You are half Hutu and half Tutsi. If you identify yourselves as Hutus, then you must hate me, and if you identify yourself as Tutsi, then it is as if you killed your father a second time.

Jeannine Nahigombeye (32) is a journalist. Since 2003, she has been the director of Radio Isanganiro, a national broadcaster. She uses the media for conflict resolution and as a means to get all warring parties involved in peace negotiations in her country. Despite several government bans she has continued using the radio as her weapon against conflict. The radio provides its listeners with information that helps them in their daily lives and keeps politicians and the army accountable for their actions.

Jeannine Nahigombeye is married with one child. She has seven brothers and sisters. Since her Hutu father died in 1972, her mother, who is a Tutsi, raised them to be ethnic-neutral. At the beginning of the 1993 conflict in Burundi, Jeannine’s mother warned her and her siblings never to align themselves with any ethnic group. Jeannine has a diploma in french literature from the country’s national university. She has been a journalist since 1998. She worked at Studio Ijambo and was a correspondent for Voice of America. Since 2003, she has been the director of Radio Isanganiro based in Bujumbura, the capital. The radio station reaches almost 90 percent of the population. It was created out of the initiative of a group of journalists who elected her as director. The focus of her work is on problems of community development, everyday life issues and issues linked directly to the civil war. Jeannine uses the media to assist in conflict resolution. During the conflict, the station was a means to get all warring parties involved in the peace negotiations. This involved getting the opposition's and rebels’ views heard and giving balanced information to the people. She was engaged in this proactive but risky situation despite several bans by the government against her radio station. Through the radio station, Jeannine has often denounced human rights abuses and corruption. Jeannine also broadcasts positive issues going on in Burundi. The radio station provides its listeners with information that helps them in their daily lives and keeps politicians and the army accountable for their actions. For instance, a section of the population now has access to clean drinking water thanks to the radio station’s campaign about their plight. In addition, some displaced people were settled after Radio Isanganiro had highlighted their problems.

Radio Isanganiro