Thinking Out Loud: Reflections of the Paris Massacre?

Media Coverage?

As I check my facebook, many friends are posting other headlines that didn’t get much “social media” attention as the recent “Friday the 13th Paris Massacre”. Why is that? Here are some samples..

-Africa

Kenya attack: 147 dead in Garissa University assault 3 April 2015 bbc.com

Nearly 2,000 Civilians Were Killed in a Single Terror Attack in Nigeria—Where Was the Media?-
The contrast between the coverage of the Boko Haram Massacre and the Attacks in Paris is glaring.
By Meteor Blades / Daily Kos
January 13, 2015 alternet.org

“…Meanwhile, critics have complained that Western media have ignored or barely touched the Baga slaughter and the Kano bombing amid a 24/7 outpouring of coverage of the murders at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. The Guardian ran a story Monday on the criticisms under the headline: “Why did the world ignore Boko Haram’s Baga attacks?”

Reporting in northern Nigeria is notoriously difficult, journalists have been targeted by Boko Haram, and, unlike in Paris, people on the ground are isolated and struggle with access to the internet and other communications. Attacks by Boko Haram have disrupted connections further, meaning that there is an absence of an online community able to share news, photos and video reports of news as it unfolds.

But reports of the massacre were coming through and as the world’s media focused its attention on Paris, some questioned why they were almost ignored. […]

“I am Charlie, but I am Baga too,” wrote Simon Allison for the Daily Maverick, a partner on the Guardian Africa network. “There are massacres and there are massacres” he said, arguing that “it may be the 21st century, but African lives are still deemed less newsworthy—and, by implication, less valuable—than western lives”.

That attitude, sadly, is not new. And it has infected the African media and leadership, too. Allison noted that African media did a poor job covering the massacre. “Our outrage and solidarity over the Paris massacre is also a symbol of how we as Africans neglect Africa’s own tragedies, and prioritise western lives over our own.” That prioritization goes all the way to the top. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running for election in February, expressed his condolences for the victims in Paris over the weekend but made no mention of those at Baga.

What’s lacking in western media coverage of Africa isn’t just news about massacres, however. For instance, how often have stories appeared in American newspapers, on CNN, the BBC and major European media about the presence of U.S. military operations in 12 sub-Saharan nations, including Nigeria?”

-Middle East

Paris Attacks Highlight Western Vulnerability, And Our Selective Grief And Outrage
By Chris Graham on November 14, 2015 newmatilda.com

“…Meanwhile, in a brown part of the world, as the attacks began in Paris, Lebanon was just emerging from a National Day of Mourning, after 43 people were killed and 200 more were injured during a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Beirut. ..

Like suspicions around the attacks in France, the bombings in Beirut are believed to be in response to Hezbollah’s decision in recent weeks to send in troops to support efforts in northern Syria against Islamic State.

But the bombings in Lebanon drew no tweet from Malcolm Turnbull, no social media statement from Barack Obama, no live media blogs from Western media, no wall-to-wall media coverage. And no twitter hashtags from Australians in solidarity with the Lebanese.

It’s a curious state of affairs, when you consider that there are around three times as many people of Lebanese descent living in Australia, compared to French nationals.

You’d think if we were able to identify with anyone, it would be with Lebanese Australians – after all, so many of them are among the most beloved in this nation, and have contributed enormously to public life…”

A Day Before the Paris Attack, Suicide Bombers Killed 43 in Beirut By Jon Levine November 14, 2015 mic.com

“…Indian blogger Karuna Ezara Parikh wrote a poem that’s gone viral since the Paris attacks. “It’s not Paris we should pray for,” she wrote. “It is the world. It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings … is not covered in the press.”..”

=>Turkey

Turkey fans boo minute’s silence for Paris victims – but it was not a mark of disrespect, claim commentators on social media @Tom_Sheen |
6 hours ago|independent.co.uk
Video emerged of Turkish supporters booing during the minute’s silence for Paris victims
“…However, comments on social media sites have suggested that the boos were not to disrespect those who had died in the attacks – but more to do with the hypocrisy of the Western world.

International teams did not hold a minute’s silence after the Ankara terror attack in October. More than 100 people died in the Turkish capital after two bombs were set off outside the Ankara Central railway station on 11 October; Turkish fans also booed during a minute’s silence of their game against Iceland on 13 October.
“
At least 30 killed, 100 injured in ‘terrorist attack’ on Turkish town near Kobani
Published time: 20 Jul, 2015 09:47 rt.com

=>Who were the “terrorists”?

Skanky suicide bomber used to be a selfie-taking party animal By Natalie Musumeci and Bruce Golding November 20, 2015 | 12:29am nypost.com
“..She was hardly a model Muslim before she became an ISIS suicide bomber — drinking booze, hanging out with drug dealers and posing for naked photos in a bubble bath.

Before-and-after photos of Paris terrorist Hasna Aitboulahcen, 26, show her radical transformation from a hard-partying clubgoer nicknamed “Cowgirl” into a violent Muslim extremist..

-Overall

The 10 countries where terrorist attacks kill the most people, from i100.independent.co.uk