Empathy requires inquiry as much as imagination.
October 18, 2017 1:51 PM Subscribe
"...And so it was with a familiar disappointment that Somalis watched as details of the attack failed to headline broadcast news or resonate globally on social media. There was no impromptu hashtag of solidarity, no deluge of television coverage. It was as if the bombing were just another incident in the daily life of Somalis—a burst of violence that would fade into all the other bursts of violence. The lack of public empathy was startling but not surprising."
"The stories that are told about a place can enable, or disable, the ability to empathize with those who reside there. News stories told about Somalia are usually alienating; they convey the sense that the near-daily terror attacks are more normal than the less frequent attacks in the West. The implication is that people in Somalia, as a result, mourn differently or with less intensity."
--
Pray for Mogadishu is not trending, but Somalis are mobilizing.
"Due to the lack of global solidarity we just want to show that there are people who do stand with Somalia."
--
Somalis in Kenya donate blood, food for Mogadishu bomb attack survivors
--
The horrific bombing in a crowded and bustling area in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday is a grim reminder of how deadly the country’s armed conflict remains for ordinary Somalis. A bomb-laden truck exploded at a busy junction in central Mogadishu lined with government buildings, restaurants, hotels, and kiosks, killing at least 230 people and wounding hundreds more. The blast destroyed buildings and set vehicles ablaze.
--
"A lorry full of explosives destroyed hotels, government offices and restaurants at a busy junction in the capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 281 people and injuring another 300.
Somali authorities are struggling to identify the dead - leaving relatives helplessly searching for news. It is unlikely we will ever know the identities of everyone who died in the 14 October Mogadishu attack. But this is what we know so far."
--
Despite the usual clan politics and villages won back and lost again to Al Shabaab, the general feeling has been that this, finally, was the time Mogadishu would shake itself free of Al Shabaab’s hold once and for all. And this is the Mogadishu that inspired Ahmed to return. Ahmed had left the Somali capital just before the country was plunged into civil war in 1991; he was a teenager at the time and took Somali Airlines to Cairo from Mogadishu, eventually making his way to the United States where he would meet and marry his wife in 2007 and father three kids, one girl and two boys.
It was 2 in the morning when Abdinasir finally found his friend’s body. Badly burned and wedged between concrete blocks, Ahmed Abdikarim Eyow’s remains were barely recognizable.
--
Double standards: why aren't we all with Somalia?
--
Somali Faces on instagram
@AaminAmbulance on Twitter
"The stories that are told about a place can enable, or disable, the ability to empathize with those who reside there. News stories told about Somalia are usually alienating; they convey the sense that the near-daily terror attacks are more normal than the less frequent attacks in the West. The implication is that people in Somalia, as a result, mourn differently or with less intensity."
--
Pray for Mogadishu is not trending, but Somalis are mobilizing.
"Due to the lack of global solidarity we just want to show that there are people who do stand with Somalia."
--
Somalis in Kenya donate blood, food for Mogadishu bomb attack survivors
--
The horrific bombing in a crowded and bustling area in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday is a grim reminder of how deadly the country’s armed conflict remains for ordinary Somalis. A bomb-laden truck exploded at a busy junction in central Mogadishu lined with government buildings, restaurants, hotels, and kiosks, killing at least 230 people and wounding hundreds more. The blast destroyed buildings and set vehicles ablaze.
--
"A lorry full of explosives destroyed hotels, government offices and restaurants at a busy junction in the capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 281 people and injuring another 300.
Somali authorities are struggling to identify the dead - leaving relatives helplessly searching for news. It is unlikely we will ever know the identities of everyone who died in the 14 October Mogadishu attack. But this is what we know so far."
--
Despite the usual clan politics and villages won back and lost again to Al Shabaab, the general feeling has been that this, finally, was the time Mogadishu would shake itself free of Al Shabaab’s hold once and for all. And this is the Mogadishu that inspired Ahmed to return. Ahmed had left the Somali capital just before the country was plunged into civil war in 1991; he was a teenager at the time and took Somali Airlines to Cairo from Mogadishu, eventually making his way to the United States where he would meet and marry his wife in 2007 and father three kids, one girl and two boys.
It was 2 in the morning when Abdinasir finally found his friend’s body. Badly burned and wedged between concrete blocks, Ahmed Abdikarim Eyow’s remains were barely recognizable.
--
Double standards: why aren't we all with Somalia?
--
Somali Faces on instagram
@AaminAmbulance on Twitter
"I hate comparing human tragedies, but the mainstream media makes you do it," he posted on Facebook. "There are no slogans claiming 'we are Mogadishu' and no catchy images floating around social media demonstrating solidarity."
This is from the BBC article which immediately starts comparing the tweet count of human tragedies.
It's uncanny how quickly mainstream press coverage has bought into slavishly embedding a few sample tweets or Facebook posts into articles that could otherwise convey the same information through standard reporting. I know journalists are faced with the give-the-customers-what-they-want bottom line that sustains the news outlets they work for, but situations like this make me think that it's not a good thing to take focus away from important events themselves in order to make room to talk about the extent to which people make public gestures of empathy about important events.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:09 PM on October 18, 2017 [16 favorites]
This is from the BBC article which immediately starts comparing the tweet count of human tragedies.
It's uncanny how quickly mainstream press coverage has bought into slavishly embedding a few sample tweets or Facebook posts into articles that could otherwise convey the same information through standard reporting. I know journalists are faced with the give-the-customers-what-they-want bottom line that sustains the news outlets they work for, but situations like this make me think that it's not a good thing to take focus away from important events themselves in order to make room to talk about the extent to which people make public gestures of empathy about important events.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 2:09 PM on October 18, 2017 [16 favorites]
While I'm 100% behind calling out the double standard re: 1st world light skinned people vs 3rd world dark skinned people, it's weird that the framing is not 'why aren't you/we doing something to help' but rather 'why aren't you/we making up hashtags, "clever" images and facebook ribbon campaigns', as if that where the utmost of compassion and involvedness you could ask people for nowadays.
Sigh. Our current global society even sucks at sucking.
posted by signal at 2:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [24 favorites]
Sigh. Our current global society even sucks at sucking.
posted by signal at 2:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [24 favorites]
Man, I just feel so bad for Somalis. They are really fighting the good fight, but keep getting screwed left right and centre. The drought affecting much of eastern Africa is absolutely hammering the country.
posted by smoke at 2:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by smoke at 2:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
I apologize for that being the dominant framing of the post and the pullquotes, but there are lots of good examples in the linked articles of Somalis in Somalia and the diaspora actively doing things to help. I think the "where is the rest of the world?" question extends beyond hashtags and ribbons to action, and empathy, and knowledge, and I do think that is emphasized particularly well in the first linked article.
posted by ChuraChura at 2:51 PM on October 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 2:51 PM on October 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
Signal, your question answers itself: that is what we usually do to ostensibly fix these problems. That our slactivism is so slack is some mixture of embarrassing and nauseating.
posted by koavf at 3:09 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by koavf at 3:09 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
Exactly what are WE supposed to do? Have the US military go peacekeep? How about the UN? Oh I know we could send some NGOs! That's worked well. Or maybe charity? We decry "thoughts and prayers", but what is sound and fury on Twitter supposed to accomplish? If every action that I could possibility to do has a high chance of seriously making things worse, then maybe I should should do nothing.
Another thing is that with multiple missteps and the continued failure of anything to make things better for the better part of a quarter century, this place is the Platonic ideal of compassion fatigue.
Hell, reading these links I don't even see a place to donate besides a couple of GoFundMe links that already hit their amount.
posted by zabuni at 3:50 PM on October 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
Another thing is that with multiple missteps and the continued failure of anything to make things better for the better part of a quarter century, this place is the Platonic ideal of compassion fatigue.
Hell, reading these links I don't even see a place to donate besides a couple of GoFundMe links that already hit their amount.
posted by zabuni at 3:50 PM on October 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's easy to mock the focus on social media slacktivism, but Jesus Christ. People can't force their governments to take concrete action if they don't even know about a crisis, and social media is where people get their news now.
posted by tobascodagama at 4:03 PM on October 18, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by tobascodagama at 4:03 PM on October 18, 2017 [20 favorites]
Yeah, I mean, "what can we do to help" is a higher-order conversation, and the answer to that could be to stop doing stuff that our government already is doing, as well as to start doing stuff that it's not. But you can't even have that conversation unless you're paying attention.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 4:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'd argue that media narratives were worse pre-social media; I suppose the counter-point is in part that right wing fringe elements are far better represented in current media (and thus government) than viewpoints that are even a little left of center. But the idea that the average white person was going to hear a callout regarding racial bias back in the 90s in their daily media consumption was just about impossible.
And my compassion fatigue is made worse by articles of the form "group X needs you to perform social media rituals on their behalf." It does feel like time for another social media break if not a full internet break for a week. Or a year.
posted by MillMan at 4:21 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
And my compassion fatigue is made worse by articles of the form "group X needs you to perform social media rituals on their behalf." It does feel like time for another social media break if not a full internet break for a week. Or a year.
posted by MillMan at 4:21 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
Given the current state of the executive branch in my country, I do not want to advocate for Somalia. I do not trust my government's concrete actions; I fully expect them to a lot more of the things they are doing, and then also do the opposite of whatever they should do. I especially don't want to do this on Twitter. He could hear me there.
posted by zabuni at 4:37 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zabuni at 4:37 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
I guess it's worth asking the collective Western Internet why Somali requests for empathy and internet thoughts and knowledge (and googling for places to donate if you are so moved) is a step too far, given the outpouring of support over comparable and arguably less severe and debilitating events in the West.
posted by ChuraChura at 4:39 PM on October 18, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 4:39 PM on October 18, 2017 [22 favorites]
Thanks for posting about the attack. It's just awful.
If people think the social media response is less important, we can talk in this thread about the real substance of what's going on on the ground there instead. I think late afternoon dreaming hotel's point is correct, that it's a dangerous trend for media talk about the meta-story ("what was social media's response") at the expense of helping us to understand the actual events, and it's good to push against that.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:48 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
If people think the social media response is less important, we can talk in this thread about the real substance of what's going on on the ground there instead. I think late afternoon dreaming hotel's point is correct, that it's a dangerous trend for media talk about the meta-story ("what was social media's response") at the expense of helping us to understand the actual events, and it's good to push against that.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:48 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Social media responses to attacks are humanizing and supportive at the very least, and may help move people to act. Americans perceptions to Africa as a continent, and Somalia specifically, is that it’s just a bunch of disparate war zones, a la Black Hawk Down, when, in actuality, those are real human beings, but people don’t understand that because those aren’t the stories that they are fed.
Here is a GoFundMe page for Aamin Ambulance, a first aid service that gives Somali’s free first aid:
Despite decades of violence and the subsequent exodus of doctors and other health professionals, Aamin Ambulance is committed to delivering FREE first aid to Somalis who have little to no help from the government. They offer first aid but also transport survivors to the hospital and the deceased to morgues with dignity.They need improved communications, more medical supplies, better vehicles, more workers if they are to provide the desperately needed emergency response that Somalis need.
posted by gucci mane at 5:29 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Here is a GoFundMe page for Aamin Ambulance, a first aid service that gives Somali’s free first aid:
Despite decades of violence and the subsequent exodus of doctors and other health professionals, Aamin Ambulance is committed to delivering FREE first aid to Somalis who have little to no help from the government. They offer first aid but also transport survivors to the hospital and the deceased to morgues with dignity.They need improved communications, more medical supplies, better vehicles, more workers if they are to provide the desperately needed emergency response that Somalis need.
posted by gucci mane at 5:29 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
it's weird that the framing is not 'why aren't you/we doing something to help' but rather 'why aren't you/we making up hashtags, "clever" images and facebook ribbon campaigns', as if that where the utmost of compassion and involvedness you could ask people for nowadays.
I don't think it's saying those are helpful things, in the sense that they produce a tangible outcome. I think it's saying those are signs that people give a shit, even if superficially, and that they were pretty much absent for Somalia. You could argue whether they're a useful sign of empathy or the lowest rung of slacktivism, but either way there was no sign of them for this horrible event. When even people who just love tweeting about everything and anything can't be arsed tweeting about you, what does that say?
For my sins, here's my first reaction to seeing this on TV in the office cafe: 'Man, what a fucked up place. I'm never going there.' And then I literally returned to a flat white and played with my Apple watch. So part of the problem right here. I know nothing about Somalia, and I sure as hell didn't say that about Paris.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:29 PM on October 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
I don't think it's saying those are helpful things, in the sense that they produce a tangible outcome. I think it's saying those are signs that people give a shit, even if superficially, and that they were pretty much absent for Somalia. You could argue whether they're a useful sign of empathy or the lowest rung of slacktivism, but either way there was no sign of them for this horrible event. When even people who just love tweeting about everything and anything can't be arsed tweeting about you, what does that say?
For my sins, here's my first reaction to seeing this on TV in the office cafe: 'Man, what a fucked up place. I'm never going there.' And then I literally returned to a flat white and played with my Apple watch. So part of the problem right here. I know nothing about Somalia, and I sure as hell didn't say that about Paris.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:29 PM on October 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
Waterhawk Down.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 7:05 PM on October 18, 2017
posted by Samuel Farrow at 7:05 PM on October 18, 2017
I've been a little bit puzzled by this and I think news sources matter. I get the bulk of my news via radio (NPR shows and BBC World) and the NYT and local newspaper, and there has been coverage of the bombing since it happened. So I was confused when people started saying "Where's the coverage?" since I've been hearing it and reading it. I understand it may not have commanded US cable news and so it may not have made its way through social media in the same memey way other things have, but I just wanted to note that at least major radio and print news outlets have paid attention.
I'm not saying there's not a problem, there is. But at least part of the problem is the number of people relying on Facebook and the equivalent as a news filter. I'm still far from trusting it as a filter and feel an obligation to maintain an information stream from direct news sources, and it's times and issues like these that reinforce that policy.
posted by Miko at 7:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
I'm not saying there's not a problem, there is. But at least part of the problem is the number of people relying on Facebook and the equivalent as a news filter. I'm still far from trusting it as a filter and feel an obligation to maintain an information stream from direct news sources, and it's times and issues like these that reinforce that policy.
posted by Miko at 7:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
The issue is the same as the problem with "thoughts and prayers." It's all well and good to donate money and send positive thoughts; but problems in Somalia, like gun problems in the US, require state level action in the interests of the people involved to make lasting, positive impacts.
Similar to Miko I was a little puzzled by this - I was at my parents' house this past Sunday, they had the TV on and the local news program (of all things) was doing a story on it.
posted by MillMan at 9:03 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Similar to Miko I was a little puzzled by this - I was at my parents' house this past Sunday, they had the TV on and the local news program (of all things) was doing a story on it.
posted by MillMan at 9:03 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Miko, I actually find this happens pretty often: people complaining about things "not being in the media" when I've seen them for days on the "front page" of the NYT website. If you deliberately choose to trust your information-gathering about the world primarily to a heaving sea of semi-random laypeople, yes, your knowledge of world events is probably going to have some gaps. Turns out, tumblr is great for dank memes and Facebook for finding out what MLM scams your college friends are into this week, but if you want grown-up coverage of the world, you have to read the serious news like a grown-up.
I also wonder if U.S. news attention should ultimately be the measure of validation one is working towards if one is a non-Western country. It is of course impossible to disentangle issues of Western news coverage from centuries of devaluation of non-Western, non-white lives (and there are separate problems of how the news is covered, aside from its sheer breadth). But it is also human nature for people to pay more attention to events happening to people and groups more closely related to them. I don't think that's ever going to change (though which groups the majority of Americans feel more closely related to may well change with our demographics!). It is not, at this moment, as a practical matter possible to dispense with Western attention as irrelevant, because of the West's disproportionate control of resources for assistance, but, conceptually, why should, e.g., East Africans regard the NYT as the "real" news that counts and not the media of the EAC countries? If there is a bombing in Ghangzhou, will be they looking primarily for the thoughts and prayers of Nebraskans or of Beijing?
We now have news flooding in constantly from every corner of the globe, but our capacity to engage with it hasn't really increased. I'm not sure that any critique is going to change that. (These sad events may not be the very best case for this analysis because of the great scale of the losses, but there are many such tragedies which claim fewer lives but which present the same problem of limited attention.)
posted by praemunire at 9:17 PM on October 18, 2017 [15 favorites]
I also wonder if U.S. news attention should ultimately be the measure of validation one is working towards if one is a non-Western country. It is of course impossible to disentangle issues of Western news coverage from centuries of devaluation of non-Western, non-white lives (and there are separate problems of how the news is covered, aside from its sheer breadth). But it is also human nature for people to pay more attention to events happening to people and groups more closely related to them. I don't think that's ever going to change (though which groups the majority of Americans feel more closely related to may well change with our demographics!). It is not, at this moment, as a practical matter possible to dispense with Western attention as irrelevant, because of the West's disproportionate control of resources for assistance, but, conceptually, why should, e.g., East Africans regard the NYT as the "real" news that counts and not the media of the EAC countries? If there is a bombing in Ghangzhou, will be they looking primarily for the thoughts and prayers of Nebraskans or of Beijing?
We now have news flooding in constantly from every corner of the globe, but our capacity to engage with it hasn't really increased. I'm not sure that any critique is going to change that. (These sad events may not be the very best case for this analysis because of the great scale of the losses, but there are many such tragedies which claim fewer lives but which present the same problem of limited attention.)
posted by praemunire at 9:17 PM on October 18, 2017 [15 favorites]
I get the bulk of my news via radio (NPR shows and BBC World) and the NYT and local newspaper, and there has been coverage of the bombing since it happened. So I was confused when people started saying "Where's the coverage?" since I've been hearing it and reading it.
My perception was that it disappeared from the NYT homepage very quickly.
posted by PHINC at 9:19 PM on October 18, 2017
My perception was that it disappeared from the NYT homepage very quickly.
posted by PHINC at 9:19 PM on October 18, 2017
There is a difference between an article or two on the front page, and the kind of coverage that you get when there is even a small attack in Western Europe, say, along with people changing their Facebook photos to match. It’s not that there has been zero coverage, it’s the striking mismatch between the responses to different events.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:22 PM on October 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 9:22 PM on October 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
If you do a search, you'll see there are ~30 articles published in the NYT on the bombing since October 15, e.g.:
'Where Are the Others?': Somalia Praises 'Genuine Brother' Turkey for Bombs Response
Turkey's swift response to Somalia's deadliest truck bombing drew praise from survivors and officials who called Ankara their "only genuine" international partner.
October 18, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "'Where Are the Others?': Somalia Praises 'Genuine Brother' Turkey for Bombs Response"
The Latest: Somalia Leader Urges Fractured Nation to Unite
The Latest on deadliest attack in Somalia's history (all times local):
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "The Latest: Somalia Leader Urges Fractured Nation to Unite"
Thousands March Over 'Somalia's 9/11;' Attack Details Emerge
Somali intelligence officials shared a detailed account of the country's deadliest attack, while thousands marched Wednesday in Mogadishu in a show of defiance against the extremist group blamed for Saturday's truck bombing that left more than 300...
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "Thousands March Over 'Somalia's 9/11;' Attack Details Emerge"
Somalis Defy Police to Protest Against Deadly Truck Bombings
Thousands of Somalis demonstrated on Wednesday against those behind bombings that killed more than 300 people, defying police who opened fire to keep them away from the site where their loved-ones were killed.
October 18, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "Somalis Defy Police to Protest Against Deadly Truck Bombings"
Pope Deplores Somalia Bombing That Killed Over 300
Pope Francis has deplored the Somalia bombing that killed more than 300 people.
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "Pope Deplores Somalia Bombing That Killed Over 300"
The Latest: UN Leader Gives Condolences Over Somalia Bombing
The latest on the deadly explosion in Somalia's capital (all times local):
October 17, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "The Latest: UN Leader Gives Condolences Over Somalia Bombing"
In Somalia, Hope Fades in Desperate Search for Missing
Anguished families scoured Somalia's capital Tuesday in search of scores still missing from Saturday's bomb blast that killed more than 300 people in one of the world's deadliest attacks in years.
October 17, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "In Somalia, Hope Fades in Desperate Search for Missing"
Chaotic Response to Somali Bombing Cost Lives, Medics Say
Medics who rushed to help victims of a huge bomb explosion in the Somali capital Mogadishu that killed more than 300 people say the country's threadbare emergency services have been pushed beyond their limit.
October 17, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "Chaotic Response to Somali Bombing Cost Lives, Medics Say"
posted by praemunire at 9:31 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
'Where Are the Others?': Somalia Praises 'Genuine Brother' Turkey for Bombs Response
Turkey's swift response to Somalia's deadliest truck bombing drew praise from survivors and officials who called Ankara their "only genuine" international partner.
October 18, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "'Where Are the Others?': Somalia Praises 'Genuine Brother' Turkey for Bombs Response"
The Latest: Somalia Leader Urges Fractured Nation to Unite
The Latest on deadliest attack in Somalia's history (all times local):
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "The Latest: Somalia Leader Urges Fractured Nation to Unite"
Thousands March Over 'Somalia's 9/11;' Attack Details Emerge
Somali intelligence officials shared a detailed account of the country's deadliest attack, while thousands marched Wednesday in Mogadishu in a show of defiance against the extremist group blamed for Saturday's truck bombing that left more than 300...
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "Thousands March Over 'Somalia's 9/11;' Attack Details Emerge"
Somalis Defy Police to Protest Against Deadly Truck Bombings
Thousands of Somalis demonstrated on Wednesday against those behind bombings that killed more than 300 people, defying police who opened fire to keep them away from the site where their loved-ones were killed.
October 18, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "Somalis Defy Police to Protest Against Deadly Truck Bombings"
Pope Deplores Somalia Bombing That Killed Over 300
Pope Francis has deplored the Somalia bombing that killed more than 300 people.
October 18, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "Pope Deplores Somalia Bombing That Killed Over 300"
The Latest: UN Leader Gives Condolences Over Somalia Bombing
The latest on the deadly explosion in Somalia's capital (all times local):
October 17, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "The Latest: UN Leader Gives Condolences Over Somalia Bombing"
In Somalia, Hope Fades in Desperate Search for Missing
Anguished families scoured Somalia's capital Tuesday in search of scores still missing from Saturday's bomb blast that killed more than 300 people in one of the world's deadliest attacks in years.
October 17, 2017 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - World - Print Headline: "In Somalia, Hope Fades in Desperate Search for Missing"
Chaotic Response to Somali Bombing Cost Lives, Medics Say
Medics who rushed to help victims of a huge bomb explosion in the Somali capital Mogadishu that killed more than 300 people say the country's threadbare emergency services have been pushed beyond their limit.
October 17, 2017 - By REUTERS - World - Print Headline: "Chaotic Response to Somali Bombing Cost Lives, Medics Say"
posted by praemunire at 9:31 PM on October 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
I didn't see anything about the bombing on the NYT front page, and even now when I click on the 'world' section I don't see any of the articles that praemunire points to. I can only see those articles when I actually type the word 'Mogadishu' into a search box.
I do notice that the NYT said in March that later this year they would start tailoring the front page of their web site to individual users -- I wonder whether part of the issue is that we are not all seeing the same NYT anymore.
posted by crazy with stars at 9:42 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I do notice that the NYT said in March that later this year they would start tailoring the front page of their web site to individual users -- I wonder whether part of the issue is that we are not all seeing the same NYT anymore.
posted by crazy with stars at 9:42 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't think there's any such thing as the NYT homepage. What you see on the NYT page is algorithmically determined, based mostly on what you've read in the past. Right?
And yeah, I would say that my perception of attention is based partly on social media and partly on what people I know IRL are talking about. Also, there's been nothing in the local media, even though there's a substantial Somali population in my area, and the local media typically finds a local angle on big news stories.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:47 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
And yeah, I would say that my perception of attention is based partly on social media and partly on what people I know IRL are talking about. Also, there's been nothing in the local media, even though there's a substantial Somali population in my area, and the local media typically finds a local angle on big news stories.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:47 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
ArbitraryAndCapricious: "What you see on the NYT page is algorithmically determined, based mostly on what you've read in the past. Right?"
That's my point -- I think this is true now, but I don't think it was true as little as a year ago.
posted by crazy with stars at 10:00 PM on October 18, 2017
That's my point -- I think this is true now, but I don't think it was true as little as a year ago.
posted by crazy with stars at 10:00 PM on October 18, 2017
I didn't see anything about the bombing on the NYT front page
It absolutely was there. I think we can use a little common sense here. 230 people died in a bombing. Short of, I don't know, a presidential assassination at home, that's not not going to be top-of-fold for a while. Chunks of NYT content are algorithmically determined, but "above the fold" generally isn't. I see the same thing there logged in or out, and using Ghostery.
posted by praemunire at 10:01 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
It absolutely was there. I think we can use a little common sense here. 230 people died in a bombing. Short of, I don't know, a presidential assassination at home, that's not not going to be top-of-fold for a while. Chunks of NYT content are algorithmically determined, but "above the fold" generally isn't. I see the same thing there logged in or out, and using Ghostery.
posted by praemunire at 10:01 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
To judge from the Wayback machine the NYT treated the story this way:
1. Immediately after the story broke it occupied the 3rd position in the left column. (7pm GMT Sunday)
2. An hour later it slipped to fourth position (8pm GMT)
3. Another hour later it slipped to fifth and bottom position in the left column. (9pm GMT)
4. It remained in bottom position until it became a small-text story (11am GMT Monday)
So all in all it remained on the main page in big font for about 15 hours (pretty much all day Sunday in a US time zone), and most of those 15 hours it spent in the least important position in that section.
So I admit it was definitely there -- but I think it's also striking that it was in a pretty subordinate position on the day people are least likely to be checking the news. Hard to say whether that translates to 'above-the-fold,' but I think there's arguable case that it doesn't.
posted by crazy with stars at 11:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
1. Immediately after the story broke it occupied the 3rd position in the left column. (7pm GMT Sunday)
2. An hour later it slipped to fourth position (8pm GMT)
3. Another hour later it slipped to fifth and bottom position in the left column. (9pm GMT)
4. It remained in bottom position until it became a small-text story (11am GMT Monday)
So all in all it remained on the main page in big font for about 15 hours (pretty much all day Sunday in a US time zone), and most of those 15 hours it spent in the least important position in that section.
So I admit it was definitely there -- but I think it's also striking that it was in a pretty subordinate position on the day people are least likely to be checking the news. Hard to say whether that translates to 'above-the-fold,' but I think there's arguable case that it doesn't.
posted by crazy with stars at 11:12 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I checked the print edition: there was an AP story on page A9 on Sunday; front page and above the fold on Monday; and a story on A4 on Tuesday. I didn't see anything on Wednesday. So not nothing, but I suspect a lot less than a similar attack in Europe would have received.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:22 PM on October 18, 2017
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:22 PM on October 18, 2017
And appeals to common sense are a weak way to respond to accusations of bias.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:26 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:26 PM on October 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think this is actually a good example of the difference between the digital and print NYT. Print NYT gives much of the above the fold space on Monday to the Mogadishu bombing (though mostly a photo; the text is just barely above the fold), while digital NYT never gives it that kind of priority.
posted by crazy with stars at 11:32 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by crazy with stars at 11:32 PM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
From the first linked article:
The Somali diaspora is so widespread, I promise you that there are people in Nebraska and Minnesota and Maine and Texas who are feeling the effects of this attack in the same way folks around the US were reeling after Vegas. Ribbons, hashtags, profile picture frames ... Why is it normal for Nebraskans to be Paris or Madrid, but not Mogadishu?
posted by ChuraChura at 5:07 AM on October 19, 2017 [17 favorites]
Most major news outlets did run articles on what happened, but, with a few exceptions, most followed the same formula: a dispassionate recounting of the explosion, similar to most news articles on major events. What is often missing in the days following attacks in Somalia are the intimate stories about the victims, the sense that real, breathing people were affected, and that these catastrophes are neither normal nor expected. With a place like Somalia, defined by stereotypes beyond its borders, it has become acceptable to think of the country as holding only war and extremism, and to forget that the lives there are multilayered, possessing similar and universal concerns, interests, and desires.I have a Somali acquaintance from college who wrote on Twitter, "There is such a deep chasm for how attention is delegated. And when your country is stamped with a big "FAILED STATE," it's almost moot. I'll keep working, trying to raise awareness about this horrific massacre. But, God, the attention economy is so visible right now."
The Somali diaspora is so widespread, I promise you that there are people in Nebraska and Minnesota and Maine and Texas who are feeling the effects of this attack in the same way folks around the US were reeling after Vegas. Ribbons, hashtags, profile picture frames ... Why is it normal for Nebraskans to be Paris or Madrid, but not Mogadishu?
posted by ChuraChura at 5:07 AM on October 19, 2017 [17 favorites]
What is often missing in the days following attacks in Somalia are the intimate stories about the victims, the sense that real, breathing people were affected, and that these catastrophes are neither normal nor expected.
Better than nothing, I know. But here's one -- the only one I know about -- that the Graunaid ran on its front page three days ago (16/10/17). Very sad: Maryam Abdullahi Gedi, who was among more than 300 people killed in attack, had been due to graduate this week
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:38 AM on October 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
Better than nothing, I know. But here's one -- the only one I know about -- that the Graunaid ran on its front page three days ago (16/10/17). Very sad: Maryam Abdullahi Gedi, who was among more than 300 people killed in attack, had been due to graduate this week
posted by Mister Bijou at 5:38 AM on October 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
If the problem is what folks see on social media, then rather than blame the major outlets, who are doing their job, we should note that we are all vectors if we participate. So, for instance, follow a Somali news source on Facebook. Retweet Somalis on the scene. Post and share the articles. Since social media lacks a civic, pro-social filter, we need to be that thing instead. If this is important to you, how can you break the silence? How can you amplify?
At the same time I endorse this, I'm gonna keep saying: read/hear real journalism. Don't stop at the home page - browse the sections, just as you do in a print paper. That multiple-layer presentation is a necessary component of news organization that the web is unfortunately flattening such that it seems unthinkable to ask people to delve beyond A1.
posted by Miko at 6:48 AM on October 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
At the same time I endorse this, I'm gonna keep saying: read/hear real journalism. Don't stop at the home page - browse the sections, just as you do in a print paper. That multiple-layer presentation is a necessary component of news organization that the web is unfortunately flattening such that it seems unthinkable to ask people to delve beyond A1.
posted by Miko at 6:48 AM on October 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
Here is a much more substantive conversation about the bombing with experts on Somali politics - Amanda Sperber, who wrote the article "Shock and revulsion over Mogadishu bombing" and Professor Abdi Samatar from University of Minnesota.
"The second thing to note is that, yes, this is carnage, but Somalis have been bleeding slowly to death in what professor Michael Watts calls “silent violence” over the last two-and-a-half decades or so. So, yeah, the concentration of the death in a small period of time in one place is horrific, but death of this kind has been taking place among the population by terrorists and by African Union forces over the last decade or so. So we should not be really surprised at this, but we should take stock of the sober nature of the calamity that’s Somalia.posted by ChuraChura at 2:21 PM on October 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
"And then the final thing I would like to say is this, that the United States government and the European Union, who support AMISOM, the African Union force in Somalia, populated by Ugandans, Ethiopians, Kenyans, Djiboutians and whatnot, they spend a billion-and-a-half dollars a year on that force. And that force is a conventional military force that’s placed, holed in, in locations outside and inside Mogadishu. If they were to spend a quarter of that sum of money on developing a Somali security force that’s mobile, that it can engage in guerrilla tactics and go after al-Shabab, this kind of a carnage would have been easily sort of avoided, and the people would have been saved. I don’t think the international community is serious about this. I don’t think they are interested in helping the Somali people. I think they are more interested in containing the Somali problem, as they call it, in Somalia, rather than claiming that they are nurturing the development of peace and democracy in that country."
Via a friend who is a free-lance reporter living in Mogadishu:
So what’s it like to live in a place like Somalia, where attacks happen so often, you ask? Well, I suppose it’s like living anywhere else. We love our families. We like to spend a day with our kids when we can. And when an attack happens, we hurt. We mourn the people lost. The fact that it happens more often here than, say, in Europe, doesn’t inure us to the pain, the loss, the suffering.posted by ChuraChura at 12:39 PM on October 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
I used to go to this intersection every day. There were people there whom I saw every day. In the stores, in the cafes. The guy selling fruit. That woman I used to buy peanuts from. I will never see them again. Even after it’s rebuilt, with new cafes and vendors. These people are gone forever.
Via Infini, "More than 10 years after African Union peacekeepers set foot in the capital and six years after the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab was pushed out," why is Mogadishu still a frequent target for attacks?
posted by ChuraChura at 6:57 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ChuraChura at 6:57 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
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