When you're far from home it's nice to hear your own language. That's what a million Dutch-speakers around the world hear when they tune in to Radio Nederlands Wereldomroep (RNW, Dutch World Radio) on their short wave radios.

The programs originate in the studios of RNW in Hilversum, Holland and are carried by satellite to three transmission stations (one each in Holland, Madagascar and Bonaire) and from there they can be heard around the globe. The Bonaire site with its near-equatorial location is ideally sited to beam the news, cultural, educational and language programs to North and South America, Africa and Southern Europe. And, given the peculiar nature of short wave which bounces off the 50-60 km high ionosphere, the signal from Bonaire can often be heard as far away as Indonesia. That's important since, in addition to providing programs in Dutch, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese RNW even broadcasts in Bahassa (one of the major languages of Malaya and Indonesia where many people speak Dutch).

The antenna park of RNW sits on the hillside above the Thousand Steps dive site and can be seen from almost anywhere in Kralendijk. The towers themselves are 60 to 110 meters tall and are built of solid steel to withstand the wind and salt. Between the towers is an intricate array of dipole antennas that are so carefully tuned that virtually 100% of the million-watt peak energy they emit is directed straight up and none is directed back into the local environment. There are four separate arrays, one each for North and South America, one for Africa and a smaller one with 30 meter towers, for broadcasting to the Caribbean basin.

But the Bonaire facility is much more than just a relay station. It's also the home of RNB technology, a consulting bureau specializing in communications, broadcasting, engineering and automation. RNB can package a complete broadcasting station and help set it up anywhere in the world at very attractive prices. In this way the technicians from Bonaire are helping bring local radio programming to areas of the world that could not afford it before. Among their other activities, RNB donates time to install and maintain the computer network at Jong Bonaire.

The Bonaire station is also a tinkerer's paradise. From designing and building their own powerhouse to adapting modern technologies to replace the tubes that drive the transmitters, everything that needs building or repair is done by the staff of RNW Bonaire. And the staff takes great pride in their ingenuity, especially when it comes to finding ways to conserve materials. One of their innovations is a system to collect the condensed water from their huge air-conditioners and store it as a stand-by fire-fighting system.

Short wave has been the primary communications medium in remote areas for over 70 years but with the advent of inexpensive local broadcast facilities and satellites, the role of RNW Bonaire is evolving. Currently the station provides worldwide distribution services for BVN, the Dutch television network and will soon become a bulk supplier of electricity for WEB, the local electric and water utility.

So next time you dive the reef at Thousand Steps and see the towers above you, remember that they are carrying the message of Dutch culture all around the world.