Compassion & media coverage towards Ukraine but not the Middle East/Africa

[babyhaha]

This is something that has been on my mind for a little while so hopefully I'm able to word it correctly.

Since the invasion in Ukraine there has been constant threads about this on MN. This is also something that is constantly spoken about and written about in the media as it rightly should be. This is a major thing that's going on and people should obviously be informed about this.

However, why is this not the case when there's constant wars happening in the Middle East and Africa? Iraq, Palastine, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan etc the list really does go on. There's still innocent people in these countries that are getting killed for no reason. Now I've personally never seen threads about these countries on MN but as I don't spend too much time I'm on here, I could be wrong. What I am certain about, is these countries BARELY get any media attention from the West, if ever at all. Why is that?!

Is this because Ukraine is a European country and not a third world country where things like these are 'expected to happen?' Do people feel that as the people in these countries are minorities that they don't deserve the same sort of empathy that the Ukrainians are getting? I really am interested to know why there's such a massive difference in terms of media coverage and general compassion.

It's actually interesting because just a few days ago, supermodel Bella Hadid stated that Muslim suffering deserves the same level of outrage as Ukraine and she is absolutely right. And to those who may say I'm exaggerating or this isn't the case, I've linked a Twitter thread below which has clips of the most racist Ukraine coverage on TV and the wording used in each and every clip is very telling. I'd be very interested in hearing people's thoughts.

twitter.com/alanrmacleod/status/1497974245737050120?s=21

@Elissax

The journalist openly saying things like "yes they drop these bombs in Afghanistan BUT it's stomach churning for it to be happening in Ukraine" proved everything.

Yes, this is exactly my point! There's been a few occasions where I've actually had to rewind the news just to hear what they've said because silly me has thought, 'there's no way they've said that on national tv.'
How disgusting is it to say 'yes this happens in this country every but can we believe this is now happening to people that look just like us' and whatever bullshit has been said in videos such as the ones in the link I attached. It's actually vile.

But it's okay, if a afghan nursery gets bombed because it's only brown children.

Right?! Like no need to bat an eyelid or feel any sort of emotion because these people don't look like me. Ok then

It's quite concerning how bombs were dropped every few minutes on Middle Eastern countries but Obama was never blasted?

Never blasted!! Exactly! This topic frustrates me so much that I can even say anything except what a joke

@XelaM

Maybe because there have been many terrorist attacks from people of those nationalities and their refugees are actually considered by some to bring further threat of terror to Europe. Very different to Ukrainian refugees

Right, those brown muslamic terrorist coming here to take our benefits/rape our women/bomb us 🙄

Yep, it's because they're nearer and whiter. When I think of all the Africans having their heads macheted off in wars and that news relegated to the middle of the night (on the World Service) it does make me rather mad. It seems that not everyone has the same value...

@Cheshirecatwoman what agenda? From the start of the thread people have literally said it's easier to feel empathy for those that look like them. Is that not race? And what culture is this that makes you feel sudden empathy that you can't feel for the Middle East/Africa?

I'm not sure if you are deliberately misinterpreting what people are saying. No one says they don't have empathy with people in middle east and Africa. Just because you feel something more keenly for one thing, doesn't mean you have no empathy for something else. It's not one or the other.

It's like if I read about a mum in her 40s from Scotland dies, it hits me harder than say a man in his eighties from America. I can still feel sad and compassionate about the man but it gets me a bit more with the woman because I can relate to her and what her life might have been like.

When people are say they look like us, I don't think they necessarily mean the physical looks. I think it's about their lives looking a bit more like our lives and therefore it's easier to put yourself in their shoes. Same type of building in our cities, similar shops etc

We have had extensive news reports since the Vietnam war

We have seen dead children washed up on beaches

We have seen boys of 12 holding machine guns

We have seen men a days away from starving to death in camps in Europe in the 90’s

We have seen women screaming in grief over the death of her children

Social media was certainly part of the reporting in Syria

Threads like this make me a bit uncomfortable. Though I can see your point but it also comes across as whataboutery. A bit like when you see things about women suffering domestic violence and then the comments are filled with but men suffer domestic violence too. And it always seems like the commenter never says what they're doing to address the issue other than insinuate you shouldn't care about a without caring about bcdef as well.

FangsForTheMemory

I think it's because if things go wrong in Ukraine, we could end up being nuked.“

I think it’s this, too. Much closer to home. Humans are pretty self-absorbed creatures and often don’t take much notice of things until they begin to look like they might harm them/their loved ones.

The reality is that it affects us more because Ukraine is in Europe, and the people affected by this war are Europeans, just like us.

That may not be the appropriate PC answer according to sanctimonious virtue-signalling lefties, but it’s the truth.

The question I'd love answering is why do those men leave the women and children behind in the contries with conflicts and civil wars?

@MacaroniBaloney surely you're not being serious. As a pp said, do you know how difficult these journeys are? A lot of the times it's in the best interests for the man to make the journey, try their best to get settled and call for the family as soon as they can. People are not just leaving their families behind with a smile on their face because they never have to see them again. It's literally what's in the family's best interest. Or do you suggest they bring their wife and kids with them?

@ReadtheFT Well, you can put the dramatic spin on it if you want, but that's the truth. There is a terror threat from the Middle East. There isn't from Ukraine. Thus people are more willing to accept their refugees

British were fighting in Afghanistan in the 1800s. Then the Russians were fighting in Afghanistan in the 1900s then more recently the US and other western countries were fighting in Afghanistan.
It's not that peoplel haven't tried to control it, and wrest it from the Taliban. But everything has failed - what do you suggest we do now - remove every citizen of Afghanistan to where?? the UK?? and leave the Taliban army on their own.

Turning these confilicts into racist accusations of the west is wrong imv.

@TooMuchTooTired

The reason it's mainly men making the journey from countries such as Sudan is because the journey itself is incredibly dangerous. Women and children are more likely to be raped and trafficked and older people would be unlikely to survive the journey. And so the family has to make the horrendous decision to send young men in the hope they can survive the journey and find a safer way to bring women, children and older family members to a safe country.

Yes. But instead of even thinking for a minute, or perhaps trying to find out why these men would leave their families, some posters would rather believe that these men are only to happy to ditch their families and responsibilities.

@XelaM

Maybe because there have been many terrorist attacks from people of those nationalities and their refugees are actually considered by some to bring further threat of terror to Europe. Very different to Ukrainian refugees

@XelaM how many white male terrorists have their been in the US? I don't see anyone scared to have Americans here in this country. What a nice bit of Islamophobia from you👍 the media really does get into a lot of you people's heads

@PlanetNormal

The reality is that it affects us more because Ukraine is in Europe, and the people affected by this war are Europeans, just like us.

That may not be the appropriate PC answer according to sanctimonious virtue-signalling lefties, but it’s the truth.

Yeah right.

Some things just hit closer to home for some reason? For me, Rwanda was one of those things. I have no personal connection to Rwanda or the African continent but it was something about this small country being the target of such atrocities, and the world not ‘doing’ anything (aside from the UN which had to helplessly observe the genocide) which really got to me.

Re Ukraine, it’s because it is in some ways a repeat of our close history here on this continent. Some of us have grandparents and even parents who fled one European country for the next not that long ago. It’s also personal for some of our friends and acquaintances. Nothing to do with racism

What if they're fleeing a country because the family decided it's in the best interest for the man to go elsewhere and send money back home? Who honestly knows what the reason is but again, this is interesting to know

how do you know these people aren't fleeing war torn countries though? Why do you get the impression that they're just here for a better life?

These two statements sort of contradict each other, though, OP. Why would a young man be happy fleeing a war-torn country alone and leaving his wife and children behind? I think the perception is that a lot of these refugees are actually 'only' economic migrants - whether sending money back home or planning to set up home in the UK for their families to come over and join them later in a better standard of living - but they are not currently in fear of being bombed to death.

For what it's worth, I don't personally have any issue with economic migrants. I didn't do anything noteworthy or admirable to get myself to the UK: I just happened to have parents who were lucky enough to be born here and didn't leave, thus I was born here too. I'm not going to start criticising others who didn't have the fortune to be born in a well-off, developed country for wanting what I have by pure accident of birth.

I think another major aspect is that, with a lot of the other conflicts, they are perceived as two aggressive sides that are as bad as each other (the leaders, anyway) 'wanting' war rather than living in peace. In stark contrast, Zelenskyy is seen as a very reasonable, rational, peace-loving man who cares deeply for his country and his people and has done absolutely nothing to make a huge power just decide to attack, with the likely intention of taking over his country.

We in the 'West' see Ukrainians as proud and wanting to stay in their country, but temporarily being forced out, and desperate to go back again once Putin has been killed or subdued; whereas the perception is that, with most of the people coming from the Middle East and Africa, they never intend to return at any point, hence 'they are just after a meal ticket'.

Simple explanation. They identify with Ukrainians more than Middle Eastern culture.

Their way of life is similar
Their cultural practices are similar
Their Colour is similar
Their moral compass is similar .

People are more likely to help those they identify with most.

Because by and large people are used to brown and black people being blown up, drowning, being poor, suffering and so forth but not so much when it's white people with ostensibly blonde hair and blue eyes. You'll notice a parallel to the floods in Germany, many people said things along the line of "You expect this in 3rd world countries but in Germany!?!".

Generally speaking bad things shouldn't happen to white people. That's what all this outpouring is for.

@TooMuchTooTired

The reason it's mainly men making the journey from countries such as Sudan is because the journey itself is incredibly dangerous. Women and children are more likely to be raped and trafficked and older people would be unlikely to survive the journey. And so the family has to make the horrendous decision to send young men in the hope they can survive the journey and find a safer way to bring women, children and older family members to a safe country.

@MacaroniBaloney another obvious answer to your question

@Riverlee

I had a similar conversation with my dh a few days ago. His response was because ‘the enemy’ is Russia, who are a huge powerful force.

This

I’m tired of this kind of attitude.

We in the U.K. live in a continent called Europe. The war in Ukraine is occurring on the borders of that continent, and involves a longstanding enemy of that continent. It really is that simple.

People of Africa and the Middle East are naturally going to be more concerned about war involving peoples they know, in areas they are familiar with.

One is not more racist than the other.

@HRTQueen

Their families send young men away to send money home

Would you not send you son away knowing he will be forced to fight in an army like the Taliban

It would be inconceivable in some cultures to think a young women would be able to survive without her family in a foreign country

@MacaroniBaloney and another one

🙄 total virtue-signalling nonsense on this thread. It's not Islamophobia. It's the truth. Middle East poses a potential terror danger to Europe. Ukraine does not.

And if Americans were allowed to bring their guns to the UK, they might have posed a danger too. It's the crazy gun laws in the US that are the main reason for so much violence

I'm shocked that , in the week preceding the Ukraine conflict, there was loads of media coverage of Afghan citizens selling their infant daughters and adults selling their kidneys as they were so very desperate.

The Ukraine conflict has overshadowed those desperate stories with more desperate stories from Ukraine.

The situation in Yemen is utterly dire as well as in numerous other places.

It's all so horrific.

Also if we inEurope get involved in African or Middle Eastern wars we get criticised however they turn out, because history does not stop and there are consequences to actions. As anyone familiar with the history of wars in Eastern Europe will know.