Radio programme to give an insight into Brighton's refugee community

RadioReverb is to broadcast a new series about Brighton's refugee community.
Jaibli Salaam - St Lukes kids, radio reverbJaibli Salaam - St Lukes kids, radio reverb
Jaibli Salaam - St Lukes kids, radio reverb

RadioReverb is to broadcast a new series about Brighton's refugee community.

Jaibli Salaam, an Arabic welcome salutation, is presented and produced by Gilly Smith, and explores ideas of home, identity, food, and music from Brighton's migrant communities.

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The first episode will be broadcast on Christmas Day, and kicks the series off with the story of The School Bus Project. Kate McAllister, founder of the project talks about her bus, the result of a successful crowdfunding initiative, which she is converting into a pop-up classroom to take to the Jungle camp in Calais.

Ms Smith is creative producer at hexology, a new media company, as well as a radio lecturer at the University of Brighton. She invited her students to record children from St Lukes' Primary School reading popular children's stories for the first episode. The recordings were then embedded into the barcodes of the books which will be transported to the Jungle camp in Calais. The following episodes will visit the homes of Brighton's Syrian community.

Ms Smith said: 'I wanted to show the faces behind the word '˜refugee'. And there's nowhere better to paint a picture than radio. The welcome I've had from the Syrian community here in Brighton has been overwhelming. All we do in each episode is cook and chat about food, music, and memories from the old country, but the stories say so much more about the humanity and warmth of the Syrian people.'

To hear Jaibli Salaam, tune into RadioReverb 97.2 FM on Christmas Day between 5pm and 6pm with the remaining five shows scheduled across January. Visit: www.radioreverb.com

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