Imagine having to flee your country and come to a land where nothing around you seems familiar. Imagine being thousands of miles away from home, running from war, violence and persecution. Imagine leaving your home, businesses and community behind, while fleeing to save your family’s life. The only things you possess are the clothes on your back and the thoughts in your head. Where will you go? What will tomorrow bring?
For thousands of refugees, imagination is not required. This is reality to them, coming to the U.S., far from what they have known.
Sagal Radio Services is a nonprofit organization that partners with Center for Community Partnership at Emory University. The organization works to build communities by empowering, educating and engaging refugees who were forced to come to the U.S.
Sagal Radio broadcasts weekly in six different languages: English, Somali, Amharic, Swahili, Bhutanese and Karen.
It all began in 1998 when a handful of African refugees saw a need to create a voice for their community. Out of this need, Sagal Radio Services was born.
The director of Sagal is Radio Hussien Mohamed, who was a refugee from Ethiopia.
“Becoming a refugee is a day I will never forget,” Mohamed said. “I left Ethiopia with less than a dollar in my pocket and bread my mother made me. I started walking toward the Somali border, and when I finally got there my feet were red and burnt. I was unable to walk for weeks and not speaking the Somali language made it harder to get help.”
Today, Mohamed’s dream is to help the millions of refugees who are in the same situation he himself lived through. He believes that by building a strong community, he can create better lives for them.
Sagal Radio Services broadcasts weekly at the WATB Rainbow 1420 AM in Decatur, Ga. It will begin a live radio broadcast every Saturday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., discussing education, news and other important issues.
The Sagal Radio information sheet mentions that, “topics for our shows include job placement, housing, citizenship, health and safety issues, the American legal system and financial skills. We carry news coverage that provides a balanced report on national and international news significant to newcomers, including stories from their native countries. In addition, we interview community leaders, offer entertainment segments, announce upcoming events and engage our listeners with live call-in shows.”
Right now in the Middle East, refugees are fleeing their homes in astonishing numbers. Every 15 seconds, a Syrian becomes a refugee. The United Nations’ refugee agency has said that the number of Syrians to flee their country has now risen to more than 2 million.
Sagal Radio focuses on helping refugees who come to America to make meaningful changes in their lives. It has given them hope where there was none before.
Visit sagalradio.org to listen in, read about the programs and donate to support this important community service.
