Iraq war vets and refugees join forces for a radio show

CAIRO - 30 July 2017: Iraq war veterans and Iraqi refugees unite to participate in “Radio Silence,” a live radio project created by Iraqi-American artist, Michael Rakowitz.

Sponsored by the Mural Arts Philadelphia, the show is a 10-week hybrid radio broadcast that is part documentary, part variety show and part radio play. Each episode revolves around a synonym of silence through featured storytelling by the people most effected by the events in Iraq, from the 1960s through today.

"The project interweaves dreams and memories from Iraq, America, and in-between into a soundscape of the contemporary refugee experience," Rakowitz stated on the Mural Arts website.

The project creator, artist Michael Rakowitz, originally intended to build the program around “the spirit and voice” of an Iraqi radio/TV personality who lived in Philadelphia, as a refugee.

“I was introduced to the story of Bahjat Abdulwahed, known as the Walter Cronkite of Iraq,” Rakowitz said. “His elocution was absolutely beautiful, caramel voice. Both his Arabic and English were wonderful.”

It took Rakowitz five years of research to make this project and he originally intended to use the voice of famous Iraqi radio/TV personality Bahjat Abdulwahed. Known as the “Walter Cronkite of Iraq,” Abdulwahed met with the project creator and began tapping. Unfortunately, Abdulwahed passed away two weeks after their meeting.



Radio Silence will officially premiere on August 6 on community radio stations across the U.S. through Prometheus Radio Project and via podcast on the Mural Arts website.