Before you say anything, you're welcome for that Costa Rican station. It was awesome! That's two great stations in a row. Let's see if we can make it three...
It's Thursday and it's already been a hateful long week. We think we're in the mood for African music. So, back to the continent we go! Y'all want to tune in to Chad?
even resembles an anatomical heart...
A landlocked country with a mainly harsh desert climate, Chad's apparently been stuck with the unfortunate moniker of The Dead Heart of Africa. Doesn't exactly have the same ring as The Sunshine State.
well, it is kind of stark...
Chad is a veritable Tower of Babel with all the languages spoken there. There are over 200 ethnic groups in a population of just 10 million folks, and over 100 languages are spoken among them! We suppose that's the result of arbitrarily drawn colonial borders and unrepresentative statehood. You're begging for problems with that mix and Chad has seen plenty of them. For example, in 2008, they built a moat around their capital to protect them from rebels! That should give you a good idea of the political discourse. And, while we're on it, who the fuck builds a moat anymore?! (editors note: not enough people, in my opinion)
we can't find a picture of the moat (trust us, we're crushed, too). but here is a little glimpse of life in the capital
So, from what we can parse out, Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt nations in the world. About 80% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day farming in a land plagued with drought and the occasional locust horde (what up biblical prophecies). Oil and cotton are the main exports and are used to fund the corrupt government, helping them fend off the various rebel groups.
omg. barf.
Chad is surrounded by nations with desperate economies, authoritarian rulers, or roiling civil wars and internal conflicts. Needless to say that these peripheral conflicts often spill over the border. Hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees are still in Chad, and there are warnings that a genocide may yet occur within their own borders. With increasing water scarcity (look what's happened to Lake Chad!), conflicts are bound to only increase.
one of the many darfur refugee camps in chad
Though the situation seems dire there, We're sure there's a lot to love about Chad. As is true in most places, only the bad stuff get's reported.
So, let's tune in and see what amazing things we can discover about Chad. There are only about a dozen radio stations in Chad. Some of those stations are rebroadcast from international stations, and that is the case here. We'll be tuning into Africa N1 out of Paris again - but boy is it a good one!
you have to press the play button
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