In a small cafe in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three Syrian friends were having a normal meeting and discussing the situation in Syria. In that coffee shop, the idea of starting a Syrian radio that delivers news from the depth of the Syrian issue was first born.
The whole thing was spontaneous and a spur of the moment, but the three friends had faith in their project, and after several preparatory meetings they set up the objectives and targeted audience of the radio. They chose the name "Yasmeen al Sham" (“Jasmine of Damascus” in English), for the beauty of this flower and its historical association with the city and the country.
The founders sought to make the radio an opportunity for Syrian young people to turn their visions and ideas into a voice heard by everyone. Instead of focusing on breaking news and on ground situations like other radios, th staff of more than 35 workers pick stories that highlight the everyday life of simple people. The programming attemps to address problems in their daily lives, away from politics and war, because “it's really hard to get accurate and honest information at the moment, so we mainly focus on social and humanitarian aspects,” as one member of the staff says to SyriaUntold.
The primary goal of the radio is to be an echo of Syrian people's voices, a reflection of their sorrows and an answer to their preoccupations and interests. According to one reporter: *our primary goal is the people, in addition, we shed a light on the core values of the revolution; the values of freedom, justice and equality for all, we also highlight the violations of human rights from both the regime and the armed opposition.”
The staff of the radio haven't had any former experience in the field of broadcasting. But the daily interactions with experienced reporters within the radio have dramatically improved the efficiency of their work.
Jasmine of Damascus has been and continues to be an independent project that relies on the efforts of its volunteers, which explains why the staff have repeatedly rejected funding from donors in order to preserve its journalistic integrity and authenticity of the project.
The team has faced major difficulties since its early establishment, they lacked the financial support that enables them to produce episodes and radio programs on a continuing bases. Additionally, many team members live in seperate, remote places, which makes exchanging ideas and communicating an extremely difficult task. Nevertheless, Jasmine of Damascus was a dream come true for the founder; a voice that takes interest in the worries of the Syrian people, and tries to be an honest, independent platform.
