Kristof Calls on Readers to ‘Be a Witness’
Kristof Calls on Readers to ‘Be a Witness’
In Monday’s New York Times, Nick Kristof blasted the television news media for their deplorable coverage of the Darfur genocide, directly comparing it to the time they spent covering Tom Cruise and the Michael Jackson trial. (Sound familiar?)
Naturally, reporters were aghast and outraged over the criticism — especially since it came from one of their own — but Kristof’s argument was rock solid. A taste of what he had to say:
Incredibly, more than two years into the genocide, NBC, aside from covering official trips, has still not bothered to send one of its own correspondents into Darfur for independent reporting. …
When I’ve asked television correspondents about this lapse, they’ve noted that visas to Sudan are difficult to get and that reporting in Darfur is expensive and dangerous. True, but TV crews could at least interview Darfur refugees in nearby Chad. After all, Diane Sawyer traveled to Africa this year – to interview Brad Pitt, underscoring the point that the networks are willing to devote resources to cover the African stories that they consider more important than genocide.
Yesterday, on his blog, Kristof gave a shout-out to Be a Witness, our campaign to get the media to stop closing its eyes to genocide:
Samantha Power, who literally wrote the book on genocide, just called my attention to http://beawitness.org/splash/
It makes the same point I did — but more starkly, with video of the runaway bride on the one hand and Sudanese corpses on the other.
If only the runaway bride had run away to Darfur, the genocide might have gotten some attention…
So don’t take our word for it — join 50,000 others and check out Be a Witness.
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Are they standing on any oil? Any other resources? Pipelines? Oh,… I think they would best handle it themselves, or with the help of their neighbors. We can’t be involved everywhere. We have pressing BUSINESS elsewhere.
July 28th, 2005 at 11:07 amKristof’s argument was rock solid
Yeah, except for the part about how he waited a year to write this column because “we in the media business have so many critics already.” So basically his own cohort’s self-interest was more important for a year than Sudanese lives?
More folks need to read dailyhowler.com, methinks.
July 28th, 2005 at 12:15 pmgee you guys are only two days behind Malkin, better late than never:
DOWD AND KRISTOF: GOOD READS
By Michelle Malkin · July 26, 2005 12:18 PM
Maureen Dowd’s tribute to her mother is a beautiful and transcendent piece of writing. Condolences to the family.
Nick Kristof’s powerful column taking the MSM to task for ignoring the genocide is Darfur is also a must-read.
Yes, I’m feeling okay.
July 28th, 2005 at 1:02 pmhttp://www.michellemalkin.com/
Left out of Kristof’s piece:
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 9, 2004
President’s Statement on Violence in Darfur, Sudan
Statement by the President
The United States is appalled by the violence in Darfur, Sudan. Our government has led the international effort to end the suffering there by speaking clearly about the crisis and sending assistance to the suffering. We have provided more than $211 million in aid and humanitarian relief, and we will provide an additional $250 million. To end the conflict, we helped broker a cease-fire and worked closely with the African Union to deploy monitors and soldiers to investigate violations.
I sent Secretary of State Powell to Darfur and Khartoum to demand that the Sudanese Government act to end the violence. We sponsored a strong Security Council Resolution, which passed on July 30. This resolution called on the Government to disarm the Jinjaweed militias which have terrorized the people of Darfur, and bring their leaders to justice. Secretary Powell later sent a team of investigators into the refugee camps to interview the victims of atrocities. As a result of these investigations and other information, we have concluded that genocide has taken place in Darfur. We urge the international community to work with us to prevent and suppress acts of genocide. We call on the United Nations to undertake a full investigation of the genocide and other crimes in Darfur.
The Government of Sudan has not complied with UN Security Council resolutions, and has not respected the cease-fire which it signed. The rebels are also guilty of cease-fire violations and failing to carry out past commitments. It is clear that only outside action can stop the killing. My government is seeking a new Security Council Resolution to authorize an expanded African Union security force to prevent further bloodshed. We will also seek to ban flights by Sudanese military aircraft in Darfur.
The world cannot ignore the suffering of more than one million people. The U.S. will continue to help relieve suffering, as we demand that the Jinjaweed disarm, and that the Government, Jinjaweed, and Darfur rebels end the violence.
Bombing Kills 13 Near Samaritan’s Purse Hospital
In Southern Sudan
More Casualties Expected as Attacks Deter Many from Receiving Life-Saving Treatment at Lui Hospital in Southern Sudan
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040909-10.html
BOONE, N.C., Sept. 26, 2002 â€â€The Government of Sudan’s jet bombers killed 13 civiliansâ€â€including four childrenâ€â€in an attack Saturday, Sept. 21, on Lui, a village in southern Sudan where Boone, N.C.-based Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization, operates a hospital.
July 28th, 2005 at 1:12 pmLui Hospital was not damaged and remains open to treat the injured, however the attacks are expected to cause more casualties as a result of untreated diseases. Many villagers are likely to avoid traveling to the hospital, fearing Lui will be attacked again.
The 80-bed surgical hospital in Lui, opened by Samaritan’s Purse in 1997, is the only advanced medical care for the more than 400,000 people who live within a two-week walk of Lui. More than 40 international doctors have served there, including Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Besides the hospital, the only other significant building in Lui is an Anglican church damaged by bombs during Christmas week of 2000.
The use of Russian-built jets represents an unprecedented deadly escalation in the government’s attacks on southern Sudanese villages. Previously, slower planes’ noisy propellers warned villagers to hide in bomb shelters or caves. In the seven attacks in 2000 and another on September 12, 2002, high-flying prop planes dropped almost 70 bombs on Lui, causing three deaths. In the attack last Saturday, jets dropped four bombs on a cattle camp set up by unarmed Dinka tribesmen; it was more precise and the victims had no chance to flee.
“The cattle camp that was bombed had no soldiers, no equipment, no machines, no guns, no communication devices, no bicycles, and no military targets of any natureâ€â€just Dinka and cattle,â€? said Ken Isaacs, the international director of projects for Samaritan’s Purse.
Since 1983, Sudan has been split by a civil war that began when the Arab-led government tried to impose Islamic law on the predominantly black African southerners, many of them Christians.
Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, works in more than 100 countries around the world, helping victims of disasters, war, poverty, disease, famine, and persecution. In 2000 and 2001, Samaritan’s Purse was recognized by SmartMoney magazine as the most efficient religious charity in the United States.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/home.asp
fake,
July 28th, 2005 at 5:39 pmHave you ever been ‘on-message’ in your life? Kristol was criticizing corporate media, not your favorite war criminals. And corporate media is about spinning us so we will maintain and increase their corporate welfare programs, such as “defense,” “war on terror,” “missile defense,” and so on. They must have written off Sudan. Maybe they thought it was ’sedan,’ and they’re going SUV.
The MSM don’t cover genocide because the current administration wants to make it more appealing for the future here and abroad.
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