“We recorded programs on CDs and distributed them, or on old cassettes and gave them to minibus drivers. There was music, we had guests, and we did all this because we believed in it,” — this is how the director of community Radio Marneuli, Kamilla Mamedova, recalls their first steps.
We spoke with Kamilla about the obstacles, achievements, struggles, victories, and the path that the Radio Marneuli team has traveled. We talked about the media, which years ago set a goal to fight for the rights of people and improve their lives in a region populated by ethnic minorities — where Azerbaijanis, Georgians, and Armenians live together. We also discussed the role of community media and the consequences that we may face if it disappears.
Dial-up Internet and Two Computers
It all started in 2004, when the definition of community radio first appeared in the Georgian legal space and broadcasting in this form became possible. Two years later, the idea of creating Community Radio Marneuli was born. The BBC World Service Trust and the Georgian non-governmental organization “Studio RE” laid the foundation for two community radio stations in Marneuli and Ninotsminda in June 2006 — the main donor was the European Union. Kamilla recalls that this was one of the first major EU funding grants for media development in Georgia.
It was from that time that Radio Marneuli became the first to actively take care not only of informing the local population, but also of covering the interests, concerns, and problems of ethnic minorities, and became the voice of those people who, as a rule, remained outside the mainstream media agenda.
“The main idea was to get people who live on the same street, in the same city, in the same village to get to know each other. Maybe they have common themes and maybe they have common problems, and we can collectively solve problems by discussing and talking about these issues, making them public.”
They encountered many difficulties along the way. One of the main ones was the lack of necessary equipment — Kamilla recalls that they only had two computers and dial-up internet [an internet connection that required dialing up a phone; it worked slowly and with glitches]. She says that at that time it was difficult to even think about creating a website.
“At the very beginning, when only two organizations in Marneuli had internet access, one of which was the Marneuli Municipality and the other was Radio Marneuli, with two computers and Dial-Up internet, it was very difficult to think about creating a website.”
She tells us that Radio Marneuli had been trying to obtain a broadcasting license for 10 years: “We came across the fact that, as it turned out, the government at the time did not want free, independent media in an ethnic minority settlement. […] Unfortunately, we were unable to continue at that time, because no one wanted to fund an organization that was called a radio, but did not have a broadcasting license and did not have internet.”
“I remember one of the solutions for us was to install very large speakers on a tree in a teahouse and take them out of the studio, because the place where men gathered was a teahouse in Marneuli. There was a newly renovated park and we installed them in the park. It was very noisy, but we were on the air live and these men who were drinking tea would start listening. But when it was raining, we would tell stories to the rain, because no one was outside.”
The license was obtained in 2015. At that time, the Georgian Dream had not been in power for very long, and as Kamilla notes, at that time there was an opinion that the situation was changing in favor of free media. Therefore, they decided to try again. Achieving the goal was not easy this time either — they realized that the new government did not want the radio to get a license either. As a result of a lot of hard work, with the support of the British Embassy and the Open Society Foundation, they assembled a new team and resumed their work.
Working in Information Isolation and Gaining Trust
Despite numerous obstacles, they were motivated and enthusiastic to reach out to the local population. Kamilla recalls to Aprili Media the early days of their work and how, in conditions of information isolation, they managed to establish communication with citizens and spared no effort to gain their trust.
“During the first so-called voxpops [street surveys], when you go out and ask about different issues, we could see that it was very new, completely different — people are afraid, because they don’t know what it is, whether they can express their own opinion. But you realize that there is potential in these people to speak up, because at least 2 out of 20 answered us, and that was our victory. They kept asking us where our voice would be, and suddenly, you tell them, you know what, we don’t have a license and we can’t do anything, but, here’s the cassette,” recalls Kamilla.
She says that for 6 years, they had to wait for citizens to leave comments on their Facebook page — the reason was Radio Marneuli’s boldness and the fear associated with it. Citizens thought that this might reflect badly on them. She says that during the recordings, most of the respondents tried not to make their names public.
“For example, we had a radio broadcast and my phone wouldn’t stop, we paused the music early. There was one of the villagers who said he hadn’t had water for 20 days. We went to him and he said he couldn’t make public appearance. He told us to take a picture of the tap that had dried up, but in a way that it did not look like it was house. The person had no water in 39-degree heat and was afraid to talk about it.”
Over time, for the local population, whose information isolation was largely due to the language barrier, Radio Marneuli became the main source of information – a media outlet that covered news in both Azerbaijani and Georgian. Behind this decision was not only the full information of the local population, but also the deepening of communication between ethnic groups, the reduction of distance, and an attempt to show that all people are full members of society.
“Minorities living in Georgia do not yet have a good command of the language, but one of the reasons why they did not learn Georgian is that they did not have a connection with the local society and did not see a future. As soon as they saw this future, attempts to learn the language began from the same period. It turned out that the state does not provide this service.
“You have a teacher at school who doesn’t teach you well. There is a village where there is no kindergarten, there is no good school. It is one thing to have the desire, and another is the opportunity you have to do it. This is exactly what we are discussing, that’s why we speak in two languages,” says Kamilla.
“It’s the same with music. We could only play Azerbaijani and the radio would be more popular. For example, we don’t have Russian music on the air, that’s the statement, but we just don’t play Russian music, we tell them why it shouldn’t be there.”
We play Georgian music so that the community can understand what Georgia is like in terms of music. Georgia is not just a country, it is polyphony, it is a musical culture that is present in Georgians. Maybe you will like it, maybe it is a part of you…”
Kamilla says that when choosing music, they consider not its popularity, but its quality. The ethnic Georgian locals have been told that they have a lot of Azerbaijani music, while the Azerbaijanis have been told the opposite.
“That’s how it was in the beginning, but now they’ve gotten used to it and they’re telling us that they really like this diversity. You get used to diversity, so you have to show it, and we tried to show them all of that.”
In addition, the greeting is also heard in both languages, Georgian and Azerbaijani. According to Kamilla, they want to show citizens that they should enjoy equal rights in everything, including receiving information. In addition, this is an attempt to help each other learn the language.
This mission of integration and deepening relationships is also outlined on their website, where you can read that: “The Radio Marneuli team has managed to create a media platform that allows any representative of the community, regardless of their gender, ethnic or religious background, to express their opinion, test their abilities, and move on to a new wave of relationships.”
A Push Towards Active Citizenship
Kamilla notes that ethnic minorities living in Georgia have gone through a difficult path in the country, and to this day, when expressing dissatisfaction with a specific issue, they are often addressed with the phrase: “This is not your land, your home.”
That is why, from the very beginning, the goal was set: in addition to covering the problems, needs, and challenges of locals, they were also encouraged to engage in socio-political life and become more active citizens.
“The problem has always been water and roads. We have spent many years explaining to people: this is your fundamental right to have water and roads, for your child to go to kindergarten, for your school to be renovated, that a child living in a rural area also has the right to wash his hands with hot water when he goes to the toilet. We have spent many years explaining this.”
Gender equality has always been an important issue for Radio Marneuli. Gender roles, which are established in society, were initially a certain barrier for her as well. Kamilla also shares her own experience in this regard.
“I also thought that if a woman doesn’t work and sits in the kitchen, it’s her choice. Maybe then the woman thought it was her choice, but she didn’t see any other choices and opportunities, so that’s why I thought that way. But when you discuss, you’re informed, you realize that there are so many opportunities around you and you can choose. I think that radio is exactly that — the opportunity to choose, which revolves around you and you can choose. We always say that on the air — information gives you the opportunity to choose.”
According to her, the Radio Marneuli team spent a lot of time talking to women about their rights. Kamilla recalls cases when women were not invited to various meetings. For example, she tells us that during the pre-election period, they constantly monitored how many of them attended meetings with candidates.
“If we hadn’t started talking about it, everyone would have stereotypically said that this is a region populated by ethnic minorities and women don’t come out there. It’s not that they don’t come out, they’re told that they can’t, but when a candidate comes and says, ‘Call a woman,’ that’s still good. Because a woman has something to say and she can change something where she lives, and we’ve established this communication and these approaches.” 
Media That Stands with the Oppressed
“We are an ethical media that stands by the oppressed,” Kamilla told us when we asked her about her core values. She notes that every person has the right to live happily, and this is the main goal of her team. Radio Marneuli aims to ensure that people know what they are entitled to, have access to information, and make informed decisions. They want to motivate them and follow through on issues to bring the concerns of the population to those in charge.
And it is this way — the specific issues they have covered over the years and their determination to solve the problem have repeatedly yielded tangible results. Kamilla recalls one case — in a village populated by Armenian-speaking citizens, where the school was located in a wagon, two children with special needs were studying. However, due to the lack of a special education teacher, their access to education was limited.
“We covered it, we didn’t let this story go. They assigned a special education teacher and then we wrote about the school in the wagon so many times that today, for the second year, the children have been attending a new school.”
The impartial work of the Radio Marneuli team constantly caused discomfort for the local authorities, which was followed by retaliatory steps from their side.
“One of our employees lives in a village and goes to work every day. For exactly 10 years, we have been asking for a road to be built on the section of his house that she uses to get to the radio, but they intentionally don’t build it. We can’t imagine the condition of this road when it rains. She has two young children. Her project was also a winner within the framework of the village support program, but as soon as they found out that this is the section where she lives, this winning project was never implemented.”
The problem was also the communication with public institutions, but despite such obstacles, they never thought about stopping their work. Often, the fact that Radio Marneuli brought a specific problem to light was an impetus for local authorities to take care of its resolution.
“For example, when you ask why a road hasn’t been built in that village yet, when children are walking on a muddy road, it turns out that a tender is announced very soon and work begins. We don’t understand why such an approach is necessary when it’s your responsibility, but it needs to be talked about. I think a lot of things can be solved simply by making the story public,” Kamilla tells us.
The Fight Against Independent Media
Radio Marneuli is among the independent media organizations that are facing the threat of extinction amid the Georgian Dream’s repressive laws. We spoke with Kamilla about why independent media has become a major “headache” for the Georgian Dream and what will happen if there are no media platforms in the country that address the problems of society.
“We tell people, why should a road be paved 300 times in one village and not once in another village? Let’s discuss this. Let’s discuss why a member of the city council is a Georgian language teacher who doesn’t know Georgian. Whom you call and speak to in Georgian, because her title is a Georgian language teacher and she can’t speak Georgian to you… and then you claim that the children of this village can’t speak Georgian, you ask, why?! All of this is the reason why they don’t want us to exist, they want to be comfortable,” says Kamilla.
“There is no kindergarten in the village, and there are so many children in the city kindergarten that they have to sleep on benches . Small children, 4-5 year olds, are made to sleep on benches in the kindergarten. For saying this, am I funded by the Deep State?!”
Kamilla says she doesn’t understand why some citizens believe the Georgian Dream’s propaganda — that we are discussing these problems so that the child doesn’t go hungry and gets the food intended for him in kindergarten; that the child is from a socially vulnerable family and the parent doesn’t have enough money to feed him. She asks the question — if the Georgian Dream doesn’t want independent media to exist because of this, then does it have an interest in this country developing?
“They take kindergarten teachers to the Georgian Dream event and the kindergarten closes at two o’clock. Children go to the kindergarten, whose only opportunity to eat is the kindergarten, and they deprive this child of the right to lunch. If I say this openly, am I funded by Deep State?! Am I representing the interests of a foreign country?!”
Kamilla believes that there are people in the country who value the profession of journalism, who know why it is important and that it is vital to the country’s democratic development.
“We need their support so that we don’t stop, so that the light doesn’t go out, they need to help us for that. This is not a one-time action, we need constant support, long-term, and we need to be by each other’s side. That’s why we started, but it has to become a joint routine — we survive in order to help them, and in order to help them, they have to take care of us surviving,” Kamilla told us in the end.
In response to the current challenges, a unified platform was created to support independent media: sinatle.media. Today, independent online media in Georgia is fighting for survival. The repressive regime is trying to suppress voices that tell the truth.
22 online media outlets from all over Georgia have come together to defend what belongs to us all: free speech and democracy. Radio Marneuli is among the online media outlets participating in the campaign.
Your support is crucial in this fight. Donate to support independent online media and help us spread the word.
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