Reply #47: Despite siege, Berbers create free media enclave [View All]

Gaddafi's forces have been attacking the Western Mountains hard, laying siege to their towns and creating a refugee crisis. But it's hard terrain for conventional armies, and the Berbers now have some mountain towns to themselves.

One result, a virtual media empire is booming in the Western mountains.

Mazigh is a Berber who spent four years in Australia, and graduated from Narwee High School in Sydney in 1998. He spoke to us from what he called the 'Nafusa Mountain Media Centre'.

MAZIGH: Yes we have a newspaper, I mean not only one, we have almost four or five from different towns and cities. I'm the editor of one of them. It's called Tidlee (phonetic) in Tamazight which means freedom. Our journal is published in two languages; Tamazight, the native and Arabic. The first time we published in Tamazight for almost 42 years.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3210129.htm