>We are once again in a world of distrust, where the military strength of a country determines how safe its population can feel. Suddenly you hear that arming yourself is the best guarantee of peace. The stronger you are as a country, the less likely you are to be attacked. The peace dividends that we had generously collected in Europe must all be surrendered. And after 25 to 30 years of neglect, the costs of re-equipping our armed forces have risen dramatically. **How different the world looked when the Cold War ended. Many of us journalists grew up in that relatively carefree world and have difficulty assimilating the new concepts associated with a world at war.** Military logic is fundamentally different from humanitarian logic.
*Liberian Civil War (1989-1996, 1999-2003): 220,000 deaths*
*Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002): 50,000 deaths*
*Tajikistani Civil War (1992-1997): 50,000 deaths*
*Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994): 30,000 deaths*
*Somali Civil War (1991-present): 500,000 deaths, 2.6 million refugees*
*First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972): 500,000+ deaths*
*Ugandan Bush War (1981-1986): 100,000 deaths*
*Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005): 2,000,000 deaths, 4.5 million refugees*
*Second Congo War (1998-2003): 5,400,000 deaths, 2.5 million refugees*
*Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998-2000): 100,000 deaths*
*Darfur Conflict (2003-2010): 300,000 deaths, 2.7 million refugees*
*Iraq War (2003-2011): 460,000 deaths*
*War in Afghanistan (2001-2021): 157,000 deaths*
*Libyan Civil War (2011): 30,000 deaths*
*South Sudanese Civil War (2013-2018): 400,000 deaths, 2.2 million refugees*
*Yemeni Civil War (2015-present): 233,000 deaths, 4 million refugees*
​
*and now: Ukraine War (2022): 400,000 deaths, 6 million refugees*
So, no, since the end of the Cold War we were not living in a “carefree world free of wars”, what happened was that the deaths were not white and blond.
The European journalists should take a look at themselves and stop their silencing and forgetting of deaths and wars, when the ones that die are non Europeans. That would give European journalism a bit more of trust.
And speaking about the disasters of war in 2023 and not mentioning a single time the words Israel, Palestine, massacre, genocide or 9.000 assassinated children is, again, partial and Eurocentric.
1 comment
>**A world of distrust**
>We are once again in a world of distrust, where the military strength of a country determines how safe its population can feel. Suddenly you hear that arming yourself is the best guarantee of peace. The stronger you are as a country, the less likely you are to be attacked. The peace dividends that we had generously collected in Europe must all be surrendered. And after 25 to 30 years of neglect, the costs of re-equipping our armed forces have risen dramatically. **How different the world looked when the Cold War ended. Many of us journalists grew up in that relatively carefree world and have difficulty assimilating the new concepts associated with a world at war.** Military logic is fundamentally different from humanitarian logic.
*First Congo War (1996-1997): 250,000 deaths*
*Bosnian War (1992-1995): 100,000 deaths*
*Chechen Wars (1994-1996, 1999-2009): 60,000 deaths*
*Gulf War (1990-1991): 25,000 deaths*
*Kosovo War (1998-1999): 13,000 deaths*
*Ethiopian Civil War (1991-1995): 98,000 deaths*
*Rwandan Civil War (1990-1994): 800,000 deaths*
*Liberian Civil War (1989-1996, 1999-2003): 220,000 deaths*
*Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002): 50,000 deaths*
*Tajikistani Civil War (1992-1997): 50,000 deaths*
*Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994): 30,000 deaths*
*Somali Civil War (1991-present): 500,000 deaths, 2.6 million refugees*
*First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972): 500,000+ deaths*
*Ugandan Bush War (1981-1986): 100,000 deaths*
*Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005): 2,000,000 deaths, 4.5 million refugees*
*Second Congo War (1998-2003): 5,400,000 deaths, 2.5 million refugees*
*Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998-2000): 100,000 deaths*
*Darfur Conflict (2003-2010): 300,000 deaths, 2.7 million refugees*
*Iraq War (2003-2011): 460,000 deaths*
*War in Afghanistan (2001-2021): 157,000 deaths*
*Libyan Civil War (2011): 30,000 deaths*
*South Sudanese Civil War (2013-2018): 400,000 deaths, 2.2 million refugees*
*Yemeni Civil War (2015-present): 233,000 deaths, 4 million refugees*
​
*and now: Ukraine War (2022): 400,000 deaths, 6 million refugees*
So, no, since the end of the Cold War we were not living in a “carefree world free of wars”, what happened was that the deaths were not white and blond.
The European journalists should take a look at themselves and stop their silencing and forgetting of deaths and wars, when the ones that die are non Europeans. That would give European journalism a bit more of trust.
And speaking about the disasters of war in 2023 and not mentioning a single time the words Israel, Palestine, massacre, genocide or 9.000 assassinated children is, again, partial and Eurocentric.
So, a lot room for improvement for journalism.