Did you know that just days before the attacks in Brussels, Ankara, Turkey was hit by a tragedy of the same magnitude? Then why wasn’t our Facebook feed filled with the Turkish flag? Why wasn’t the world giving the victims of those attacks a worldwide funeral as well? The cause of this problem is rooted deep in our news reporters who selectively pick and choose who deserves to be mourned and who doesn’t.
2016, which started off as a year of new beginnings for a lot of people, has turned into a year of grief for many, with recent terrorist attacks all over the world in Belgium, Indonesia, Turkey, Nigeria, and, most recently, Pakistan. Normal day-to-day lives are disrupted by heinous acts of violence towards innocent people who don’t deserve the death they are chosen for. We wonder why this is happening, who is behind this, and how we can stop it. But the main question we should be asking ourselves is, why is human life not valued the same all over the world? Why is Paris more important than Ankara? Why were the bombings of Baghdad and Syria not counted as terrorism? The answer lies within us, the people who choose who is important enough and who isn’t. We need to stand up for every life lost rather than just a select few; we need to be grieving the same.
It’s insane to see the difference in response to the attacks in Lahore and Brussels. The media chooses what to show and what not to show; they hold the power over how the public will respond, but they shouldn’t. CNN, BBC, and the world were in a frenzy when news broke about the attacks in Paris and Brussels, but people die in Syria every day – where is their Facebook flag profile filter? Where is their option to be marked safe? When will they get skyscrapers lit up in their honour? If the people behind all of these attacks are the same, then why is our reaction different?
How long will it take before the world wakes up and sees that terrorism affects everyone? When will we realize that just because it’s an everyday occurrence in one part of the world, that doesn’t make it any less important? Take last year’s example: the day before the attacks in Paris, Lebanon was struck with one of the worst terror attacks in its history, but the media’s coverage of the events was drastically different. Where Paris got a whole chapter, Beirut got just a page. Both attacks deserve the same amount of prayers and hashtags so why do we selectively choose which one is more worthy? How many lives need to be lost before we realize that each and every life deserves the same amount of empathy?
Sadly, this shows a trend that has been prevalent in our society for decades. Western privilege: we can deny it as much as we want but it’s out there, and it dictates who the world prays for. All of the recent attacks have been claimed by ISIS, yet certain instances are more publicized than others when both saw the loss of loved ones. This notion of selective grieving has been excessively pushed through social media, where some attacks got their own personal hashtags trending and others didn’t. My Facebook feed wasn’t filled with solidarity hashtags and profile pictures with flag filters of Ankara or Baghdad because they don’t receive the same amount of media attention. On the other hand, after the Paris attacks, my feed was filled with “je suis Paris” declarations and picture after picture in solidarity with France. This all boils down to the fact that France is a western country. This simple fact allows it to receive a wider response from the western world, which surges forth with a wave of acts in support. However, Turkey having the same or even more number of casualities did not. Both countries were victims to terrorism but only one got the tribute it deserved.
Less-developed countries are pushed aside and given the minimum amount of coverage as attacks are more common and the media doesn’t deem them as important. As a result, people are not distraught over it. On the other hand, eurocentricity has played a major role in western countries receiving extensive coverage over attacks. People empathize much more with them and in a way, it’s understandable; when something happens out of the blue like a terrorist attack in the capital of a well-developed country, it shocks the entire nation. Still, this does not mean that we should forget the parts of the world where such occurrences are more frequent or that we shouldn’t give it the same importance. Please don’t misinterpret me; my heart goes out to Paris but it also bleeds for Lahore, and that statement does not have to be a choice between the two.
Recently, a post surfaced on social media, asking, ‘You were Charlie, you were Paris. Will you be Ankara?’ This shows that people can see the systemic effect the media has had on the interpretation of these attacks. We need to move away from selective mourning and identify with all the countries that are subject to such acts and not just those that are given a Facebook filter. People should be able to show solidarity for all the countries that are affected and unite against the monsters that carry out these acts of terror.
The whole world needs our prayers and we need to stand up for all of the lives lost and not let the tainted lenses of western supremacy guide our emotions or how these acts are perceived or supported. We, the people, have the power to silence these terrorists and not let them win; we can unite as one and come out stronger. Let’s all be Paris, Brussels, Ankara, Baghdad, Jakarta, Nigeria and Lahore. Let’s pray for the world.
Information obtained from:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869254
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/27/asia/pakistan-lahore-deadly-blast/index.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pray-for-ankara_us_56e722c5e4b065e2e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_January%E2%80…