Introduction

This final chapter brings together the various threads in this book. It builds on empowerment theories already discussed and intertwines them with concepts of trauma, emotional labour, moral injury, emotions and affect, and affective proximity by examining humanitarian radio journalism broadcast among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burkina Faso and the provision of practical responses to their needs. It considers how women journalists at Studio Yafa cover the plight of women IDPs in Burkina Faso and the strategies they have used for the IDP women to gain a voice but also be listened to, all the while supported by a Western media development (radio) organisation and its funders.

It first discusses the problems faced by women examined in previous chapters but now in extreme situations. It then examines how women journalists, by being both women and journalists, navigate social structures to gain access to and responses from IDP women (Fröhlich, 2016; Orgeret, 2016). It finally investigates the approaches taken by a media development NGO radio studio to best communicate with their IDP listeners but also advocate on their behalf. The chapter foregrounds radio’s key attributes regarding accessibility through the many platforms made available to IDP communities. Given the context, the concept of empowerment here focuses more on survival, mental health, and trauma but also on the need to protect and care for family, hopes for education, and life in a new, potentially hostile, environment.

The chapter centres on a new series of 30-minute weekly broadcasts, called Faso Yafa, which was launched by Studio Yafa in Burkina Faso in October 2021, with the collaboration of, and funding from, UNHCR. The aim of the new series was to contribute to increasing the accessibility and reach of radio journalism within and from marginalised and isolated IDP and host communities. Studio Yafa broadcasts its general information programmes via radio partners throughout the country, and for Faso Yafa, it transmits via local community radio partners and loudspeakers in regions with high IDP populations. To report in and about these areas and populations, and not just to them, Studio Yafa’s journalists needed access to these regions, and journalists in the regions needed access to a route to get their information out. Studio Yafa set up a group of 45 individuals, named ‘correspondents’, the majority being young women, with whom they had worked previously in a project with the same target audience but providing information about COVID-19 (Fondation Hirondelle, 2022). They also created a series of ‘points focaux’ [focal points], similar to listening groups, to provide regular feedback on the IDP-related broadcasts to Studio Yafa. The correspondents, who were not trained journalists, received basic training in interviewing and recording techniques and in community engagement and worked with a new team of humanitarian journalists based at the studio in the capital, Ouagadougou. The chapter, therefore, examines how radio as a structure can empower women, how the topics broadcast by the humanitarian team of journalists are vital for raising awareness, and how the psychological impact of reporting on these topics on journalists, and, therefore, on their output, must be considered.

Context

Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries (UNDP, 2020) and is predominantly rural and agricultural. The combination of poverty, climate change, inter-community tensions, and a weak government has exacerbated the deteriorating security situation. According to the Council for Emergency Relief and Recovery (CONASUR), the government agency that collects data on displacement, the number of internally displaced persons in Burkina Faso totalled 1,850,293 on 31 March 2022, representing almost 10% of the country’s population (CONASUR, 2022), the majority being children and women. However, the disaggregated figures remain vague, as the population is constantly changing. There are an additional 20,000 Malian refugees that Burkina Faso has hosted since 2012 following the uprising there (Beogo et al., 2018; UNHCR, 2020). These migrant communities face immense challenges, such as lack of food, shelter, water, sanitation, school closures, and gender-based violence, all of which have been worsened by COVID-19. Furthermore, the provision of aid to IDP communities has been severely hampered by the security situation and the pandemic. Funding has steadily decreased, and humanitarian agencies have reduced access to affected communities, as they themselves are directly threatened, must avoid IEDs, and face government restrictions on movement and vehicles (Murphy, 2020). Extremist violence has been attributed to three main groups in the region: Islamic State in the Greater Sahel; Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims; and Ansarouls Islam. There are also self-defence militia groups (Leclercq & Matagne, 2020) and government and international forces. In January 2020, the government introduced laws to train and arm civilian volunteers, Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP, Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie), to fight jihadist groups (Mednick, 2021), but the weapons were not delivered, and the volunteers became both perpetrators and victims of violence. In October 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who took power following the previous month’s coup d’état, initiated a campaign to recruit an additional 50,000 volunteers (AFP, 2022). This, in turn, has impacted families of volunteers, as humanitarian agencies cannot provide aid to armed persons. The displaced communities are, therefore, trapped between jihadists, self-defence groups, and the state military, all of whom have committed atrocities and furthered internal displacement.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) (2022), women and children, comprising 80% of Burkina Faso’s IDPs, are disproportionately affected. This is because many have been forced to flee their homes following the massacres of husbands and other male relatives or their forcible recruitment into armed groups. This increases the vulnerability of displaced women and girls. They are at increased risk of gender-based violence (Reliefweb, 2022a), and cases of food-for-sex are widespread, including from local community leaders apparently registering people for humanitarian aid (Mednick, 2021). Gender-based violence (GBV) is covered by the legal framework, but survivors rarely pursue legal action because of shame, lack of money, and lack of family support. Furthermore, social norms justify and normalise domestic violence regardless of the security situation and resultant displacement. According to the OECD Development Centre (2018), 34% of the population in Burkina Faso agrees that husbands are justified in beating wives in certain circumstances.

While IDPs feel threatened by their new circumstances, they are also perceived to be a threat by host communities. Many women are now heads of households, resulting in them having to abandon their own education, impacting their futures and foregoing any associated privileges. In this patriarchal society, discriminatory social norms dominate. Women’s freedom of movement is restricted, yet they remain obliged to perform all domestic tasks, including fetching water and firewood at increasing distances from the home. Women and young girls are given these tasks, as they are considered too dangerous for men to carry out because men are more likely targets of terrorist attacks. Women are, therefore, exposed to risks of sexual and physical attacks simply by going beyond the alleged safety of their compounds. They also suffer physical and sexual violence and an increased risk of early and forced marriage to ease families’ financial burdens, and sexual exploitation is widespread (Reliefweb, 2022b). This suffering is exacerbated as these topics remain taboo. It is often considered better for women to remain silent about violence committed against them than face repudiation or rejection from families.

IPDs’ living conditions are desperate, with women and children frequently being forced to beg to make ends meet. Their makeshift shelters are constructed from cardboard and tarpaulins and have no water taps or electricity. Stagnant rainwater forms puddles in and around shelters, spreading diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea. They receive financial, food, and material support from NGOs and social welfare services, yet the influx of displaced persons has meant that aid from humanitarian agencies is far from meeting demand. This is equally applicable to grants for school supplies and fees. To receive state aid, IDPs must also be in a commune where aid is paid or at a site recognised by the authorities. IDPs in the capital are not recognised by the authorities (Douce, 2021), as this has been perceived as a stigma against the authorities for not being able to protect its citizens (Dialma, 2002). IDPs may initially be well accepted by host communities, but pressure on vital resources such as water can be a source of dissension and tension (Fondation Hirondelle concept note 14–15). A recent study showed that according to IDPs, their greatest priority was food aid, followed by financial assistance, security, and long-term resettlement (Yaméogo & Heywood, 2022; Heywood & Yaméogo, 2023). The study identified that IDPs needed information on these topics and wanted it in the form of radio news programmes, debates, and sketches. IDP communities need radio for multiple purposes: to gain recognition for their condition, to feel part of the population, to relay their own information, and to receive information, hear about their home villages, and receive educational broadcasts. As Tudesq (2003) asserted, ‘as an instrument of popular education and social communication in community radio stations, radio is above all a means of rapid information and entertainment’. Therefore, attention must be paid to the information and communication plans and strategies that respond to the specific needs of the various groups of women IDPs, in other words, humanitarian journalism, which can be used to empower listeners but also as advocacy to aid and inform providers.

This chapter builds on existing empowerment theories and discusses them through the lens of humanitarian journalism, which Bunce et al. (2019, p. 3) define, very broadly, as the ‘production of factual accounts about crises and issues that affect human welfare’ and the associated trauma that journalists may suffer because of the tragedy and the consequences of the violence and conflict they cover. Humanitarian journalism has been widely researched but largely with a focus on reports on crises by foreign correspondents or outlets for Global North audiences (see Bunce et al., 2019; Scott et al., 2023). Similarly, associated trauma amongst journalists has been explored from the perspective of Western reporters when covering crisis or conflict abroad for home audiences (Feinstein & Starr, 2015; Feinstein et al., 2002; Osmann et al., 2021; Rentschler, 2009). There is also research into how humanitarian journalism is used for financial ends to ease the suffering of those in crisis or conflict (Chouliaraki, 2013; Franks, 2014; Moke & Ruther, 2015), but again, this targets absent Western audiences. This chapter moves away from this Western-centric reporting and instead examines an example of humanitarian journalism that provides a practical response to practical issues and its twofold approach: first, to inform an audience comprising the survivors of conflict or crisis, rather than distant, or ‘absent’ audiences, by journalists in the same country; and second, to use the information collected by the in-country journalists (the ‘correspondents’) as a source of advocacy to improve the humanitarian outcome of their audiences. The radio broadcasts in this chapter, therefore, target (a) IDP populations and host communities who are very much present and (b) NGOs and aid agencies providing aid to these communities. They are written by journalists from the same country and even from the same affected communities.

The first approach—informing hard-to-reach communities in intervention zones—is critical on many levels, as it reduces isolation, informs rural and urban populations about each other, and provides a link between IDPs and their home villages (Heywood & Yaméogo, 2023; Yaméogo & Heywood, 2022) and between ‘literate and illiterate populations, francophones and speakers of national languages’ (Capitant, 2008: 192). It raises awareness of and potential solutions to certain topics in manners that are specific to IDP communities (social cohesion, shelter, GBV). It can, therefore, provide comfort to listeners in this case and, by providing expert opinion and advice, improve human welfare. This approach also foregrounds the key characteristics of radio that render it such a vital lifeline in the context of IDPs and affected communities, especially its many platforms and transmission methods (via community and commercial radio, through mobiles, Viamo,Footnote 1 solar-powered radio, loudspeakers, for example), increasing the accessibility and reach of broadcasts.

The second approach within humanitarian journalism centres around advocacy. While this has been used when targeting absent Western audiences to encourage financial or material donations and for larger-scale policy changes, it can also constitute information aimed at aid agencies. Relating to the widely accepted approach of ‘adding value’ and ‘amplifying marginalised voices’ as discussed by Krause (2014), it complements the statement by Scott et al. of ‘adopting the role of a constructive watchdog for the aid sector’ (2023: 4). In this case, journalists use examples of situations, ailments, or difficulties encountered during interviews with IDPs to inform NGOs and aid agencies, via their broadcasts, about the prevailing needs among communities, information of which NGOs might not yet be aware. As one journalist on Faso Yafa told me, regarding their target audiences,

As for audiences, yes, there are listeners, but we also target NGOs and associations. Because, for example, if we go and do a report even if it’s on someone in distress or who really needs helps, we tell them clearly that we cannot give them help nor have we come to give them money. But we have come to relay their information, to share what they are going through on a daily basis, so that other NGOs, using their news, can help them better. That’s who our audiences are. So, it’s mainly the displaced, as we’ve already said. But in addition to the displaced, there are also donors, NGOs, and also local associations. Above all, we want to encourage aid at the level of local and community associations. (Personal interview, August 2022)

This case study also reinforces discussions in previous chapters about the relevance and importance of women journalists and their ability to reach populations, particularly in humanitarian reporting, bringing a perspective that men journalists may not be able to do. By gaining access to the ‘private’ space that women traditionally occupy, women journalists are able to provide a human perspective on news stories, allowing women interviewees to speak more openly and broaden the scope of broadcasts. As Orgeret (2016: 357) says, ‘women tend to approach both conflict situations and the world in general from other angles, making space for other topics and other voices’. By approaching news gathering from a more human perspective, women journalists can help empower other women and their communities, raising topics of particular concern to them and giving them the opportunity to raise their visibility in community life and that of their community throughout society (Orgeret, 2016).

Reporting on the extremes of this context affects the journalists themselves. This raises a criticism of humanitarian journalism in that it questions any objectivity journalists can aspire to if the emotional effect on them of the story they are covering is significant, especially if they are personally too close to the topic or region (Glück, 2016; Kotisova, 2017). The psychological affect on Western journalists of covering conflict has been widely analysed, particularly the tension between being a journalist and a ‘human being’ (Andén-Papadopoulos & Pantti, 2013; Deuze, 2005; Kotisova, 2019; Richards & Rees, 2011; Schudson, 2003; Wahl-Jorgensen, 2020). There are fewer discussions regarding local journalists from the same areas as the events they are covering, experiencing the same trauma as those they are reporting on. This is important, as the emotions and the vicarious trauma they experience may also be first-hand trauma.Footnote 2 Questions are, therefore, raised as to whether gaining a voice and providing a voice and ensuring it is heard (which might seem altruistic by the radio studio but is actually serving a purpose for them) can have a negative psychological and emotional impact on journalists.

Al-Ghazzi (2021: 2) talks, in this case, about ‘affective proximity’, which he defines as ‘what locals navigate to reconcile their emotional and embodied entanglement within events in their country and community and a journalism profession that has traditionally been conceived as predicated on distance’. This is particularly relevant here when reporting on sensitive topics, which can trigger trauma among survivors by reliving it, journalists who hear and report it, and the audience who listens to it.

This chapter discusses interviews with women journalists on Faso Yafa working at Studio Yafa. Two rounds of discussions and interviews were held. The first was in person in January 2022 at Studio Yafa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. Group discussions with approximately 10 journalists and representatives from the Studio were held on the broad topic of trauma-sensitive communication and the difficulties of reporting traumatic events and getting survivors to express themselves without retraumatising them. Additional interviews were also held with Fondation Hirondelle’s country representative in Burkina Faso, also based at Studio Yafa. A second round of interviews was held in August 2022. These were held online because the deteriorating security situation in the country prevented travel to Burkina Faso. The key journalists forming the humanitarian journalism team were interviewed, along with the studio’s editor-in-chief and the country representative. In-depth questions were asked during semi-structured interviews about interviewing techniques, humanitarian journalism in comparison with traditional journalism, and the structure and idea behind Studio Faso and its target audiences. The interviews also asked the journalists about their concerns for the young women correspondents working in the intervention zones and experiences of working with them, how they deal with sensitive topics, and how they initiate conversations. It investigates whether the journalists and employers themselves are reconceptualising their profession and whether any psychological or emotional support is in place at Studio Yafa for all the journalists concerned. While it is important to consider journalists’ trauma, action must also be taken to ensure that the seemingly empowering act of ‘giving a voice’, which we have discussed at length, can, in fact, be disempowering. It is only by doing this that empowerment becomes exactly that, rather than a ‘convenience’ for Western NGOs and a convenient way to obtain information. The personal experiences of the journalists provided rich primary qualitative interview data.

An Empowering Structure?

‘Faso Yafa’ is produced by Studio Yafa, Fondation Hirondelle’s radio studio in Burkina Faso, whose ‘journalistic approach is fact-based, and always focused on the interests of the public, which is essential for building trust with the target population often bombarded with biased communications from extremist groups and pro-government sources’ (Fondation Hirondelle Concept Note). As stated above, Faso Yafa has its origins in a larger project run by Studio Yafa and funded by the UNHCR to raise awareness of COVID-19 among IDPs. The COVID-19 project included the production of daily news and messages on the pandemic, radio sketches, weekly entertainment with popular artists, Q&As with a guest radio doctor, and so on. As the numbers of displaced persons continued to grow, Studio Yafa, with further funding from the UNHCR, determined that:

It was absolutely necessary to create something to address this population, which had lost all links with society because they had left their homes in a disaster and arrived in areas they did not necessarily know. The aim of this programme [Faso Yafa] was to respond to a need for information that these people had both about their situation and about the NGOs and local forces that are working on their behalf. (Fondation Hirondelle Concept Note)

With the backing of the then Minister for Communication, Studio Yafa determined that Faso Yafa’s objective would be to ‘contribute to humanitarian assistance to save the lives and restore the dignity of affected communities—especially their most vulnerable members—in Burkina Faso as part of the triple nexus’.Footnote 3 By creating and disseminating practical information programmes, transmitting information relating to the return of IDPs or their permanent settlement in host areas, and implementing activities to reduce gender-based violence, Faso Yafa aimed to link humanitarian NGOs, state structures such as CONASUR, and UN agencies with affected communities. Faso Yafo, broadcast by a media development NGO, therefore, acts as an appropriate example to discuss the central and positive role of radio in promoting social cohesion, bringing together community groups and agencies, providing information to, and raising needs awareness of, listeners who represent a significant and growing section of the population. Broadcasting programmes on displaced persons talking about their life experiences is not a priority for commercial radios, as they do not attract mass audiences or advertising income essential for survival. This task, therefore, falls to public service or NGO broadcasters. The Studio Yafa country representative emphasised the scale of producing what he described as humanitarian broadcasts, going on location, and managing the programmes. Larger commercial radios, such as Savane FM,Footnote 4 would not be prepared to spend resources on production but are, however, prepared to re-broadcast ready-made NGO broadcasts. As Sambrook (2010, in Bunce et al., 2019) stated, ‘humanitarian journalism is rarely profitable. It is very expensive to fund the time-consuming research necessary to explain the complex causes and contexts of humanitarian crises’.

Humanitarian journalism is, therefore, not a commercial endeavour but places the audience at the heart of production. In this case, it means listening attentively to the IDPs and to the host populations, ‘in order to implement interventions based on the participation and inclusion of these two categories of actors’ (Fondation Hirondelle Concept note). It means responding directly to questions raised by vulnerable populations and doing so in a format that ensures that the response has the widest reach. The topic of female genital mutilation (FGM), for example, was first introduced in an edutainmentFootnote 5 sketch, then discussed with a former FGM exciseuse [traditional cutter] in a debate format, with advice from the guest doctor, thus catering for the needs of listeners in both style and content. The humanitarian journalism here ensures that broadcasts are targeted specifically at the IDPs, rather than for monetary ends, which may be the case with mainstream and commercial journalism. It aims to provide a service, promote human welfare among vulnerable populations, and act as their advocate before aid agencies. Thus, the relationship with the listener differs strongly from that of mainstream journalism, and journalists require specific training in humanitarian journalism. The Faso Yafa team had already received significant C4D (communication for development) training as part of their degrees at the Université libre de Burkina Faso and subsequently at Studio Yafa as part of their in-house training, resulting in a different approach from mainstream journalism. Their audience is principally men and women IDPs; however, they acknowledge that, on the ground, the Faso Yafa broadcasts tend to prioritise issues of interest to women and children given that they are most vulnerable among this population. They also target host communities, as promoting social cohesion in fragmented societies is paramount. As stated, funders, NGOs, and local associations are also target audiences, and the needs of affected communities are flagged to them via broadcasts. The journalists distanced themselves from ‘mainstream’ journalism, highlighting their more emotional approach to sourcing information. As one women journalist said,

We pay much more attention to the human being, to the person we are talking to, even in the way we formulate the questions. We are careful not to make them relive the trauma they experienced before. And even when we start, and we see that there is some discomfort. The person doesn’t necessarily want to talk about certain things. We’re not going to insist as we would, for example, for a journalism, or ‘classic’ programme, where we come to look for information or we’re going to put all the means in place to get that information. Here, we pay much more attention to the person, to their feelings and to what they might be feeling. This doesn’t mean that we reduce the richness of the information. (Personal interview, August 2022)

The Programmes

Faso Yafa comprises weekly programmes of 30 minutes each in five languages (French, Mooré, Fulfuldé, Gourmanché, and Dioula). There is an overarching structure with a dedicated running order and timing, with a presenter linking the following sections:

A magazine (2:30) during which the journalists and ‘correspondents’ produce on-the-ground reports that highlight the realities of IDPs’ lives in a given situation or a topic of common interest both on and off IDP sites. This section gives the floor mainly to young IDP men and women, civil society organisations, and experts to provide a solution to certain daily problems.

Momo and Nafou, a two-minute awareness-raising edutainment radio sketch show featuring a male character Momo and a female character Nafou. In conversation, they explain sensitive or taboo situations that IDPs face on a daily basis with humour and in simple words, for example, rape, health issues, planning, shelter, and so on.

Kibar’utile [Useful Information] (2:00) through which Faso Yafa advocates on behalf of IDPs by improving humanitarian actors’ understanding of the needs of youth and women in particular. It also aims to convey the humanitarian needs of IDPs to humanitarian NGOs. NGO representatives working with IDPs talk about the services they provide.

Laafi Kibar’ [Health News] (4:00), during which journalists together with a medical doctor and psychologist dissect topics that allow vulnerable people to become better informed and aware of medicine, latest research, sexuality, psychology, and so on.

Musique Live (5:00) invites artists to discuss their music and give live performances and a message of hope and encouragement to the IDPs. By using local artists, this section provides a connection between radio and listeners, helping the latter identify with the broadcasts. Prior to the escalation of the security crisis, local artists used to go to villages, organise concerts, and mobilise people, but this is no longer possible.

Bonne arrivée (5:00 - fortnightly), during which IDPs and host family members share, in informal settings, their daily challenges of living together but also what each party brings to the other. Upon arrival, most IDPs seek shelter from relatives or friends. However, as returning home is often not an option, their presence is increasingly perceived as a burden in their new environment as already scarce resources are made to stretch further (Jacobs et al., 2020).

Initiatives (5:00–fortnightly). This section highlights positive initiatives implemented by and for IDPs in their new environment. Examples of these are a woman restaurateur who trains young girls to cook to liberate them from sex work; a young choreographer who created shows in town to support his family; and a teacher who welcomed 90 students into his home. These aim to shed a positive light on the activities of IDPs, contributing to better social cohesion and mutual aid between communities.

Grand publique (30:00–monthly). This is an interactive programme on a specific theme aiming to provide realistic and adaptable advice, with the Studio’s guest doctor answering IDPs’ questions.

The weekly programmes cover specific topics, many of which originate from conversations with IDPs and from feedback from the ‘focal points’ or structured listening groups discussed below. Areas for discussions are therefore proposed that might not have been considered by the journalists: ‘depending on the themes, they really open up. They really explain to us what they experience in their daily lives’ (Personal interview, August 2022). By including audience suggestions, a two-way flow of communication between listeners and the studio is created, ensuring that relevant topics and associated advice are broadcast. Such attention to listener needs might not emerge on commercial radio. According to the Faso Yafa journalists, IDPs suggested various areas for discussion:

Well, there are foot sores, for example, or how do I feed my new-born, and things like that. Stopping diseases that are really specific to displaced people. … or urinary infections. I had a lot of questions about that, about urinary infections. It came up again this year, we’d never really thought about that. (Personal interview, August 2022)

These weekly topics are broadcast within Faso Yafa’s overarching theme of ‘added value’ through the promotion of social cohesion, which, according to the IDPs, means living together in harmony, solidarity, mutual aid and the absence of conflict discrimination and stigmatisation (Yaranagore, 2021).

However, logistical hurdles mean that Studio Yafa is reliant, for good or bad, on their multiple radio partners located throughout the country to determine the times at which the broadcasts are aired,Footnote 6 to the extent that, as the country representative of Studio Yafa told me:

We once had a children’s story time section, but they were broadcast at 8 pm. We realised there was no point in having children’s stories going out if the children had already gone to bed. We ended up having to get it brought forward to 5.30 pm and on Saturdays. (Personal interview, August 2022)

Studio Yafa uses multiple platforms to ensure that their broadcasts—Faso Yafa in this case—are heard and responded to by the target audience. It buys airtime from the largest commercial radio stations, such as Savane FM, which already have a large reach, and from its 51 partner local radio stations through whom it reaches 90% of the country. While Studio Yafa remains niche and little known by the population generally, its Faso Yafa programmes for IDPs are widely listened to. However, as they are broadcast via local radios, it is possible that the IDP and host communities do not recognise Studio Yafa itself but instead attribute it to the local radio station they know. Broadcasting via community radio is beneficial because of their combined reach and because each is a ‘proximity’ radio meeting the needs of immediate populations. Ba (2019: 3) describes proximity radio as local operators, whose distribution area is:

the village, the town, the region, a human group linked by the same ethnicity, religion or profession, [ensuring] pluralism, the expression of minority cultures and promote access to those excluded from communication. They also have a development objective in the broadest sense, whether in the economic, social (literacy, education, training, outreach) or cultural fields.

The broadcasts are also circulated on Facebook and on the mobile platform Viamo. Populations outside the affected areas are thus better able to understand the experiences of affected communities. As not all areas with IDP populations are covered by local radios, Studio Yafa provided solar radios and installed loudspeakers or sound systems in certain locations at IPD sites, allowing collective listening sessions to be organised. Many women take part in these community spaces, leading to the kind of empowering initiatives we discussed in Chap. 6. The journalists recalled one group where:

Women who were part of a listening group in Ouahigouya decided to organise themselves, to set up an association and to put in place a network of women. When they listened to the recording, they had lots of ideas, and they decided to set up associations. They’ve succeeded in setting up many income-generating activities. This is such a good result for these women.

Once again, the empowering effect of such groups is evident. Many women participate in this collective work, promoting the ‘power with’ approach we have already encountered. Having listened to recordings of the radio broadcasts, they were prompted to set up income-generating activities, contributing to alleviating some of their collective and individual pressures.

Empowering Recruitment

A range of actors is involved in the production of Faso Yafa, in addition to Studio Yafa and its partner radios. This is designed to be a participatory output rather than top-down and aims to empower IDPs, particularly women and young people. Studio Yafa has an active policy of employing women throughout its structure where possible to empower local women and boost employment and training among them. Indeed, they were proud to have recruited the only woman taxi driver in the country, whom we had the pleasure of getting to know during one of our field trips. As the country representative told me:

If there are two identical profiles—a man and a woman—we will always take the woman. We have had this approach since the beginning of Studio Yafa in 2018. In addition, for this project, no, I do not think there was any more to it than that. However, three female journalists were recruited in October 2021 to start this project. (Personal interview, August 2022)

Was this also to tick funders’ gender equality boxes or do women cover violence and conflict differently from men? Is the journalists’ experience as a woman within the framework of these cultural and professional norms and practices beneficial to both their work and their interviewees and listeners? Do interviewees perceive women journalists as more approachable than men? While the women were recruited on merit, not just because of their gender, it was also recognised that they may be better placed than their male counterparts to gain sensitive information from IDPs. One woman Faso Yafa journalist commented:

It’s easier for us women to broach certain subjects, for example, sexuality or the intimacy of women. I remember there was a report with one woman, who explained her problems but in reality, she didn’t explain the real problem. And it was only in the exchanges I had with her that she really explained. Her real problem was that her husband had abandoned her and that there was no longer any intimacy with him. (Personal interview, August 2022)

The editor-in-chief of Studio Yafa complemented this, saying that it was also easier for women journalists to contact people, as they confide better in women than men. ‘Overall,’ he said, ‘I think we can say that they do better than men’. Without access to female sources, the lives of IDPs, the majority of whom are women in any case, would be represented through a male perspective, significantly skewing realities and providing a narrow interpretation of their many difficulties. Given that these journalists define their role as humanitarian journalists, it would appear even more important for women to work with these communities, ensuring that women are heard and that their opinions are listened to and acted upon. The journalists told me that they are able to find IDP women interviewees to chat to at healthcare or family planning clinics simply because they themselves are women and naturally have access to these sites.

There are always people there who the women IDPs trust, who the whole group trusts. When you identify these people and you go to the group, it’s easier to get access to the displaced people. And so, generally, we work out who, in the community, is most empowered to facilitate access to the displaced people and we talk to those people. We explain to them what we want. And then depending on their answers, depending on the exchanges, we start exchanges in private, they can tell us things and subjects can come out. And we see as we go along how the person answers us; is the person open to answering our questions or is the person somewhat defensive? (Personal interview, August 2022)

The women journalists gain trust through this access and by using a gentle approach. Multiple visits are often required to return to sensitive topics and obtain further information. Those interviewees then direct them to other people for other subjects.

However, the Faso Yafa women journalists, based in the Studio in the capital, do not work alone. Young women ‘correspondents’, or ‘special envoys’ as they were later renamed, were recruited throughout the affected areas. Whilst this recruitment campaign reinforced Studio Yafa’s positive approach towards women employees, it was also a requirement of UNHCR funding, highlighting the influence of investors on practice. The donor’s Policy on Age, Gender and Diversity emphasises the need for participatory methodologies to ‘promote the role of women, men, girls, and boys of all ages and backgrounds as agents of change in their families and communities’ (UNHCR, 2019: 6). As a condition of the funding, the UNHCR requested that the proposal demonstrated the involvement of IDPs and young women IDPs. Rather than simply interviewing women IDPs for reports, which would comply with the requirements, Studio Yafa proposed the active involvement of these young women in data collection instead. The recruitment criteria were that the young women had to be between 18 and 35, be able to read and speak French and have the secondary school education of a 15-year-old. Having received training locally in Kaya and Ouahigouya in basic interviewing techniques and been given mobiles and recorders, the young women were tasked with collecting information from the affected areas on particular themes, for example, the military junta or the transitional government, and sending it to the team in the capital to be converted into that week’s programme. They received financial support of 20,000 CFA per month (approximately £25), a considerable amount given that many families, having had to abandon their crops and cattle when they fled, only have one small meal a day to ensure that their children have two (Norwegian Refugee Council, 2022). They also received phone credit.

Like the women mentioned in Chap. 6 from the Radio Scout listening associations, the small income was an empowering opportunity for these young women. One, for example, managed to purchase some sheep and now has a small flock. One makes bags to sell, and another has paid for her own schooling. Another, who fled her home village having seen her parents massacred, is now working for a large international humanitarian NGO as a representative of vulnerable people in the field of education doing regular international Zoom meetings. These young women said (document provided during personal interview):

Correspondent 1::

Before I was taken on as a correspondent on this project, I worked Saturday and Sunday shifts and earned 1500 or 2000 francs a day, which I saved to pay my school fees. With this project, with the money we were given, I paid for documents and part of my school fees.

Correspondent 2::

Being a correspondent gives me money, which I also use to help my parents pay for millet and other family expenses. The project has given me tools such as a telephone and a Dictaphone that allow me to do the work that I am asked to do.

Correspondent 3::

I used this money to pay my school fees, to pay for my bike and to give to my parents to take care of my brothers. I have a small business, so I sell soap and I am still selling it now.

Despite encountering numerous logistical difficulties with this part of the project, such as the challenge in contacting the correspondents because of poor connectivity or the availability of young women, the structural composition of this radio project has triggered life changes with empowerment effects rippling through communities. Procedures are being modified to optimise this resource, and additional recruits will be sought to increase the numbers to 65, some of whom will be men.

‘Focal points’, later renamed ‘community relays’, or a form of listening group, were also created as part of the Faso Yafa structure. The aim of these focal points was primarily to collect listener feedback, using Kobo Collect,Footnote 7 to be sent to the in-studio journalists for them to respond accordingly. As a social and sociable medium (Yaméogo & Heywood, 2022), the broadcasting of radio programmes to collective listening groups also brought together communities splintered because of intracommunity tensions. Those organising each focal point were tasked with running the sessions, ensuring that the programmes were listened to via radio loudspeakers, and collecting and sending feedback. If the feedback was related to humanitarian responses, Studio Yafa directed this information to OCHA,Footnote 8 who, in turn, circulated it around the appropriate UN clusters to improve the humanitarian response. Bringing people together for collective radio listening in this way can promote social cohesions in areas where intra-community tension is extensive. The association mentioned above, called Zembaaba, meaning ‘understanding’ or ‘cohesion’, created by the focal points in Ouahigouya, materialised after an argument between two displaced women while listening to a broadcast at their site. The women suggested organising occasional gatherings to discuss activities that could further unite them, encourage people to accept one another, and facilitate living together in their new environment despite possibly coming from different backgrounds. Supported by the men, this association is now registered and has more than 200 members and has already carried out clean-up activities at farms and in Youba, in Ouahigouya. Activities such as these, where IDPs have been easily able to express their expectations and share their experiences, have created frameworks for exchange between vulnerable populations and experts in the field of social cohesion and living together. Faso Yafa is, therefore, a community endeavour seeking information from IDPs not only to give them a voice but also to communicate up-to-date information to NGOs and to provide information about NGOs to IDPs. Radio in this case is thus providing a two-way channel for communication.

However, reporting such stories, from such conditions, can take its toll and the impact of this must not be side-lined. The role of the journalist in conflict situations, whether covering bombs and explosions or the aftermath of those events, as in this case, can be traumatic. It can be at this point that the empowering and positive attitude of Studio Yafa towards women, be they journalists or interviewees, can be undone, retraumatising survivors or acting as stressors for both the journalists and the audience. Whilst it may indeed be the case that women might be better suited to deal with ‘emotional’ reports and that being sent to cover ‘women-related’ topics can give women journalists opportunities to gain employment, it also highlights the widespread discrimination they face; many stated that they are prevented from doing certain reports on more mainstream topics or presenting certain programmes simply because they were women. As a result, they may, therefore, be subject to trauma associated with reporting on emotional topics or to Al-Ghazzi’s affective proximity (2021: 2) in which ‘local media practitioners feel it as a circumstantial burden placed on them to narrate a news story, within which they are participants’. Many of the very sensitive topics, such as rape or other forms of GBV, FGM, child marriage, and child abuse, which are exacerbated within the IDP context, are not easily discussed in broadcasts because of their taboo nature. They are, therefore, often introduced within the framework of the sketch shows, as the characters are fictional and therefore distanced from reality. Nonetheless, information has to be gathered. Many women journalists throughout these projects have spoken of the difficulties they face when reporting on the IDPs’ experiences:

It’s a job that is really demanding and very depressing. I can’t say that in the 10 years I’ve been in the job that I haven’t been depressed sometimes. Often, we’ve even called in a psychologist to help me because it’s often not easy. The problem is, is that there’s the whole social thing too. You come across people with social problems, and you really have sleepless nights. (Personal interview, August 2022)

Another told me, at length, that.

Often, at the beginning at least, I used to suffer a lot. It’s been difficult to maintain distance when you’re reporting. There was a girl I interviewed once who had dropped out of school because the radicals massacred her teacher right in front of her very eyes. She ended up with no trust at all in school, and she wanted absolutely nothing more to do with it, and they moved to Ouagadougou. I must admit that this story made my heart beat faster for days on end. But at the moment, we’re trying to keep our distance. In Kaya,Footnote 9 we saw displaced women who only had thin skirts; in the cold, they didn’t have a toilet or a respectable place to wash, shower or relieve themselves in private. They didn’t have their things; their dignity was violated. And when you see that on the ground, it really hits you hard. It’s difficult to keep a distance from these women. I remember that day, we even contributed to give them something. (Personal Interview, August 2022)

Many of the Faso Yafa journalists demonstrate attempts to separate their role as journalists from that as persons. They would state to their interviewees that there were there to tell their story, pass on information about IDPs’ needs and suffering, but not provide money or solutions themselves. By passing on that information, they act as the IDPs’ voice, in turn, ensuring that it is heard and acted on by NGOs or those in authority. They felt that this was the purpose behind their role. However, as shown above, this was not always easy. Their very inability to act or respond compassionately by providing immediate direct help could be considered traumatic (Osofsky et al., 2005; Osmann et al., 2021). Women journalists from other media organisations agreed:

Often, you’d say to yourself that if you had the means, rather than writing, you’d call on the authorities to intervene on behalf of the person. It would be better to help the person directly and relieve their suffering. So often these are situations that we experience on the ground and that makes an impression on us. (Woman journalist at Sidwaya, the French-language newspaper in Burkina Faso, personal interview, August 2022)

Although, in 2022, no formal trauma policies had been drawn up by Fondation Hirondelle for its studios, Studio Yafa, possibly by virtue of being a Western-run organisation, recognised the danger of journalism trauma and set up a psychological support service should the journalists ever need to talk because of the distressing and shocking stories they are confronted with. The country representative explained why this was necessary:

When a woman tells you [ the journalist] how she was raped and how each of the extremists would put a KolaFootnote 10 nut next to the woman he intended to rape that night, how some women would end up with 4 or 5 Kola nuts next to her…and how others tell you that they smeared themselves with excrement to avoid being raped. So, they [the journalists] hear this. You see their reports, it’s very, very, very hard. We need to support them. (Personal interview, August 2022)

However, this journalism is being conducted in a context where mental health is insufficiently recognised and poorly supported. Socially constructed, mental illness is a taboo subject that attracts stigma in much of Africa (Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, 2013). According to the WHO, African states allocate an average of ‘$0.46 per capita to health care, well below the $2 per capita recommended for low-income countries’ (Reliefweb, 2022a). This under-investment, compounded by multiple crises throughout Africa, has resulted in Africa recording the highest rate of deaths by suicide in the world (Barthet, 2022). Talking openly about trauma resulting from listening to others’ trauma is therefore culturally challenging. The Faso Yafa women journalists have devised their own low-level strategies to deal with this. They spoke of simply talking with colleagues and sharing their stories. They discuss their feelings and try to encourage one another to try and keep on top of painful emotions. Thus far, they said that they had not resorted to the psychological services offered by the Studio but knowing that they are available is reassuring: ‘For the moment, we haven’t had to use this resource. But if the need arises, we wouldn’t hesitate’ (Personal interview, August 2022).Footnote 11

It is not only the trauma affecting journalists that must be considered. The women and girls telling the stories to the journalists relive their experiences, potentially retraumatising themselves. It is at this point that the process of giving a voice to IDPs can be disempowering through repeating their trauma. However, given that information about the IDPs’ needs must be heard either to condemn the perpetrators or to discuss coping strategies for other similar survivors or to pass on this information to NGOs and other aid associations, the women journalists recognise that particular techniques are needed when questioning individuals, using approaches that distinguish this (humanitarian) journalism from more mainstream journalism. In addition to choosing words carefully and using techniques learnt from their training, the journalists mentioned one occasion in particular in Kaya when they organised an in-person broadcast for the general public. The studio’s guest medical doctor and a psychologist went to Kaya with the aim of discussing with IDPs the psychological problems and trauma they were experiencing, and this would form part of a question-and-answer style broadcast.

The idea was that they could ask their questions whilst remaining anonymous, so as not to have to identify themselves, because often they don’t necessarily talk to each other about what they’ve been through. This would allow them to be more frank, whilst also keeping their privacy and getting answers to their questions. We gave them pieces of paper so they could write down their questions. But afterwards, those who were comfortable speaking openly, could do so. But those who had questions but did not want us to know that these questions came from them, could write them down. And afterwards, the doctor and the psychologist would pick from these questions, answer them, and provide coping strategies.

Many of the young women who participated stated that this process provided them with significant emotional release. Whilst this one-off solution does not go as far as longer-term expressive writing or writing-for-healing techniques (Wilhelm & Crawford, 2018), many were able, for the first time, to talk about what had happened to them, even if in writing. Experiences that could not be expressed orally because of trauma and local social constraints were given a voice through writing. Survivors were also then able to hear other survivors’ similar experiences in the broadcasts, reducing feelings of isolation and possible stigmatisation, and receive advice. Because their experiences were discussed on radio—a trusted information source—within their community, they felt their experiences were being acknowledged as real. The ‘writers’ were able to determine what they wrote, how, and maintained authorship over their lives in an empowering way. They were thus able to attain an element of control of their experiences and emotions while obtaining official and recognised support via radio.

Although the interviewed women did talk about their experiences and used the journalists to channel their information, this was not the case for men. This brings us back to the issue of hegemonic masculinities discussed in Chap. 4 and highlights the challenges associated with storing up potential social and psychological difficulties for the future through the reluctance to, or fear of, disclosing one’s stressors (Barry & Mizrahi, 2005). The social constraints of their male role, which include suppressing emotions, are significant among male IDPs. Despite the negative consequences discussed in literature (for example Smyth et al., 2012) of not disclosing their experiences, the men were expected to ‘remain strong, and not display any weaknesses’ (editor-in-chief, personal interview, August 2022). According to the Faso Yafa journalists, male IDPs had greater difficulty talking about their problems, especially intimate ones. They may discuss their living and hygiene conditions; for example, one IDP mentioned having no toilets, but rarely do they discuss psychological problems. The social context is such that ‘men must really stay dignified, strong, and not talk about their emotions’ (editor-in-chief, personal interview 2022). This was the case whether the men were talking to men or women journalists. Despite it being a trusted medium with journalists who are also trusted, the opportunities radio presents to IDPs to talk about the extreme difficulties they are suffering can appear limited not only by the fear of revisiting trauma but also by gender. It may be empowering for women, but in this case, social norms act to disempower men, suggesting the on-going need to include an analysis of men and masculinities when discussing trauma and journalism (Orgeret, 2018: 350).

Conclusion

Examining the gendered recruitment policy of Studio Yafa, reinforced by donor demands, the chapter showed how radio as a structure can empower women through employment (power to) but also give them the autonomy to work for themselves and within a group (power with). Women journalists, because they are both women and journalists, were able to navigate social structures to gain access to and responses from (women) IDPs. As news-making may be difficult without appearing to be a threat to host communities, the journalists also worked with young women correspondents in the field to ensure that women IDPs’ voices were listened to and acted upon. Drawing on previous discussions, the chapter emphasises the concept of voice and provides a good example of action leading to multiple levels of voice throughout communities being heard, leading to empowerment. However, the reporting in this case was humanitarian journalism, which differed significantly from mainstream or traditional journalism. The Faso Yafa journalists appeared to be reconceptualising their own profession, recognising the need for tailored training and support.

Attention is given to the individual, their suffering and experiences and relevant radio broadcasts with life-improving advice are aired in sensitive ways in response, and information is communicated to aid agencies and authorities. A clear principle of two-way flow of communication, based on listener requirements, which is essential for humanitarian journalism and advocacy, was created. Through their own listening, the women journalists contributed to the social construction of public problems by giving women (and men) IDPs a space for taboo topics to be discussed and acknowledged.

Trauma suffered by journalists and interviewees was also discussed, as was how it might be approached personally and in broadcasts. As one journalist said, it is not simply a case of getting a story: ‘Often things are very, very, very heavy to bear for the journalist. On top of that, there’s the family. If you want to deal with the family, there’ll be children. There is also society that often wrongly judges journalists, especially women journalists. So especially women journalists are often viewed very badly by society’ (Interview, September 2022).Footnote 12

Despite the many positive structural qualities of Faso Yafa, there are nonetheless certain points that must be considered. Trauma experienced in the field is not limited to women, although they form the majority of the IDPs, and it is necessary to be mindful of men and masculinities in analyses. It is also important not to focus just on the priorities of the Global North and its worldview when analysing humanitarian reporting (Bunce et al., 2019). Nonetheless, Faso Yafa illustrates how well-run media are able to highlight the views and perspectives of affected communities with regard to the delivery of humanitarian assistance.