Music Has No Boundaries
Music has no Boundaries
The Saga of 93.6 RAM FM and the Birth of NISSA FM in Palestine and Israel
Told for the very first time – the real story of 93.6 RAM FM, a pioneering English radio station in Palestine/Israel - the building of, in a most difficult geo-political environment, eventual launch, and the impact it made with ‘talk’, by sharing narratives of the other and with ‘music’, by breaking boundaries and unfurling bridges of common ground, at a time when walls of separation were being constructed.
The story, which includes author’s return to radio to be the host of the ONLY political talk show that brought both sides to talk on a common platform in a neutral language (English) – a marriage of diplomacy and radio: charting his journey from being an Ambassador to a DJ/Talk show host and eventually a Radio Peace Envoy, is most unique.
The story of the huge audience the station built, the positive impact it made, the struggle to remain ‘on air’ and its eventual demise is told for the first time.
Rising from its ashes is the story of the birth of - Radio Nissa FM, the first women radio station in the Arab world - which today provides a voice to empower women in a male-dominated society in Palestine.
Rafique Gangat grew up in Weenen, a small farming town in South Africa. After university, he
dabbled in the music industry and radio before becoming a diplomat and representing South Africa in - Beverly Hills (vice consul), Pretoria/Cape Town (spokesperson), Karachi (consul general), Abu Dhabi (ambassador), Ramallah (ambassador). He now works as a communications and media consultant and lives in Jerusalem.
