Radio HAKAYA – حكايا

Radio HAKAYA – حكايا is an online community radio project started by Brush&Bow in northern Lebanon. Between September 2018 – 2019, Brush&Bow has been working with communities in the region of Akkar and beyond, to produce podcasts on stories of life and displacement amongst the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian communities there. This project was funded by Lush and Open Society.

One outcome of Radio Hakaya was the publication of 8 episodes in OpenDemocracy (English), SOAS Radio (English/Arabic), ROAR (English) Raseef22 (Arabic), Rozana Radio (Arabic) and SOWT radio (Arabic). These episodes each include an interview reflecting the current socio-political climate faced by Syrians and their host communities, as the pressure rises for refugees to return to Syria. Radio Hakaya presents a mosaic of testimonies and experiences on the life of different communities in Lebanon. The diversity of characters in the series gives voice to the discordant and contrasting opinions present on the ground, reflecting the complexity of the overall picture and its multi-layered reality.

However, in the process of creating these episodes, we spend one day a week doing workshops and open mic sessions in the camps and communities of Northern Lebanon. We recorded traditional folk tales, songs, interviews between children and taught basic recording and interview techniques.

Walid, 21 – Poem 

Reem, 11 and Noor, 8 – Singing 

All recordings are taken, translated and edited with the help from members of the local community, many of who are integral collaborators of Radio Hakaya’s editorial team.

Khaled, 11 – Ye Li Li

Suliman, 9 – Song 

Shayma 8, Jean Al EIn Con

Choir Time