January 13, 2015

There are massacres and there are massacres

located:	Nigeria
editor:	Murat Suner

While the world was reporting and mourning about the Charlie Hebdo carnage in Paris, Boko Haram's Islamic extremists attacked Baga, a north-eastern town in Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon. Amnesty International describes the recent incident as the “deadliest massacre” in the history of Boko Haram.

According to the Guardian most victims are children, women and elderly people "who could not run fast enough when insurgents drove into Baga, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles on town residents."

The British newspaper refers to an article by Simon Allison in South African Daily Maverick where Allison criticizes the lack of coverage in global media. “I am Charlie, but I am Baga too,” he said, adding that “it may be the 21st century, but African lives are still deemed less newsworthy – and, by implication, less valuable – than western lives.”

Since the nearest journalist are hundreds of kilometers away a timely reporting is indeed difficult. More importantly Allison points out that “Boko Haram effectively controls Borno state in its entirety. These aren’t just terrorists: they are becoming a de facto state.”

A situation similar to so-called Islamic State militants who control a notable area in Syria and Iraq. Hence, even more reason for the world to take notice.

But coverage is not only lacking by African media, African leaders didn't even condemn the attacks, and there seems no solidarity movement happening either.

The frustrating conclusion is, as Allison says, that “outrage and solidarity over the Paris massacre is also a symbol of how Africans neglect Africa’s own tragedies, and prioritise western lives over their own.”