Hiam Hamoui: All the way from Radio Monte Carlo

“I was never out of touch with Syria; I was always with the country and the culture,” says Hiam Hamoui, broadcasting extraordinaire, after almost forty years in the business. “Some people who travel abroad lose contact, to the degree that they even forget the language in some cases. For me, my experience with radio broadcasting made me even more rooted, making me happy to come back after such a long period abroad.”

Starting her career as a radio announcer for Radio Damascus during her last year as a student in Damascus University, she was catapulted to fame when she was taken on as the fresh new face for Radio Monte Carlo’s Arabic section in Paris. “It started off as an Arabic section for Radio Paris, but in 1972, the staff was taken from there for what was then the new Arabic station, Radio Monte Carlo, with Egyptian Sanaa Mansour as the star announcer, and me as the up-and-coming new voice for the station,” says Hamoui.

“We were doing something really new for Arabic Radio. There were official Arabic news stations, but we were the ones who created the entertainment model that all current stations follow.” Sculpting the star-to-be, Radio Monte Carlo immersed their announcers in nearly every stage of the broadcast, from setting up the program and the guests, doing montages, writing up scripts, and occasionally some light sound mixing.

“It was really a distinct experience, and one all of us Monte Carlo alumni took with us for the rest of our careers,” says Hamoui. “It really allowed us to focus on Arabic culture, and beam that all over the Arab world.” Keeping Arabs in touch with each other was something especially close to Hamoui’s heart. Put in charge of the “Bank of Friendship” program at Monte Carlo, she was placed in the unique position of mediator for Arabs to communicate with each other across the Arab world.

“In the pre-internet age, it was both exciting and touching to see friendships created and blossom, as I read letters and broadcast phone messages from all corners of the Arab world,” she says. After twenty years with Monte Carlo, Hamoui got her next big break when Radio al-Sharq, a brand new station in 1992, offered her the opportunity to speak to Arabs not only in the Arab world, but all over Europe, especially in France.

“It was a chance to keep expatriates connected with their homelands,” says Hamoui. “It also gave me the chance to constantly come to Damascus and cover important events in Syria, such as the annual Damascus Expo. Syrian drama was also on the rise, so I had the opportunity to constantly introduce the stars to their fans all over the world, before satellite channels even existed to do so.”

Constantly returning to Syria gave her the direct contact with the fans Hamoui always craved. “I was broadcast in France and Europe, but when I walked out of the studio, I was just another person on the street,” explains Hamoui. “Here, everywhere I go, I’m recognized, and I get comments about what people want and need from my shows, something I’m always willing to incorporate.”

It was therefore an easy choice for Hamoui to make when, in 2007, she was offered a position with the brand new station Cham FM, broadcasting from Mezzeh in the heart of Damascus. “I really feel connected here with the listeners, and we create our programs in a way to intentionally get their constant feedback,” she says. “We approach them directly as they come out of taxis in our show Taxi FM; we broadened their imagination when we created ‘The Theater of the Impossible;’ and we kept them in touch with the latest in art, literature, culture, and just life with our show Bi Nos al-Jow (In the Thick of Things). All my shows keep people in touch with literature, culture, and art, and they can choose to delve deeper at their own leisure.”

With the advent of the internet, Hamoui feels immense joy that her broadcasts are reaching not only the local listener, but also Arab listeners in France, America, and around the world. “Nothing makes me happier than getting a letter from an Arab abroad, happy that they’re getting the local news when they are so far away,” she explains. “I love ideals, and I feel that they are slowly going extinct, so I’m trying to keep that from happening. As I reach a broader audience, I know that what makes us Arabs and Syrians will always stay alive.”