Passing Under the Radar
by Masha Williams
In recent times, television and radio stations, as well as newspapers, have been increasingly focused on only a small section of the world - namely, China and the Middle East - and while it might seem like a good thing that the majority of US citizens have no choice but to know how many troops were killed in Iraq, or why holding the 2008 Olympics in China is so controversial, this spotlight coverage is leaving a large number of smaller, lesser known, countries in the shadows. This leaves abusive governments free from the public outcry they would have to endure if foreign news media were more thorough in their coverage. These countries, many of which are dismembering families and lives at a depressingly rapid rate, are simply passing under the radar.
Take, for instance, Bangladesh, where a state of emergency that was imposed 14 months ago after the cancellation of elections is still in effect today. This has led to the imprisonment of numerous businessmen as well as several of the country’s former prime ministers and party leaders. All the prisoners are being held indefinitely and without warrants. Moreover, all this is being done by an interim government led by the army, which was originally welcomed by the people for their promise of stopping both the crime epidemic and the corruption rampant within the country.
Or, if that seems nothing more than mildly detestable, take a closer look at Ethiopia, where the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) largely silenced opposition in the wake of an election. They used intimidation and random arrests, among other means, to assure their rule went unchallenged. There, numerous people attempting to register as opposition candidates at a local level were detained and held until after the deadline for registration had passed. Youth were not allowed to register to vote until their families had sent a letter to the government saying they did not support an opposition party, and any who refused to support the ruling party were accused of membership in a terrorist organization. The EPRDF has also committed a number of atrocities in its war against a suspected terrorist organization in Somalia, resulting in a low-level insurgency coming from the Somali region located in the southeast of Ethiopia, an insurgency that the EPRDF has combated with such Geneva Convention violations as arbitrary executions, the deliberate targeting of hospitals, rape, torture, and carpet-bombing.
Or, if that doesn't seem horrible enough to be mentioned by mainstream media, take Burma. There, the military Junta is forcing boys as young as 10 to join the army under the threat of incarceration, brutally separating them from their families and forcing them to fight so-called enemies—villagers around Burma. Many of those who manage to avoid being pressed military service still lead miserable existences working inside the ruby mines, the gem that makes up 90 percent of Burmese exports. These mines are infamous for their horrible conditions, including land confiscation, forced and child labor, and unsafe working conditions that are turning the areas around the mines into breeding grounds for disease.
With the amount of atrocities being committed around the world today, the media would be hard-pressed to mention every new development in every country. However, the disproportionate amount of time it is giving some countries is only making the move towards complete coverage more difficult to achieve; the majority of US citizens, who either trust the mainstream media too much or are too busy to seek information from alternative sources, are left completely in the dark about many of these events and, as a result, are unable to think about taking action in favor of their cessation.
