Since the new year began, a growing group of journalists, producers, and musicians have begun broadcasting from the Calais “Jungle” refugee camp.
Amidst ever-more permanent settlements—converted shipping containers, sturdier wooden shacks, a main street with shops and a nightclub—some refugees in Calais have started Jungala Radio, bringing news and music from the makeshift streets of the Jungle to the internet.
Only a handful of shows are available so far, from the “Hope Show” to a news program about the bulldozers clearing out old, flimsy tents to push people into the outfitted containers to a music show curated by a Syrian named Hashemi, but budding and experienced journalists are conducting interviews and writing stories for more programs.
“I’m trying to find the voice and the feelings of the refugees,” he told AFP. “I want to share what is happening here with the whole world.”
That includes musical performances from the Bonne Chance Theatre, a makeshift geodesic dome where everything from circus acts to kung fu lessons to dancing has passed through. Hashemi’s first episode features a performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” there.
You can find Jungala Radio on Facebook and Soundcloud.
Featured image: Stock Photos from Michel Spekkers/Shutterstock