A song that talks about broken dreams happens to the tinkle of time signals. Seconds later, a voice bursts into the waves. Sounds shy but does not hesitate. "Welcome to a new episode of our program. I greet all our listeners. Today we are accompanied by Abdelrahman , a rapper from our city. I must admit that I did not know that this type of music existed in Mosul ", voices Nur al Tai on the other side of the microphone. The red pilot shines in the center of the studio and the artist answers the questions.

Thus begins the last installment of Nur (Luz, in Arabic), the star space of One FM, one of the first radio stations born in the Iraqi capital of the Caliphate after the defeat of the self-styled Islamic State. Two years after the end of the jihadist yoke, the transistor has re-tuned to an incipient freedom in a city devastated by nine months of bloody battle .

Nur - 18 years old - completely lost his vision in the summer of 2015, just a year after the bearded men passed their law in the street of Mosul. "The eye pressure ended up causing me blindness. The doctors detected it late and the occupation of the city by the Daesh [acronym in Arabic of the Islamic State] made it impossible for me to leave for treatment," the young woman explains to EL MUNDO, who has found his speaker on the waves.

"When I was blind, I entertained myself at home listening to the radio and imitating the speakers with a small microphone. I tried to train myself to gather the courage to speak in public. Then I lacked the means to make my voice heard," Nur recalls. The teenager, who made her presentation in society at a talent show, knocked on the station's doors early last year, shortly after One FM opened its broadcasts.

"He came asking to present a program. He really wanted to and we helped him fulfill his dream," says Ghadir Ahmed , director of the channel. "That is how he ended up staying with us. Since then he has signed almost a hundred interviews with Mosul neighbors, young and old. His mission is to make people who have hobbies and success stories known. Let a blind person present a program like this is a very clear message to the audience: disability is not an obstacle but a strength, "he adds. "It is she who chooses the guests and prepares the questionnaires," he says.

Its space, which is broadcast live twice a month, throws hope among the desolation of a city reduced to rubble that still struggles with the digestion of the conflict. Its chapters are beams of light to encourage rehabilitation tasks and the slow return home of those who once inhabited a stray street eaten by the fray. "Gradually life returns to normal but the city is still destroyed and there are no services as basic as water or electricity," Nur mutters.

Their conversations seek to rescue the intrahistories of the town, examples of resilience against the abandonment of politicians and the international community . "I remember that the episode that led to the most success was the interview with a blind man who managed to build a communications network in Daesh times to be able to talk in a safe way with his friends."

"The idea is always the same: to give an opportunity to those who deserve to be heard," argues Ghadir, a journalist who fled Mosul after the arrival of the acolytes of the IS (Islamic State, for its acronym in English) and found asylum in Belgium "After the liberation of the city, I decided to return. I want to help recover Mosul," the young man slips in full recomposition of the media fabric of the enclave. One FM, which mixes music with entertainment magazines and social gatherings, is one of the two private stations launched in recent years.

The remaining radios still broadcast from the nearby autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. A slow awakening of the nightmare of the IS, which closed all the means; he chased his staff; imposed physical punishment on those who were hunted listening to the dial; and only allowed the diffusion of Al Bayan, the station from which he announced beheadings; military victories; Wild edicts and bloody attacks abroad.

"Radio is once again a very popular medium, followed by people of all ages and all sectors," celebrates its architect. The chain broadcasts from a cafe built for those who want to quench the curiosity of attending broadcasts through a fishbowl while sipping tea and, incidentally, contributing to the random financing of the medium.

Like the rest of the adventure companions, Nur inaugurated his dive at the microphone as a volunteer. Until the chain accounts began to take off. "I receive about 30 euros for each episode but the goal is not to make money but to reach people," replies this student, who alternates her last year of high school with her radio passion. "Once I communicated the suspension of the program and the public reactions were such that I had to rectify and continue."

Engaged in raising her voice over the darkness that Mosul once kidnapped, Nur is not only responsible for showing the dreams of others. "I also have my own dreams," he replies. "I want to go to college and study journalism. My aspiration is to work one day on a television channel in Iraq or somewhere else in the world. Who said it was impossible? I stood in front of a microphone with 16 years and I can reach wherever I want. "

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Mosul
  • Islamic State
  • Iraq
  • Belgium

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