New station to cater to prisoners
Photo: Reuters
Gaza presents 'Prisoner Radio'
Radio station dedicated to Palestinians detainees to focus on conveying messages from families
Good news for Palestinian prisoners: After several days of trial broadcasts, the "Voice of Prisoners" radio station officially hit the airwaves in the Gaza Strip.
The new radio station is dedicated to Palestinian prisoners, deals with their difficulties, and will focus on maintaining ties between detainees and their relatives, mostly in the Gaza Strip.
The station will also offer regular programming, but will specialize in programs that are especially designated for detainees. The new venture's flagship program will be dedicated to conveying messages from families to their sons in Israeli jails.
One of station's radio personalities is Rafat abu-Khalil, who was imprisoned in Israel for 15 years after being convicted of membership in Islamic Jihad. He says that the programs dedicated to prisoners in existing stations did not meet the growing need for such programming.
"There are thousands of prisoners out there, and a one- or two-hour programs two or three times a week weren't enough," he says. "Some families complained that they attempted for months to contact one of the shows but were unable to do so because of the demand. Hence, we decided that the solution will be a station for prisoners."
Abu-Khalil, who graduated Israel's Open University, said that the station will be managed by professionals and that its messages will be apolitical.
"In the shadow of the current situation, where we see a schism that created two Palestinian entities and two cultures…our station will express a uniting voice…as the issue of prisoners is a uniting rather than divisive matter."
