[Jobs] For the sounds of the Indian soil

[Peter Altschul]

For the sounds of the Indian soil - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
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For the sounds of the Indian soil
It is an unusual case of an exotic land enchanting a foreign tourist. Jean 
Parker, visually challenged though she may be, has now adopted India and 
works
in the radio industry here, writes L Subramani.

For ardent listeners of Radio Netherlands or National Public Radio, her 
voice would be reminiscent of reports on developmental and human rights 
issues.
Often, she would describe situations in South Asia on a noisy backdrop. The 
sonorous feminine voice would even provide vivid descriptions of the 
physical
environment, to which subjects of her reports and documentaries mostly 
belong.

Indeed, those listening to Jean Parker, 45, would never believe that she is 
visually challenged, someone who manages life and profession in a place far
away from her native United States.

“I’ve lots of friends here and during one of my trips, I simply decided to 
stay back.” This may sound like a fair enough reason, but it conceals the 
challenges
Jean faces, such as learning about things around her and staying prepared to

function in unfamiliar situations.
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Indeed, for Jean, thoughts about home kindles memories of childhood, 
escapades in New Hampshire and 21 years of life in Denver, Colorado. An 
accident before
birth may have denied her eyesight, but it didn’t dent her spirit. “I 
studied in a special school up to my fifth grade and then moved over to a 
public
school,” Jean says about her early education.

During her certificate course at Costa Rica’s Institute for Progressive 
Communications, Jean got opportunities in radio and a few voice works. 
“Choosing
radio journalism is something that came to me by accident,” she says. As one

of the International Board of Directors for 'Radio For Peace International’
(RFPI) based in San Jose, California, she became the producer of 'Disability

Radio’, a series of programmes broadcast through Short Wave across the 
world.

“As the name explains, disability rights was one of the major topics of the 
programme, apart from which we also handled subjects like religious 
extremism.
As it was aired through the Short Wave, we used to get letters from around 
120 countries,” Jean recalls. Gaining more experience as a journalist, she 
decided
to work independently from her new home in India.

“This (India) is a diverse country and therefore, perceptions about 
disability would be varied as well,” Jean explains about her experience. 
“Considering
that India has very few role models who’re disabled, the wide spread 
ignorance about the capabilities of a disabled person is hardly surprising. 
You can’t
say things are entirely unfriendly though. Using the public transport, for 
instance, is more common here than in the US, where you are an exception if
you don’t have a car."

Jean reveals that broadcasting and radio journalism ask for skills different

from newspaper/magazine work. “I sometimes envy print journalists, because
they don’t have to handle gadgets as I do. Nonetheless, what I do is far 
less complicated than those in the film industry," she says.

While she uses Braille for reading and writing, a computer with speech 
output helps her record the reports.

Though she reports mostly on India, her work doesn’t exclusively deal with 
Indian situations. “Lately, I’ve also started doing business stories, which
has made me understand how different groups get to experience the same 
event,” she says. Apart from Radio Netherlands and NPR, Jean files stories 
for World
Vision Report (USA), Women’s International News Gathering Service (Canada), 
the German International Service and BBC Radio 4.

“The way things ancient and modern blend in Indian culture is fascinating. 
But, I often feel irritated about the noise - blaring TV sets, honking horns
and so on. This makes things difficult for me, as I need to observe the 
environment through the sounds," she says. As far as adopting India as her 
permanent
home, Jean says: “Looks like it will be the case!” Copyright: 2004 The 
Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore -

560001
Listen to Fred and Kathy on the Web at

http://www.live365.com/stations/cityslackers/

http://www.fredkate.libsyn.com 

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