Lisa Napoli, Author of the ‘Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth’ is also a journalist, who has covered the Internet revolution and the cultural impact of technology as a columnist and staff reporter for the NY Times CyberTimes, and as a correspondent for MSNBC. Lisa began her career at CNN in Atlanta in the early eighties.
- Lisa Napoli. Photo courtesy/Lisa’s facebook page.
Lisa talked about her book, her experience working within Bhutan, among others with Buddha Mani Dhakal of BNS. Excerpts:
What led you to visit Bhutan?
In the fall of 2006, I was working in public radio (on a show called Marketplace) here in the US when I met a man at a party, a friend of a friend. He wrote to me three weeks later and asked if I had any interest in helping start up a radio station in Bhutan. I didn’t know much about Bhutan, but I was looking for a way to do some meaningful volunteer work, so I said yes. My boss at the show I worked on here in the US agreed to let me take a brief unpaid leave of absence. It was then that I started to learn more, but as you know, especially four years ago, you had to dig to find out more about the place.
How best was your experience of radio journalism fitted to Kuzu FM in Bhutan?
I was a veteran journalist with 25 years experience in all media; before radio I’d been in print and online (NY Times,) TV (MSNBC, local news, CNN). I was told that Kuzoo wanted someone with that kind of background to advise the youth who would be working at the station. They were not explicit about their expectations, which was fine by me.
You authored ‘Radio Shangri-La, what I’ve learned in Bhutan.’ What, in actual sense, have you learned from Bhutan?
- Cover page of the book. Photo courtesy/lisa’s blog.
Actually, the subtitle is what I learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth. Anyone who reads the book learns the irony in the title pretty quickly.
What did I learn? Well, enough that I wrote a book about it, so it’s a little hard to distill in three lines in a questionnaire.
But simply, it’s that: The world does not revolve around you; the world is a very big, very complicated place and we can all help one another; that when you reach mid-life, as I had, and are wondering how you can grow old gracefully and with purpose, you can re-direct your energies to do meaningful work. Being in Bhutan also re-enforced for me how fortunate I had been in my life and in my work.
I also learned a lot about the misperceptions of the US as a place where everyone is rich. That is most certainly not the case.
How is the feedback from the readers of your book?
I get all kinds of reactions: People who absolutely love the book who’ve never heard of Bhutan. People who love Bhutan and love the book, feel it captures what their visit to the place inspired for them. People who are angry with the title and think I don’t know about the refugee/human rights issues. People in Bhutan who love it or absolutely despise it.
What role did you see the Bhutanese media playing to inform the public about the change in governance?
Quite a lot. The media were seen as a critical tool to the implementation of democracy. Especially with television there were and seem to be now many public service programs about democracy, elections, politics. In the newspapers around election times there were ads and much coverage explaining voting procedures, the importance of voting, etcetera.
Back to US from Bhutan, you might have met with the refugees from the same country being resettled here. Wasn’t that an irony to your experience in Bhutan?
Yes of course it was. In particular: that so many Bhutanese youth in Bhutan long to come to the US (which is a big theme in my book), while those in the refugee camps are being relocated here and would in most cases rather go back to Bhutan.
In Tucson a few weeks ago, there was a meeting between me and about a dozen members of the community who have been resettled there. I visited one of the families at their home. I also helped explain what I knew about Bhutan to American teenagers who are involved with a resettlement agency, the International Rescue Committee, and they had many questions.
There is a lot to learn and a lot to tell and I am hopeful that the stories will come out in time, and that maybe I can play a role in that.
I also met some of the Americans who are helping the refugees to acclimate, and they had many questions.
Do you consider your stay in Bhutan a “rare opportunity?”
Of course I did. The opportunity to travel and to visit any place, especially as a guest, is always an incredible opportunity.
Any plan to visit the country again?
As you know it’s quite expensive to get there. These days, I’d rather give the money to people who need it, or to worthy causes.
