“The cameras will come with their hungry, unblinking eyes.”
A former journalist who reported on African conflicts in previous years is addressing the current protests in Ethiopia, focusing on the media’s role in the situation.
Jeff Pearce expressed his thoughts in an essay on Medium, urging Ethiopians to unite and to beware of the Western media’s motives.
Pearce said he saw the media’s influence on Africa when he worked for a major network in London. The former journalist recalled what happened when he was working on a video about a conflict in Sierra Leone in the early 2000s.
Pearce said that’s when a white English producer said to him, “Don’t tell me why the Africans are fighting, just show the Africans fighting.”
Having transformed himself from a journalist to a historian, an author and a concerned observer, Pearce has been paying attention to the protests which have reportedly turned violent in the Ethiopian region of Oromia.
The protests started last week after the death of beloved singer Hachalu Hundessa, who often criticized the government and sang about fair treatment for his fellow Oromo people. More than 150 people are believed to have died as Oromo demonstrators retaliated against other ethnic groups, according to multiple reports.
But Pearce is concerned about the Western media’s ability to make the situation even worse. The former journalist said it could be like the previous conflicts in Africa, with foreign media coming in briefly and sensationalizing the issue before quickly moving on to the next story somewhere else.
“I promise you, I guarantee you, that is how it will be done again. The Western media will come with their cameras and their boom mikes, and they will shake their heads and mutter with solemn condescension what a tragedy it is that the Africans are killing each other and can’t get along,” Pearce said. “And then they’ll move on. They’ll check in on Syria. Or follow up on the Rohingya in Myanmar. Or go to the next bloody circus that’s captured their interest.”
Although he isn’t Ethiopian, the author said he can’t ignore the problem because it would be ridiculous to stay silent while watching a mob burn down somebody’s house.
“It’s easy to dismiss what I have to say, because yes, I’m privileged and not one of you and far away,” he said. “But how sad and horrible it will be if I come back to write another history of your nation, about these terrible days, and your children and grandchildren say to me, ‘Why didn’t anyone speak up? Why did they let it get that far?’”
Pearce noted the many examples of Ethiopians coming together throughout history, including the two battles which successfully ruined Italy’s attempt to colonize the east African country. Now, the historian is urging Ethiopians to once again come together.
“Your nation is one of the leaders of Africa,” he said. “Lead Africa again now. As one people. Please.”
In a 2019 opinion piece for Al Jazeera, Kenya-based writer Patrick Gathara said the problem with the Western media coverage of Africa “is the lack of in-depth and nuanced reporting on the continent and beyond.”
He added that complaints about the Western media’s coverage happen around the world, but it’s especially a problem in Africa.
Gathara said the media portrays Africa as “a dark continent of unspeakable ‘tribal’ savageries, unmitigated suffering, horrible epidemics and child-like helplessness all bounded by breathtaking vistas of natural beauty.”
Gathara also advised local journalists in Africa to stay away from the same “sins which Western journalists are routinely accused of.”
Pearce believes the foreign media will once again thrive on the opportunity to capitalize on African tragedy if Ethiopians can’t come together and solve the current conflicts.
“I promise you the cameras will come with their hungry, unblinking eyes, and the correspondents saying, ‘Oh, the shame of it. What a beautiful country Ethiopia once was,’” Pearce said.
You can read the full essay by Jeff Pearce here.
Cover Photo by melat 161 on Unsplash