Page 16 - issue 66 en
P. 16
ELITE
ELITE
There isn’t a single figure to blame or
a clear ideology driving the violence.
Instead, it’s a mess of ethnic
tensions, political greed, divisions
and the long shadow of colonial
exploitation.
Imagine trying to get the world
interested in a crisis where most
victims don’t die in a missile
bombing but from disease and
starvation, far from the eyes of the Let’s also not forget the bystander
cameras. How do you paint a vivid effect in global politics. When the
picture of suffering when it’s quiet, international community looks at
unremarkable in refugee camps or conflicts, the level of interest often
villages? Even The New York Times, hinges on Western strategic interests.
known for its international coverage, Wars that impact oil prices or have
devoted far more attention to Darfur clear geopolitical stakes—like those
than Congo, despite the Congo crisis involving Russia or in the Middle East—
being far deadlier. It’s easier for tend to get front-page coverage. But
readers to rally around a narrative African conflicts? They often seem too
where evil has a face, and there’s a far removed from Western priorities.
clear-cut enemy. Darfur, for They don’t disrupt global markets or
example, was easier to frame: a spark fears of a wider war between
genocide by Sudanese authorities superpowers but worse it covers the
against specific ethnic groups. western exploitation of natural
Congo’s conflict, meanwhile, is like a resources in these countries. So
saga with too many characters and somehow, it is advantageous for the
no coherent plot. Who are the western media , it’s better to stay
villains? Who are the victims? When forgotten.
the suffering comes not from bombs However, this isn’t just an issue for
but from malaria or malnutrition, Western audiences because even within
how does one create the sense of the region, many countries show a
urgency necessary to break to the weird level of apathy. During the
surface next to Gaza or Ukraine?
Burundian massacre, when hundreds of
thousands of bodies floated down the
Nile’s tributaries, many Egyptians were
more concerned about water pollution
than the human tragedy unfolding
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there.
