{"id":14178,"date":"2022-04-22T14:44:28","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/axumawian.com\/?p=14178"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:44:32","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:44:32","slug":"lets-bring-the-energy-support-for-ukraine-to-all-the-worlds-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/axumawian.com\/?p=14178","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Bring the Energy & Support for Ukraine to All the World\u2019s Crises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ukraine response exposes a double narrative that normalizes conflict for people of color.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Global Citizen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine<\/a>, resulting in violence, shortages of food, water, and medicines, and over 10 million<\/a> people having fled their homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knock-on effort of this crisis has rippled around the world, with protests against the invasion\u00a0in numerous countries<\/a>, international bans against Russian companies and\u00a0sports teams<\/a>, neighboring regions\u00a0scrambling to welcome and settle refugees<\/a>, and a food crisis being sparked that threatens to push\u00a0500 million people<\/a>\u00a0globally into acute hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many fundraising efforts have been launched to support Ukraine and the people impacted by the conflict \u2014 UN spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric told journalists<\/a> after a pledging conference in March: \u201cThis is among the fastest and most generous responses a humanitarian flash appeal has ever received.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, celebrities around the world have been speaking out<\/a> in support of those living through the conflict, while the war has dominated the global news cycle for weeks. Long story short, the world has, rightly, been stopped in its tracks by this war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no question that the international community must do all it can to support and protect those experiencing the impacts of the conflict. But what about all those living through conflicts and crises that aren\u2019t centered in Europe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may be a surprise to you, but in 2021, the African continent saw a record year<\/a> of forced displacement as a result of conflict and repression \u2014 with more than 32 million people<\/a> across Africa being either internally displaced, refugees, or asylum seekers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crises in Africa <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Africa trudged into 2022 with the baggage of military coups in the west and civil war in the east. These are situations that have either been bubbling under only to explode as the year began (such as the military coup in Guinea<\/a>) or that have been high risk circumstances for several years, for instance the civil dispute surrounding Lake Chad<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Cameroon, there\u2019s been two ongoing conflicts<\/a> since 2016 that have displaced more than 750,000 people and left an estimated 2.2 million needing critical humanitarian support. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been in a continuous cycle of conflict for almost three decades (it\u2019s even been dubbed the \u201cforever war\u201d) displacing 5.5 million people<\/a> and leaving 8.8 million more \u2014 49% of whom are children<\/a> \u2014 at the point of extreme food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major crisis is also\u00a0being seen in South Sudan<\/a>, with over\u00a02.3 million people<\/a>\u00a0becoming refugees and asylum seekers while more than half a million people in the country are on the brink of famine. Yet it remains one of the most underfunded crises globally, having received just 40% (about $490 million) of the over $1.2 billion needed,\u00a0as of December 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudan, Nigeria, the list of African countries experiencing crises goes on and on. But where is the global reaction to these crises? Why isn\u2019t the international community working around the clock to do all it can to support those whose lives have been uprooted? From media coverage to humanitarian funding, crises that predominantly affect people of color are either normalized or entirely neglected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begs the question: does the world think African lives are less valuable or less worthy of support and protection than European lives? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it that the world doesn\u2019t seem to care? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Does the Media Come In? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many commentators have highlighted how, in the days immediately following the invasion of Ukraine, the western media narrative was one of shock and horror \u2014 that a war like this could happen but, most importantly, that a war like this could happen in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The examples are numerous and from across many of the world\u2019s leading outlets, from CBS<\/a> to ITV<\/a> to Al Jazeera<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Arwa Damon, CNN senior international correspondent, wrote in an\u00a0opinion piece<\/a>\u00a0published in March: \u201cI hear it in the rhetoric coming out from politicians, journalists, and global leaders. Rhetoric about how Ukrainians are a \u2018prosperous middle-class people<\/a>,\u2019 \u2018the family next door<\/a>,\u2019 \u2018civilized<\/a>\u2019. As if what is defined as a human worth saving is identified by the color of their skin, the language they speak, the religion they practice, or where they were born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author and professor Moustafa Bayoumi added in the Guardian<\/a>: \u201cThese comments point to a pernicious racism that permeates today\u2019s war coverage and seeps into its fabric like a stain that won\u2019t go away. The implication is clear: war is a natural state for people of color, while white people naturally gravitate towards peace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US-based Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association put out\u00a0a statement<\/a>\u00a0condemning this global narrative as reflecting \u201cthe pervasive mentality in western journalism of normalizing tragedy in parts of the world such as the Middle East, Africa, south Asia, and Latin America.\u201d It added that this \u201cdehumanizes and renders their experience with war as somehow normal and expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reporters expressed shock over war happening in a "relatively civil" country like Ukraine\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ePEDZ1GKAd<\/a><\/p>— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 1, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>