Atlantis, an apartheid dumping ground for coloured people, has risen from a state of despondency with the creation of its own community radio station, writes Ruben
ONE comes across Atlantis suddenly when driving through scrub and sand dunes on the west coast road about 45km north of Cape Town. The absence of distinguishing landscape features and the ethnic uniformity of the population contribute to the sensation of having passed through a time warp into a world where apartheid and utopian planning did actually succeed.
Originally conceived as a kind of coloured volkstaat, Atlantis was meant to grow into a town of half a million people, assuming, according to an official policy report, ”no change in the present political and economic white/non-white relationship”.
Residents were attracted by the promise of work; industry by rebates and incentives. When the incentives were withdrawn, many of the businesses moved out and the railway goods service closed down. By 1989 Atlantis had an unemployment rate of 47 percent, the highest per capita homicide rate in the world and a whole package of social problems.
Atlantis did not exactly disappear under water, but it might as well have, for all that most Capetonians know about it. Now, riding the air waves on 107,9 FM, a community radio station has emerged that knows who it is, what it wants and where it’s going. The lost city, it seems, has found its voice.
It was the community-based Atlantis Development Forum that set out to change the new town’s lost-city image. To improve communications within the community, 27-year- old journalist Eva Georgia came up with the idea of a community radio station.
In 1993, with the help of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, the local business community and the Open Society Foundation, Georgia and union organiser Rachel Visser began promoting the idea in schools and factories. In August this year an open general meeting elected a board of management and established Radio Atlantis as an autonomous organisation. The station went on air on September 1.
With its 30 watt roof-mounted transmitter, the station can be heard by everyone in Atlantis: a total of 75 000 people plus another 20 000 in surrounding areas. Georgia — now station manager — is confident that all the students are listening and Visser claims all the factory workers. Like other community stations, they lack reliable survey figures but, it being a closed community, their assessments have a degree of reliability. If Visser’s guess of half the population listening is correct, Georgia’s talk of expanding their advertising base to include national companies might not be just wishful
In addition to the support they receive from the Open Society Foundation, they derive income from programme sponsorship and local business advertising. Raffles, pledges and dedications supplement their income. A group of factory employees has offered a listenership contribution of R1 per month each. Others could follow.
A housing development company currently sponsors a talk show offering advice to house buyers. The sponsor advertises its product and the community receives useful information. It’s a two-way process; an example of the way in which Radio Atlantis is addressing the needs of both business and the community.
There are 268 shebeens in Atlantis, and although the station has run advertisements for the local liquor store, there is a major debate on future policy. ”What is important for us is to educate people about alcohol abuse,” Georgia says. So far, the station doesn’t have a policy on cigarette
The station broadcasts, mostly in Afrikaans, from 7am to 7pm daily. It plans to extend broadcasts to 10pm once it has facilities for production. At present it uses the broadcast studio during the evening to produce the next day’s material. There is a production room but at the time of the interview all it contained was a bicycle.
Aside from its music content (”This is a soul station,” Georgia says) the station carries information of interest to the community, mostly talk shows. Georgia’s show, Heartbeat of the Community, focuses on what she calls ”burning issues”: abuse of women, particularly gruesome local murders and shebeen licensing. People are no longer scared to speak up, she says. A woman gives her name and says: ”My father raped me.” Another says: ”My husband stabbed me with a beer bottle last night.” She gives his name and the factory where he works.
The style of the station reflects the conservative platteland origins of much of the population of Atlantis. In a town where over 200 church denominations are represented, language must be kept ”clean” and no dirty jokes are allowed. Even gangsters, when they come on air, must talk nicely, says Visser, who also works as a presenter.
The station promotes conflict resolution rather than confrontation. Following a recent murder case, the station gave air time to the man thought by many people to be the guilty party. It airs the calls of men talking about what drives them to woman-bashing and, in issue-driven talk shows, always attempts to give ”the other side”. Inexperienced presenters at times get emotionally caught up in their subject matter, but they are encouraged to keep the balance and stay
The station has a core group of about 45 volunteers, with another 200 involved on a casual basis. Those who wish to volunteer are interviewed and, if accepted, must prove their commitment by doing a month’s ”dirty work” around the station. If they survive that, they receive training.
The local police are clearly enthusiastic about the station. It allows quick access to a specific community. The community gets crime reports and the police receive the community’s co-operation in crime solving. The station can also play a part in crime prevention. By allowing the community to air its views on the conflict between two rival taxi associations, a potential flare-up is being defused.
The station is confident it will be on the air after permanent licences are given out. The first time Atlantis went to the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the staff took thousands of letters of support and they expect the next time it will be even stronger.
According to Atlantis mayor Noel Williams, Atlantis is experiencing something of a business revival. There are new shopping centres planned, the upgrading of sports facilities, a new magistrate’s court and talks aimed at bringing the trains back.
The fact that a group of 15-to-27-year-olds could get a community radio station off the ground is giving fresh stimulus to a community previously plagued by despondency. ”Nobody can say we’re the lost city any more,” says one listener. Atlantis has put itself on the map.