Radio Al Salam is an independent, plurireligious and pluriethnic radio station which aims at favoring the expression of refugees and internally-displaced people in the Syrian conflict and the 2014 invasion of the Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State Organization.
The radio broadcasts music, reports and programs 24/7, [1] in Arabic and Kurdish languages. [2] It seeks to promote dialogue and reconciliation, carrying the voice of refugees, internally displaced people or returned population. It seeks to promote and protect minorities, such as Christians ( Assyrians), Yazidis and Syrians. When the radio was created, nearly two million people had found refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan. [3]
Its programs are broadcast from Erbil and Dohuk, and accessible in the Governorates of Erbil, Duhok and Nineveh, on its website and via its smartphone application. [4]
Radio Al-Salam was founded on the initiative of three French NGOs: La Guilde Européenne du Raid, [5] Radio Sans Frontières [6] and l'Œuvre d'Orient. [7]
It is, or has been, financially supported by the Raoul-Follereau Foundation, the Crisis and Support Center of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Development Agency [8] and the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. [9] It is hosted in the offices of the Erbil-based Babylon Media Group.
Since its creation, the radio station has been the subject of multiple reports by French media, including TV5 Monde [10] and RFI. It will also be the subject of a film, directed by Frenchman Xavier de Lauzanne and scheduled for release in 2022. [11]