By Gael
Masengi
If you have been constantly asking yourself and wondering why
the world deadliest conflict of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
still isn’t getting enough media coverage compared to others, well the chance
is you are not alone neither insane. Just like you, I’ve challenged the idea of
one’s blood is more worthy than the other but given the situation and
overwhelming media attention certain wars are getting no one will blame many
who seem to think the opposite.
This past week Khadija Patel wrote an outstanding piece in
the
Daily Maverick news website, in the article titled
“From Gaza to the Congo: Whose blood is more worthy of attention?”,
the journalist sensibly compared media coverage and attention the week long
Gaza bombing campaign had received to one of Congo, she noted that there was a
remarkable disparity between both crises, despite the endless crisis of the DRC
having claim more than 5.4 million of lives yet the war always get the least of
media exposure, she wrote
“Just over one
week of bombing in Gaza and everybody was up in arms. There were rallies and
protests right across the world. In the media, pages and pages of reportage
analyses and testimony. Together with them, the reports of ordinary
Palestinians on social media lent us some clues of scale of human tragedy
unfolding in the homes, the media offices and the refugee camps in Gaza…and
then there’s the Congo” she continues
“In
the last week, rebels from the M23 group humiliated Congolese troops, taking
the town of Goma and vowing to press on to Kinshasa, the capital. In the wake
of the rebel victory, an all too familiar cycle of unease, reports of abuse at
the hands of militia and the threat of a worsening humanitarian situation.” Countless
opinions view the Middle-East as a hot bed of westerners’ interests yet a
fragile zone therefore it always apportioned much media exposure dissimilar to
anyplace else, crediting
that to American dominance on
media.
She however reckons the crisis
isn’t really being completely ignored but it isn’t rather exciting as the
attention that Gaza did.
Patel also senses
that there is an invisible logic which states one must own a media platform
with a global reach in order to influence the world opinion, referring to the
skewed media coverage super storm
Sandy received
when the US east coast were hit with how it affected the Caribbean’s islands of
Cuba and Haiti a week earlier.
Vava Tampa, a London-based anti “mineral conflict” Congolese
activist, echoes the same feeling of either total lack of willing or conflict
of interests when it comes to reporting on the world greatest humanitarian crisis
of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the article published on
CNN website, the
activist wrote
“…the question here is not
whether the human suffering in Congo deserves more media coverage because it is
greater than that in Syria or Gaza, but rather, why has the crisis in Syria or
Gaza qualified for extensive media coverage, but not the killing and raping
industries in Congo?” he questioned the motive behind this media blockade
on the Congo whether it’s due to the geographical or cultural distance between
Europe or America and Congo or just because no western ally or interests were
in jeopardy .
“What if Robert Mugabe of
Zimbabwe or his disciples were implicated in funding murderous militia gangs in
Congo?” He asked,
“Or if the killing was between black
Africans and Arabs? Or if minerals funding Congo’s killing and raping industries
benefited the East more than the West?”
On Thursday I found myself debating
critical issues on the DRC with activists from the South African Forum for
International Solidarity (SAFIS), something rang a bell when an activist
invoked the same concern of total
absence on global media on what regards the DRC’s fifteen years-old problems,
it suddenly struck me and became clear that the Congo’s conflict is purposely
being suffocated inside flashy heaven-like news rooms in London, Doha or
Washington but then again who does it benefit to?, I asked, Or are stories
coming from that part of the world too sensible to report compared to an openly
wounded five year-old boy in Israeli airstrike on Gaza?
I concluded as such, if the Congo conflict is decided inside
some fancy sky scraper offices, by a bunch of well-dressed corporate
executives, thousands of miles away, possibly the very same actors also hold major
shares at large media conglomerates, which in their turn, they make sure that selective
information get on-air, in fear not to lose that heavy cheque.
Myself, Gael Masengi and the rest of contributors would like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2013 to all of our "Gael On Media" faithful readers from around the world. We hope to see you again in the upcoming year as we promise more depth news coverage and opinion from an African point-of-view!
