Far too often, those who cover global affairs in the West view the world as Western nations and those they have relationships with. If there is not an agenda to push, such as with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the Uyghur camps, conflicts and humanitarian disasters get swept under the rug. Selectivity helps to perpetuate neocolonialism, especially when the West is still populated with many people who subconsciously believe in the West being the center of the world, whereas the Global South is inferior, full of inhabitants from supposedly inferior races. This superiority complex is reinforced every day when they pick up a newspaper and see little to no mention of the Global South.
In northern Ethiopia, 16 months of fighting has ravaged the Tigray region, causing estimates of up to 500,000 deaths. Tigray is being led by its ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The Tigray region has been defending itself from the Ethiopian military, who has the assistance of Eritrean forces who have a grudge against the TPLF dating back to earlier border wars. A blockade has emerged surrounding the Tigray region, causing mass shortages of medical care and a drastic increase in child malnutrition. According to UNICEF, roughly “2.3 million children in [the] Tigray region of Ethiopia need humanitarian assistance.” Communications and supply chains have been strictly limited, further isolating the Tigray region.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization director-general, claimed that “there is nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat than in Tigray.” Despite the exorbitant amount of human suffering, it is impossible to imagine there being a daily newsletter from The New York Times giving updates on Ethiopia, as has been happening with Ukraine. One might claim that the news reports what is relevant to its consumers, but contrarily, news organizations decide what is relevant to their readership. Relevancy comes from exposure — if the consumers of Western mainstream media had seen the video of three people, likely ethnically Tigrayan, being burned alive by the Ethiopian security forces, relevancy would be manufactured.
The astonishing lack of coverage among mainstream media outlets in the West is evident of the Eurocentric and racist portrayal of world affairs. There are exceptions, with some coverage finding its way into major outlets, but even the chosen stories that get included are representative of what the West cares about with regard to suffering in the Global South. For instance, the killing of three Doctors Without Borders workers in Tigray, a group originating in Europe, received more attention due to it being deemed “relevant” to the Western world. Doctors Without Borders is common ground for The New York Times readership, and so it gets an article. There should not have to be a connection to the United States for its people to care about the crisis in Ethiopia. Interviews with Tigrayans on the ground, or relatives of people in Tigray, would give a much clearer picture of what is going on.
The neglect to cover issues involving developing nations is not surprising for the right wing, but the left needs to do better with regard to giving equitable attention to world atrocities. In the general realm of progressive activism in the United States, far too often the African continent is forgotten. Due to the proximity of Latin America, coupled with extensive documentation of U.S. interference and crimes, it usually gets center stage on discussions of imperialism. The Middle East and Southeast Asia also get heavily addressed because of U.S. involvement in wars and long record of drone strikes and bombings. There is not as much of an obvious link between the United States and Africa, so it gets mostly ignored — the U.S. military does have a presence in Africa, but not nearly as active of a role as it does in the rest of the world. There still is a connection between Ethiopia and the United States, and our media has the responsibility to create consciousness. Failing to do so is being complicit in the humanitarian crisis. The left needs to be more mindful of conflicts that do not directly involve the United States, because the virtues of socialism require internationalist solidarity with all oppressed groups, regardless of our empire’s role.
This column is not an attempt to minimize the suffering felt by groups in the West, such as the defense being waged by Ukrainian civilians. Rather, mainstream reporting of Western suffering must be adjacent to reporting of the suffering in developing nations. Belief in the equality of all life is neglected in our media, and covering issues like Ethiopia is a start to fixing it.
Nathan Sommer is a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics and law.