My name is Mahmoud Swwayd; I work as a radio presenter and anchor in Radio Fresh, a Syrian local radio station in Kafranbe village in Idlib rural functioning 24/7 days covering news for Syrian in north Syria.
Here we are under deliberate, permanent risks of being suddenly attacked by pro-Russian – Syrian regime aerial death toll day and night of our live streaming in Radio Fresh Head Quarter in Kafranbe village. In the past weeks of Assad-Putin military insurgent, our daily routine turned into a horrifying endless nightmare. Whenever an aircraft flies over the village’s sky, the radio’s staff shift into a panicking mode. The team runs subconsciously to safe spots within the radio building, in which sarcastically called safe because there are no bunkers or underground floor where we should be taking cover whenever an airstrikes attack us or hit around our district. Sorrowfully, there is no way to protect from the ongoing hellfire.
This is my room, the central control studio in the radio where I work, where the walls are sounds proofed and must prevent noise coming from outside from disturbing us in the live streaming studio. However, the severity of the airstrikes can barely make, this so-called soundproofed studio, any different or peaceful, we can hear the attacks and bombs all day-night long. Typically, the head of the radio control’s reaction when any airstrike takes place, is to cut the radio’s program live to stream and make a breaking announcement to the listeners saying “warplanes in Kafranbel’s sky, everyone stays alarmed and beware of any public assembling, please avoid gathering and stay away from public places”. Presumably, the presenter when he announces such horrific news to the public, he ought to be as calm as possible to cause no fear to the public. Nevertheless, when the head of the control department announced this news, his crumbling voice only reflected his how frightens he was, and his warning news did no good to the listeners.
As a result of that, he was asked not to replicate this breaking news announcement anymore, because it will only cause disturbance to the audience, notably, his mother who will be frightened about her son from being attacked as she is listening to him. In spite of the attacks, we are compliant to carry on our work and efforts to be the voice of unheard and bring accurate new to the public about the real circumstances in Idlib. We will continue, notwithstanding the critical status and threats. What we care about the most is to have these ongoing massacres stopped in Idlib. I hope that the world stands together to protect innocent civilians in Idlib, every civilian here is a target; we are all targets here.
