Rescue/search teams are at last getting through to the remote villages in the High Atlas above Marrakech. So now, for a few short days before something else "exciting" takes the very expensive cameras and operatives away we can see (not 'witness' - we are seeing 'chosen' scenes) the terrible damage the earthquake has wreaked.
There was, of course, a day when we didn't see such things, when we probably never heard of it happening, when people suffered and died and we just read about it in the paper (if we could afford a paper and if we could read). Now it is 'in your face' twenty four hours a day. For perhaps the next day or two we get 'close-ups' of grieving elderly ladies, men frantically moving rocks where their houses once stood - looking for their buried families, straining to hear the faintest sound to indicate that someone might still be alive, and now, after a day or two smelling the awful smell of the dead that tells them what awaits them when the debris is finally cleared. We get the aftermath in its entirety. The aid, the food, the medical team, the rescuers haven't got there yet - but the cameras have got through.
That we can see what is going on around the world is a good thing. Of course it is. But sometimes I question it, especially in times of tragedy. We saw the earthquake aftermath in Turkey/Syria for a few days. Most folk have forgotten about it now - but the desolation, the poverty, the suffering is still there - just not news any more. So is the astronomical expense of getting all the journalists and their equipment there for a week or so worth it? Or would it have been better to spend that money on aid, on medical help - on flying out an extra medical team or two?
When does letting the world know end and sensationalism begin?
After watching the Laura Kuenssberg programme last evening and hearing of the machinations of politicians and government officials - of the men (and a few women) who ostensibly 'keep us on the right path', this morning I have lost all faith in everything. There is no doubt that, as Lord Acton said in the nineteenth century 'Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely'.
This attitude it seems to me extends to everything. Have we somehow lost something important - not just here in this country but throughout the world. So far I think the Moroccan Government have only let the chosen few rescue teams in. Why? Is it for political rather than humanitarian reasons?
The world is not in a good place these days.
Sorry to unload it on you all. But it has got it off my chest - so maybe I will sleep tonight.
.JPG)
20 comments:
It's good to get it down in writing it does release it from your brain doesn't it. I agree with every word that you have written. As humans we seem to have forgotten our basic humanity,and sensationalism is reaching new levels with this 24/7 access to news.
I find the only way to cope is to bury my head in the sand and retreat to my own little world. If you try to talk things through with some people it only becomes even sadder when some of their viewpoints are quite astounding or they simply do not care.
I gave up on Laura Kuenssberg after half an hour. Any longer and I would have burst a blood vessel.
Libya as well with terrible floods. Nature is somehow wreaking vengeance on others. We live, in this country, in a little bubble of not wanting to know. Burying your head in the sand when the world suffers is not right though. Also apart from the wolverine press, there are rescue teams flying out. Supplies will eventually go as well. We must believe in the goodness of people in all those that go to rescue.
Never liked Laura Kuenssberg, so her new programme won't be on my list.
Well said, Pat. It's so sad that kindness, caring. and helpful creativity don't rule the world after all the many generations, me included, that might have made it so.
Hugs!
I think there are many kind, caring, helpful people at these tragedies but maybe they just don't make it on the camera. There are medical teams and emergency personnel and just plain citizens pitching in to do what they can. They don't leave when the cameras move on but keep helping as long as they can and are needed.
Tasker - I gritted my teeth through to the bitter end - my fury rose by the minute - at least I now know with certainty who I shall not vote for at the next General Election ( if I am still here).
Thelma - agree about LK - trouble is she is such a good reporter/presenter.
I agree with all your sentiments. Politics is so depressing. Last Sunday at my church we had a speaker who showed pictures of Turkey, with people still living in tents all these months on. Now the scramble is to get people into something more solid before the winter comes on. He showed the efforts of the local charities-so there are good people helping. I find I cannot bear to watch the news day after day.We are not meant to know about everything bad that happens all the time, everywhere. It is too much.
There's a difference between ignoring the pontifications of politicians and ignoring human tragedies of earthquakes, fires and floods, when lots of hard cash is needed, no questions asked.
It does not do to bottle things up and I must say I am in agreement with you. Much of the world is not a 'nice place' and greed seems to be behind everything that is wrong. There is a strong possibility that I shall never vote again. Every election since my 18th birthday I have used my vote in gratitude to Mrs. Pankhurst and her followers, but I wouldn't know who to vote for now. Is there anyone in government worthy of our support?
I think the phrase "disaster porn" was coined to describe the way that the media descend on any disaster and portray it on screen/on line for a day or two until something else takes its place.
I don't watch news as we have no TV. But I listen to the radio and I am outraged by reporters being there, sending us the sobs and grieving of victims, when they should put the damn equipment down and HELP. Fortunately radio news, at least on the public radio stations I listen to, are fairly short, so I am not bombarded by the cruel absurdity of what Will above identified as "disaster porn".
As for the Moroccan government, may it be on their heads. What idiots, playing politics at the expense of the lives of their countrymen. It's sickening.
Now we have smart phones everywhere
News is immediate and visceral
I was taken aback by the comment of the possibility of never voting again, as here in Australia it is enforced by law. There is no option.
In deference to the suffragetes who fought so hard for the right of women to vote, some force fed in prison, I hand out how to vote cards for my chosen party on a day when..'heading to your local public school, casting your vote and chowing down on a democracy sausage is a compulsory excursion.'
(The bbq stands are a big money-spinner for local service clubs and charities on the day).'
Re the news, there have always been Earth's earthquakes, fires and floods, therefore human suffering and a wake-up call that we are not in charge.
War however, is very much of mankind's making and we never learn.- Pam.
You bring up many good points about the handling of news these days. We lived in the best of times. News was news and it was accurate. We also lived and worked at a time when the economy was good. we had opportunities that are not available today but then there are opportunities today that we never had.
Hello Weave...I love reading your blog and following you. I live in America and "wow" ....things are a total mess here now. I used to be a bit of a "news addict" but now I am 80 yrs. old and have decided the world is not my problem anymore. Even if I thought I could fix anything, well, I'm past having the ability to do so. So...I just pretty much stopped watching any News Media because I want peacefulness in my life now more than anything else. So, I read novels, watch old "classic" movies, take daily walks when weather permits, take naps, have a glass of wine before dinner, cook for myself and enjoy seeing new recipes to try, keep in touch with family (which is just my Sis (age83) and my daughter/grandson....The World is now in the hands of the younger folks. I live now for peace and quiet. Thankfully I am presently blessed with good health, but as we know, life happens...we must never take a day for granted.
And hot on the heels of the Moroccan situation came the floods in Libya. They are saying that as many as 10,000 people have been swept out to sea. I can scarcely conceive of those numbers.
Warsan Shire wrote a poem that ends: "later that night, I held an atlas in my lap, ran my fingers across the whole world, and whispered, where does it hurt? It answered, everywhere. everywhere. everywhere."
Yet another tragedy. I love the old quarter of Marrakech, and Morocco in general. Sadly it will probably be rebuilt with high-rise apartment blocks, and 'modernised'.
It was over thirty years ago that I spent a couple of weeks trekking in the mountains south of Marrakech. The people were so kind and helpful that it upsets me to hear what has happened there. I haven't heard any reports from the villages that I visited though they must be right in the thick of it, being further up into the mountains than where reports are coming from.
Lynney62 I have a feeling we have 'spoken' before but a long time ago. Glad to hear that, like me, you 'keep going'. Dk call again -nice to hear from you.
MANY THANKS EVERYONE. tHRE IS A LOT OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT IN YOUR COMMENTS, TOO MANY TO COMMENT ON INDIVIDUALLY BUT WELL WORTH A GOOD READ THROUGH AND A GOOD THINK.
Post a Comment