( CNN ) Romance . Suspense . Good versus evil . On the surface , Rwandan radio soap opera `` Musekeweya , '' or `` New Dawn , '' feels familiar . Like a Rwandan `` Romeo and Juliet , '' it tells the story of lovers from two different villages at odds with each other . But listen closely . Burrowed in the narrative of `` Musekeweya '' is a metaphor for the genocide that took place in Rwanda over the course of 100 days in 1994 , when Hutu extremists massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus . `` Musekeweya '' conveys a message of healing and reconciliation . Dutch photographer Anoek Steketee and filmmaker Eefje Blankevoort were in Rwanda in 2008 when they first heard `` Musekeweya . '' `` We were intrigued by this radio soap , its background and its popularity in Rwanda , '' Steketee said . `` Almost everyone we spoke to on the streets knows the program and can name at least five characters . '' Launched in 2004 by Radio La Benevolencija , a Dutch nongovernmental organization , `` Musekeweya '' is broadcast on the same frequency that was used in 1994 to incite murder . When they heard the show , Steketee and Blankevoort were immediately interested in its effect on Rwandan society . `` It shows people how to resist manipulation by charismatic leaders , how to prevent outbursts of group violence and how to deal with trauma , '' Steketee said . The radio drama raised important questions for Steketee and Blankevoort , and they wanted to explore the way this fiction could contribute to real reconciliation . `` Is this positive programming simply a veneer in a country still grappling with deep trauma ? '' Steketee asked . Steketee and Blankevoort began exploring this issue first through photography . The story , however , proved to be more complex . `` We came to the conclusion that we needed to provide a context , use the audio of the soap and find a form to tell a layered , nuanced story of the relation between the fictional story of the radio soap and the daily reality of contemporary Rwanda , '' Steketee said . `` A Web documentary was for us the ultimate way to tell this story . '' Steketee and Blankevoort 's documentary , `` Love Radio , '' combines the story from `` Musekeweya '' with behind-the-scenes insights from everyday Rwandans and people involved in the making of the radio drama . `` This is where we ask critical questions about the positive image portrayed and reveal what is not said on air , '' Steketee said . `` Actors and audience have their say , thereby painting a picture of contemporary Rwanda . '' Just as `` Musekeweya '' balances between fact and fiction , Steketee 's photographs are not pure documentary . They serve , rather , as `` a tool for the imagination , '' Steketee said . They are moody and evocative and reflect the struggle Rwandans face as they come to terms with the horror of two decades past . `` I photographed listeners in their homes , on the streets , during the broadcast of `` Musekeweya , ' `` Steketee wrote in an e-mail . `` These photographs are combined with poetic , gloomy photographs of ( guilty ) landscapes and well-paved empty streets . I have tried to capture the veneer that covers the complex and tense social fabric of Rwanda today . '' The popularity of `` Musekeweya '' is evident in the amount of fan mail its makers receive each week . Listeners identify with the characters and have opinions about their actions . `` Rutaganira and Zaninka , stop spoiling Rwandan society , '' one listener wrote . `` Enough is enough with your divisive thoughts . '' Social media . Follow @ CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography . Steketee says it is difficult to understand what Rwandans really feel because of an authoritarian political system . `` There is rather a climate of control than dialogue , '' she said . `` Resentments and distrust persist . Inequality and hardships are still there . '' Underneath the tension , however , lies the desire to heal . `` Rwanda is doing remarkably well , '' Steketee said . `` There is a lot of goodwill from everybody to restore the community . There have been good examples of restoration of trust and reconciliation . '' Anoek Steketee is a Dutch photographer . She is represented by gallery Gabriel Rolt .
` ` Musekeweya , '' or ` Musekeweya , '' is a popular soap opera in Steketee . The radio show conveys a message of reconciliation decades after genocide . Rwandan photographer Gabriel Rolt explored the show 's effect on Dutch society . View high-resolution photos of Steketee 's `` Love Radio '' project .