Radio Erena: Eritrea's only independent media faces funding challenges

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00:00The voice of hope lives hidden away in a tiny Paris apartment.

00:05These are the headquarters of Radio Arena, the last independent Eritrean media still

00:10broadcasting.

00:12After 15 years of providing trustworthy and independent reporting to people in one of

00:17the world's most repressive countries, the radio station risks going off air for lack

00:22of funding.

00:24In Eritrea in 2001, the Eritrean government decided to close all the media, private media.

00:31So at some point, we only hear the government's voice, which is merely propaganda.

00:37So we want to hear the voice of the public.

00:40A 2017 study estimated that around half a million people tune in to listen at least

00:46once a week.

00:48So we prefer to stay on satellite, so it would be easily accessible for the public

00:53and for us, reliable.

00:57In 2024, the country was ranked last in Reporters Without Borders' Freedom of the Press Index.

01:03The country is notorious for detaining journalists longer than any country in the world.

01:08There are countries where it is difficult to be a journalist.

01:14In Eritrea, there is no journalism.

01:16The oldest journalists have been in prison since 2001.

01:19There is no media.

01:20The only outlets that remain are state-affiliated outlets that are content to carry out propaganda.

01:26Although thousands of cyber-attacks target the radio station, the Arena team has continued

01:31to broadcast.

01:33Despite their resilience, a drastic drop in funding from their supporters might take them

01:37off the air, which would bring an information blackout in one of the world's most repressive

01:42countries.

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