GLOBAL APATHY Exploring the media coverage of the Australian wildfires
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ince last July, 26 million acres of However, when compared to the extreme Australia have burned in one of media coverage of the significantly less the country’s worst fire seasons on damaging 2018 California wildfires, which record. At least 34 people have been killed, burned approximately two million acres of 3,000 homes have been destroyed and an land, it is apparent that a far more sinister estimated one billion animals have been reason contributes to the global apathy lost in the fire’s damage. The wildfires are demonstrated towards Australia. so dire that on Nov. 12 greater Sydney The fact of the matter is, we as a society declared an unprecedented “catastrophic” tend to pay greater attention to suffering fire warning due to high level of pollutants when it impacts parts of the wealthy West — in the air. parts of North America and Europe — than Australia is burning down. when it strikes Asian, African and Oceanic Yet very few in the international countries. This is the unfortunate result community were aware of this crisis until of the power structures of our society and the New Year’s Eve — months after the the sentiments of colonialism that pervade fires began. It was when Australian Prime many developing nations, and is seen in Minister Scott Morrison made his vacation many aspects of society. For example, trip to terrorist Hawaii just attacks in days after Palestine declaring receive much a national less coverage disaster that than terrorist the media attacks in OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE erupted, and France, and EDITORIAL BOARD the world the Notre realized what Dame fire in was happening in Australia. 2019 garnered funds from political figures All of a sudden, social media platforms from across the world yet events such as were flooded with sympathetic posts calling the Sri Lanka church shooting received very for donations and community service. little attention or donations. Images of children wiping their eyes and What this selective attention and firefighters branding their extinguishers coverage demonstrates is society’s dominated our news feeds. The world tendency to direct its resources to those was transfixed — but not necessarily in a nations who abide by the principles of good way, for there was a slight eeriness in Eurocentricity, a school of thought centered the way that the international community on Western civilization and one that favors reacted to the Australian wildfire crisis. it over non-Western civilizations. The worst Rather than viewing it as somewhat effects of climate change are looming, and of an apocalyptic event that poses grave it is the developing nations that will be implications to the state of biodiversity, impacted the most. So if we continue to species richness and human infrastructure view the suffering of others’ as distinct from around the world, the wildfires were initially ours, then soon enough there won’t be a treated as a local news story, not deserving planet for us to live on. Climate refugees, of great media attention. Only those in political turmoil, xenophobia and sexism Australia knew what was going on while the — all issues resulting from our Eurocentric rest of us — especially those living in the view of natural disasters such as the one in wealthy West — lived our lives, oblivious to Australia — will accelerate further, pillaging the conditions plaguing Australia. our society. And we will have no one to Part of this discrepancy in coverage blame but ourselves, for unfairly subjecting can be accounted for by the natural our ingrained biases and prejudices upon human desire to look away and avoid our view of the world. e contemplating issues that cause us distress, especially when those anxietyinducing events are miles away from us.
STAFF EDITORIAL
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EL ESTOQUE | FEBRUARY 2020
USED WITH PERMISSION OF BERT
USED WITH PERMISSION OF DAVID CLODE
Only 23% of students heard about the Australian wildfires when they began in late July. *According to a survey of 294 MVHS students
