Does Global Citizen’s Social Media Campaign Endorse Western Media Bias on Ukraine?
#StandUpForUkraine is a worthy cause, but not the only crisis in the world
I’m proud to be a Global Citizen, but their current campaign leaves a bitter taste that they have followed the trend of news media by focusing only on Ukraine.
Since 24 February, news channels have devoted the bulk of their airtime to coverage of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.
Many Medium writers have capitalized on this tragedy to the detriment of highlighting the suffering of people in other areas of the world.
Until yesterday, I avoided publishing any topic related to Ukraine, because I didn’t want to be part of the problem, However, because I’m a music lover, I relented and published the story of Pink Floyd’s latest single produced in collaboration with a member of the Ukrainian band Boombox — a fundraiser for Ukraine.
I care deeply about what’s happening in Ukraine. Putin’s propaganda, lies and atrocities put Goebbels and the Nazis in the shade.
But I never limit my compassion for people’s suffering to any one country, ethnicity or culture.
“Nearly all the more than 50 South African students who had to flee their universities in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country last month are back home — thanks to the joint efforts of South Africans from all spheres of life: civil society, business and ordinary citizens.” — Daily Maverick, 12 March 2022.
I am one of those ordinary citizens.
Here in South Africa, the ANC government’s pussyfooting around Putin and their neutral stance on Russian aggression are shameful.
Nelson Mandela wrote in 1993 that South Africa’s foreign relations would henceforth be based on the belief that
“human rights should be the core concern of international relations”.
(I’ll be penning an article on this topic soon.)
Western bias?
During the refugee crisis in Europe 2014/2015, I remember asking,
“What if the refugees were white?”
Do you recall in September 2021 how Poland reacted to thousands of migrants from Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere trying to cross illegally from Belarus? Poland declared a state of emergency. Nineteen people died in the forest.
Compare that to how they have welcomed Ukrainian refugees with open arms.
An extract from this article published in the LA Times on 2 March sums up the problem.
“A number of correspondents, consciously or not, framed suffering and displacement as acceptable for Arabs, Afghans and others over there — but not here, in Europe, where the people ‘have blue eyes and blond hair’ and where they ‘look like us.’
Lorraine Ali’s closing paragraph sums it up well:
“Unfortunately, in Europe’s newest conflict, at least one age-old problem persists: The limits of empathy in wartime are still too often measured by race.”
Another report from CNN:
“This isn’t a place, with all due respect, you know, like Iraq or Afghanistan that has seen conflict raging for decades,” said CBS News foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata, referring to Ukraine. “You know, this is a relatively civilized, relatively European… city.” He later apologized.
Other news outlets poured sympathy on Ukrainian victims, with interviewees and correspondents pointing out that, unlike Middle Eastern refugees, Ukrainian victims were “white,” “Christian,” “middle class,” “blonde” and “blue eyed.”
Every displaced person deserves our compassion
Osnat Lubrani, UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, said on 24 March,
“The war has caused the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II. Ten million people have been forcibly displaced, with over three million crossing borders in search of safety.”
I don’t deny that. Around 11 million people were displaced after the second World War, most of whom settled in western Europe.
But consider this.
An estimated 79.5 million people worldwide are currently displaced.
A 2017 report concluded that most refugees arriving in Europe were driven by persecution, war and famine. Over 80% of those arriving in 2015 were from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which have all suffered from devastating wars.
UNHCR trends for 2020 reflect the following statistics:
- 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate
- 5.7 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA’s mandate
- 48 million internally displaced people
- 4.1 million asylum seekers
- 3.9 million Venezuelans displace abroad
Turkey currently hosts 2 million Syrians, 300,000 people from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan; Lebanon hosts 1.1 million Syrians, Jordan 630,000 and Egypt 130,000.
Then there’s Myanmar.
“The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar — formerly known as Burma. Despite living in Myanmar for many generations, the Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population.” — UNHCR.
As of August 2021, there were 980,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar. Around 890,000 Rohingya refugees are living in the Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar region. These are the largest, most densely populated camps in the world.
Somalia is suffering their worst drought in 40 years yet. The United Nations projects that 4.6 million Somalis will not have enough food by May 2022. Only 3.2 percent ($47.1m) of the required funding ($1.5bn) for its humanitarian response plan has been received so far.
Last year, 53 percent of the food that the World Food Program (WFP) received in Somalia came from Ukraine. Now that the port of Odesa, Ukraine is closed for the export of food aid, WFP is predicting food scarcity and skyrocketing prices for staples such as wheat and peas.
Afghans need $4.4 billion to have enough to eat.
On 31 March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some Afghans have resorted to “selling their children and their body parts” to get money for food. 23 million people face acute food insecurity.
Meanwhile, the Taliban continue their crackdown on girls and women.
- On Monday 21 March, the Taliban announced girls could return to secondary school on Wednesday 23 March, then closed them two hours later.
- Women cannot now travel without a mahram (close male relative) apparently to “protect their honor.” The Taliban has expanded this to travel abroad. Several women traveling alone were reportedly stopped from boarding flights.
- The Taliban also introduce similar bans in several healthcare centers across the country, forbidding women to access healthcare without a mahram.
- Women must wear a hijab at workplaces
- They have ordered gender segregation in public parks.
Around 80% of the world’s current conflicts are concentrated in Africa and Asia.
Yet fundraising for Ukraine continues
Europeans open their arms and homes, children are already attending school, mental health counseling is available.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all refugees received the same level of support, irrespective of their backgrounds?
“During bad circumstances, which is the human inheritance, you must decide not to be reduced. You have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that. We are obliged to know we are global citizens. Disasters remind us we are world citizens, whether we like it or not.” — Maya Angelou.
My thanks to Justiss Goode for her story, which gave me the courage to write this one.
Nearly a quarter of the world’s children live in conflict or disaster-stricken countries.
Thank you for being here.
