. All programs are archived on CD and in case someone complains.

Radio C has some 20 journalists who are new to the profession. They were trained by British and French media experts. Young reporter Belenyi Bela says Roma feel Radio C is their station and that all the staff are in daily contact with their listeners who not only phone regularly, but often call on their Lujza Street office as well.

"You can hardly see a Roma as an anchorman or a program host. Therefore, it is not hard for them to identify with our station," says Belenyi. Music requests, by far the most popular show, airs daily in the evening hours. Roma request songs they would like to hear or use music to send messages to relatives and friends.

Belenyi says that over the past year he had heard all sorts of messages. Recently one Boka Szilvia asked for a song called "I Am Still Waiting for You" to be played for Orgovan Vilos, serving a prison term in the town of Marianosztra. The message was: "I am waiting, together with your son."

Listeners frequently visit Radio C in person. "Now we too have a radio station. We have something to listen to. They are the only ones saying the whole truth about us and we can listen to our music all day long. We even have somebody to complain to. We know they will not hide our problems," says Veres Bela, 17, who came to see the station. After having a look at the equipment with surprise, he leaves.

But not everybody is delighted that the station exists. "Dirty Gypsies, you gang of dirty thieves, your station is disgusting," says a rare message of hatred. The staff say they do not respond to such provocations. There have been no serious attacks on the station.

Most of the shows are still in Hungarian, because surveys show that 75 to 80 percent of Hungarian Roma speak only that language. Journalists say they would like at least news programs to be broadcast in Romany, as well as in its Valachian dialect.

Chief editor Kerenyi is not Roma. When asked what the Roma think about a non-Roma heading their radio station he says it would be best to have a Roma in that position. Kerenyi says he was no stranger to Roma, because before taking over he dealt with Roma issues for 10 years. He never had any problems with either the employees or listeners.

The employees confirm this, and say that what counts is that Kerenyi is a professional who taught them a great deal. Kerenyi stresses that he would like Radio C to remain a national station, free from the influence of political parties or Roma associations. He adds that it should be open to all relevant Roma representatives.

Radio C is a non-profit organization. After three years, Kerenyi would like to see it earn one-half of its income in the market. According to him, this is no easy task, because of the wall existing between the marketing policies of Hungarian companies and the Roma.

"Companies should see Roma as consumers, as was the case with Afro-Americans in the U.S. in the 1970s. Today, almost every single Roma uses a cell phone. Why then should there not be a commercial showing a Roma standing beside a shining BMW?" asks Kerenyi.

According to him, Radio C would still need subsidies and foreign donations to cover the other half. Last year the biggest donor was the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute, but the Dutch and French embassies also helped. Radio C lacks a stable source of income, and this is why salaries are two months late. In this, if in nothing else, they are equal to their colleagues in other parts of the region.

(BETA)