Celebrating the Diamond Day of Radio Damascus... Dr. Al-Hallaq: 75 years old, and the radio is still young, and its brilliance is in line with the era of modernity

Damascus-SANA

For generations of Syrians, 75 years ago, a phrase laden with sorrow and a history full of memories was imprinted in the minds of generations of Syrians, “Here is Damascus, the radio of the Syrian Arab Republic.” The anniversary of the launch of which was raised by a festive state, whose essence is loyalty to its martyrs and workers, pioneers and contemporary, from the center of the capital Damascus and one of the oldest cultural monuments, Al-Assad National Library celebrated Ministry of Information Diamond Day for the second Arab radio station.

Minister of Information, Dr. Boutros Al-Hallaq, conveyed, during his speech, the congratulations of President Bashar al-Assad on the Diamond Day of Radio Damascus and his pride in the pure blood of the martyrs of the media from its sons and pioneers who possessed vision and determination and laid the first building blocks for success to reach the generations of media professionals who complete the march with professionalism, sincerity and love for the homeland.

Dr. Al-Hallaq said: “Here is Damascus, a phrase that announced the birth of Radio Damascus.. 75 years old, and it is still a young radio that has not lost its beauty and pride, and its brilliance still races with the times of modernity and development. He played a major role in shaping awareness and conscience and enlightening the mind, and until this moment, as a whole national media, is still waging a battle of awareness with professionalism and credibility in the face of a fierce media war targeting the state and society through vigorous attempts to change concepts and break national principles, and this is what the terrorist armies have been unable to achieve.

Dr. Al-Hallaq explained that it is no longer a secret to anyone about the huge transformations we are experiencing today in the field of communication and media, including major changes in the methods of production, distribution and receiving of information, and the birth of a new reality that must be kept up in our media institutions and with the belief that professionalism is a necessary condition for this through the development of awareness and self-esteem. capabilities and armament with contemporary media tools, especially in the digital and interactive field, and only thus can we as media professionals be the first line of defense and the rock on which attempts to undermine the security, stability and unity of the nation’s social fabric are broken.

The Minister of Information added: “In order for our celebration of the Diamond Day of Radio Damascus not to be just a passing demonstration, we must stand at three facts. in the process of development and stability, and that victory is inevitable.”

He pointed out that the second fact is that we are in the presence of the pure souls of the martyrs of the media, represented by the martyrs of Radio Damascus, and that it is an honor for us to honor them, without them and the martyrs of the Syrian army, we would not have gathered today. The Ministry of Information aspires to make this celebration an annual habit for the Ministry of Information, through which the distinguished are honored, the opportunity is given to each creator, and the future recipient is rewarded.

On behalf of the media workers, the Minister of Information offered President al-Assad his sincere congratulations and deep appreciation on the occasion of the celebration of the Diamond Day of Radio Damascus, thanking his generous and unlimited support for the media and media professionals, promising his sovereignty that our media will be a model that respects the mind of the public, raises the values ​​of society and works with responsible freedom of expression.

The ceremony, which was attended by the Minister of Awqaf Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Sattar Al-Sayed, Minister of Education Dr. Darem Tabbaa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Faisal Al-Miqdad, members of the People’s Assembly, the head and members of the Executive Office of the Union of Journalists, families of the martyrs of Damascus Radio, the Deputy Minister of Information Ahmed Dawa, the general managers of the media and a crowd of media professionals With the screening of a documentary film entitled “Radio Damascus, the Mirror of a Homeland,” it talked about the most prominent radio stations with their rich history.

The Minister of Information and Director General of the General Authority for Radio and Television Habib Salman and Iman Khatib, Director of Damascus Radio, honored the radio cadres of the young generation, namely director Dareen Mustafa, radio reporter in Aleppo Lama Kayali, radio reporter in Deir Ezzor Malik Al Jassem, radio director Marwan Kharbatli and broadcaster Hani Hashem.

From the middle generation, the director Ahmed Farraj, the media figure, Thanaa Al Abbas, the director Thanaa Al-Hamoud, the presenter Aisha Al-Kharrat, the writer and journalist Imad Al-Din Ibrahim, the director Muhammad Al-Ghazawi, the announcer Manar Murad and the journalist Yahya Koussa were honored.

And the generosity of the generation of media pioneers, Rifaat Youssef, director Bassam Al-Tarh, presenter Roshan Al-Olabi, journalists Samira Al-Khairat and Shehenaz Bishani, writer Imad Nadaf, journalists Ghassan Muhammad and Faisal Al-Ali, the able artist Mazen Lutfi, media professionals Mahmoud Al-Jama`at, Moussa Abdel Nour, President of the Union of Journalists, Nayef Hammoud and Nabil Shanar and broadcaster Nohad Tallawy.

Among the families of the radio martyrs, the family of the martyr broadcaster Batoul Al-Warar, the family of the martyr Shukri Abu Al-Borgol and the family of the martyr director Tariq Mualla were honored.

And in the speech of the family of the martyrs and the honored, through the media, Mukhles Al-Warar, expressed his happiness with this honor, as it reflects the spirit of the radio known for accuracy and beauty, indicating that the radio workers are the makers of word and thought. Thus, the Syrian radio was able, thanks to the efforts of its employees, including broadcasters, directors, producers, editors and engineers, to find a place for them among other Arab radio stations.

Al-Warar stressed that the Syrian radio is one of the leading radio stations in the Arab world, and it is the second radio station after Cairo Radio, which has graduated high-level cadres in terms of performance and content.

It is noteworthy that Radio Damascus was launched from a simple building on Baghdad Street, with a small technical team and simple equipment, to be the second radio station established in the Arab world and the first to broadcast live and provide one-minute news briefs.

Radio Damascus, throughout its long history, provided media materials in Arabic that simulate the aspirations of the Syrians and their daily lives in a dramatic format, presented by a number of pioneering artists, and it was the basis from which the drama was transferred to television.

The radio adopted Arab issues to support the Arabs in their plights within the framework of its belief in nationalism and unity and its timeless message. The cry of broadcaster Abdel Hadi Bakkar “From Damascus.. Here is Cairo,” which he launched the news bulletin with when the Egyptian radio stopped broadcasting during the tripartite aggression against Egypt, echoes in the memory of humanitarian situations It also hosted in its studios the broadcast of Palestine Radio from Damascus.

 Rasha Mahfoud