Continued Success of Accent Radio Programme

 At the end of August, IWPR considered the problems faced by those refugees who fled the fighting on its radio programme Accent.

The programme, which is broadcast twice-monthly as part of the Georgia Regional Media Network Project, gave an unprecedented account of the damage inflicted during the war and conditions faced by the refugees.

Work on the programme - which involves journalists from around the country and from unrecognised territories - began at a time when there was no accurate official information available and when Russian troops still remained in Georgian regions.

Following the war, IWPR's Accent radio programme helped a son find his mother, whom he believed to have been killed during the conflict.

The programme team found it difficult to get hold of correspondents, as they all had gone to report on war-torn regions. As a result, journalists had to record interviews with people in the field, in a number of different towns, instead of in the studio, as they normally do.

The Accent programme helped a son find his mother, whom he believed to be dead. Finding lost relatives was a great challenge for many refugees following the war.

The man, who was evacuated to Guria during the fighting, overheard - quite by chance - Accent's audio-diary based on a story told by his mother Taliko Gugusian.

"From the Kodori Gorge, together with other refugees, I was sent to Guria," recalled Nodar Gugusian.

"I searched for my mother for several days, not knowing whether she was alive or dead. I don't have a TV set in the refugee collective centre, where I live together with my children. Radio is the only source of information for us," he continued.

"I couldn't believe my ears, when I heard my mother's voice [on the radio]. Later, local journalists helped me find the author of this report about my mother. Now we have [been] reunited."

Accent is broadcast by four popular radio stations in Georgia, and is intended improve the flow of news and information to the country's regions and breakaway territories.