Media problems in the Comoros

The street distribution of mimeographed leaflets has become a way of life for the opposition in the Comoros, an Indian Ocean island group (population, 300,000) north-west of Madagascar. The archipelago has virtually never had a written press and the only way that the population can express their grievances is through bi-lingual leaflets. These are usually produced in French on one side and Shingazija (a variant of Kiswahili written in Arabic characters) on the other. In this article Ali Nabwa, former press attaché to ex-President Ali Soilih, and former head of the External Service of Radio Comores, describes the recent history of the media in the Comoros. It is an example in microcosm of the problems faced by many excolonies in Africa.