It is well known that there is widespread conflict, human rights violations and corruption in Africa. The international community has failed to act because they are not enabled with financial resources or the power to force sovereign nations to act in accordance with basic and universal civil rights. As a result, African citizens are suffering from the actions of the nations around the world and then are abandoned to help themselves. In East Africa, widespread drought and famine were preventable but ignored and starvation is wide spread in the region. Sierra Leone continues to fight conflicts after a civil war over the diamond industry, while children are employed by the government as soldiers. In Nigeria, already limited access to fresh …show more content…
It would also educate the people living through the crisis to inform them of what is going on, the actions being taken and places to find relief.
The media outlet would have no advertisers or ratings to adhere to, with the singular mission statement of providing comprehensive coverage of global affairs. The station would be broadcast and translated to the official languages of all countries in the United Nations. This news organization would have no political leaning on any topic and the programming would be decided by an editorial staff who is voted in with a 70% majority by the United Nations in a similar fashion to Supreme Court Appointments. 7
The lack of media coverage plays an important role in the conflicts and corruption in Sierra Leone. Both the government and Revolutionary Front are fighting over the diamond resource market at the expense of civilians. Rape, amputation and child soldiers are common place in Sierra Leone and with limited news coverage, there has been little action to help protect civilians in the region. Western, for-profit media resources are wealth motivated and cover stories when they will generate money from ad sales. The crisis in Kosovo was covered more heavily than the crisis in Sierra Leone because of a decision from an editor. Sustained coverage is
The diamond industry impacts the people of West Africa by creating a whirlwind of corruption on a political level. In sierra Leone diamonds were a valuable part of the land and they were once legitimately sold up until Sierra Leone became independent in 1961. The following years of their independence corruption flooded the land. According to an online research paper it says “with that independence came corrupt leaders, manipulation of the people , rebel groups, rivalries and civil disputes”. The correlation implies that the diamond industry has created an environment that leaves people at risk of violence, and unfair treatment by their government. The longer the diamond industry is in effect, the longer West African people will suffer from the world market demanding diamonds. Because of globalization it doesn’t look
Tulia, a small town in Texas of just under five-thousand people, is a frightening example of how the judicial system is governed solely by racism as well as one corrupt man’s word. In 1999, nearly ten percent of the town’s African American population was arrested in a single drug bust. Of the forty-six people arrested, thirty-eight were African-American, furthermore all were convicted. The remaining seven arrested where know to associate more with the black community than the white in Tulia as well. With the towns income levels averaging at or below the poverty line, most arrested could not afford to hire a good attorney that cared or had the time to care, left therefore with one provided by the state. Consequently, convictions were up to ninety years in jail for allegedly selling three and a half grams, more commonly known as an eight ball, of cocaine in drug-free zones. In was only on appeals, that the convictions where revoked on insubstantial evidence.
Modern African states have various problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. Africa’s ongoing political instability and economic crisis have hindered the improvement of Africa. Thus, the lack of money, advancement in technology, and climate has hampered economic development. Despite European mistreatment and oppression African’s have endured hardships that have encouraged economy, education, and political
In developing countries such as Sierra Leone and Sudan, there are many types of violence, propaganda, and corruption used to create this vulnerability, which leads to vicious cycles of displacement and war. The corruption that is present in these governments is rather significant and the fear that is instilled into civilians by the military or militia causes a power imbalance. Furthermore, the abuse of drugs and alcohol is caused by the lack of education in many of these developing countries. Civilians are persuaded to join these organizations with the use of drugs such and cocaine and crack. The lack of availability of education and awareness of the effects of such drugs puts civilians in a vulnerable position. Being born in certain developing countries comes with everlasting conflict, which commonly leads to vulnerable environments and further displacement. Most of the time these conflicts arise over natural resources, religion or contrasting political views. The current action being taken by foreign aid has had a very minor impact. New Statesman writer Dinaw Mengestu discusses African literature comparing past to present, “Growing up in the United States, I was acutely aware of how everything I saw and heard about my native Ethiopia was being translated...We died by the millions, and with the exception of a handful of thoughtful accounts by western journalists, little was said and done from the outside, and even less was uttered out loud from within” (Mengestu, 2007). This further reflects the issue of not being recognized on a global scale and being misinterpreted by the rest of society. In order to protect these civilians from the corruption, violence and propaganda, there is a need for further action. Firstly, this issue needs to be recognized and humanized by foreign governments. The amount of awareness needs to drastically increase in order for civilians and foreign
“High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free”, is the national anthem of a rich and diverse country named Sierra Leone (“Sierra Leone”, 2013). Many believe that the names of capital cities or specific emblems always have a meaning behind them, and that is the case for this country in particular. Although the country as a whole has suffered detrimental set backs in their economics system due to civil war, violence, and enclave production; there still exists a strong Sierra Leonean people and culture full of hope for a brighter future.
In the article “Foreign News at a Crisis Point,” Peter S. Goodman eloquently argues the ‘point’ that news organizations should increase the amount of professional foreign news coverage provided to people in the United States. Goodman builds his argument by using facts and evidence, addressing the counterarguments, and couching it all in persuasive and compelling language.
Gold diggers have always had the spotlight on our planet’s natural resources. They are influenced by only benefiting themselves, while the earth still remains home to poverty and many underdeveloped countries. They have dug up rich landscapes like Africa for shiny possessions. This political issue targets Asian and Western powerful nations due to their large export of natural resources from poor African nations. Corporations from the US, France, Britain and China are drilling into the continent for its oil, gold and diamonds. Increasing their profits from rule of corrupt regimes. Although western nations need Africa’s natural resources for economic benefits, the people of Africa are negatively impacted by violent conflicts and lack of economic progression.
Approximately 2 billion working adults, especially in developing countries, do not have access to a safe account at a financial institution. Moreover, according to the World Bank, more than 59 percent of working adults do not have access to an account simply as a result of low income, implying that these financial institutions are not yet attainable for low income users. Being one of the least developed countries, Rwanda has a population with about 89 percent of its adults owning a financial account under formal and mainly informal sectors in 2012. According to the FinScope Survey, Rwanda is one of the leading countries in East Africa with the highest accessibility to financial inclusion despite having a poverty rate of 33 percent in
In Mexico the Unions and the government are corrupt and work together. The government has made it easier for the employer to fire someone for very little reason or for just striking over the poor labour conditions or pay. So in Mexico the Labour rights is almost non-existent.
Peacekeepers have been deployed into regions in conflict with the purpose of creating conditions of lasting peace. They are mostly stationed in areas of Africa and the Middle East, but they are also stationed in Haiti and in Europe. Some of the conflicts they try to remedy include human rights violations, environmental damage, and child abuse. For the most part, peacekeepers are a huge help in stabilizing a country or region in conflict and are beneficial to the public. However, some peacekeepers abuse their power as a result of minimal supervision. There have been reports of peacekeepers using excessive force, being corrupt and sexually abusing civilians. In the case of excessive force, the peacekeepers don’t always act out of malice,
Human Corruption depicts the abandoning of societal norms and values for an unfair advantage or for various other reasons including greed for wealth. Clearly, the person engaging in such activities is driven by an ulterior motive or a vested interest through which he/she hopes to gain and take advantage of their power against society with disregard to the rules and regulations governing such behaviour. This central idea is explored vastly in ‘Prayer before Birth’, ‘War Photographer’, ‘Mother in A Refugee Camp’ and the three other poems through the use of elements such as stylistic features, language techniques and form and structure. The respective poets employ these techniques in different ways. In ‘Prayer Before Birth’, MacNeice
In Sierra Leone, a diamond rich African country, diamonds are a curse. Not only did the human greed for diamonds wreak havoc on their thriving country, it caused a war that claimed the lives of over 4 million people and still affects millions of people today. Moreover, this vicious diamond war left thousands of mutilated people who have had various body parts amputated. The civil war started in 1991 and ended in 2002. Had there not been diamonds, Sierra Leone would not
Over the last 50 years, the world has struggled to maintain an economic balance and stability, while flourishing countries try to maintain a steady income to support its people and relations with other countries. Therefore, when a continent like Africa fails to maintain a stable government and economy, super powers such as America decide to intervene with its relations. Africa has great potential to become another pillar of the world’s economic structure with its mass amounts of uncultivated land. Unfortunately, corruption and irresponsible governments hinder that progress. Foreign aid while helpful should be limited to a yearly amount because it allows the government to repudiate responsibility and gives room for corruption; it creates a
Hellman and Reigert express global journalism as a reporting style that sought to “unite” people through identifications that permeate national boundaries, through “common human rights or interests”, hence their focus on global crisis journalism (Hellman and Reigert 2012, p.163). Through exploring the nature of global crisis journalism, Hellman and Reigert question whether there is a responsibility for journalists to promote what it means to be a citizen of the world through providing equal coverage of crisis that are within areas that are considered remote by Western standards. This challenges current practices within national/local journalism, in
Global crisis reporting refers to journalism in a global age sets out to better understand the media’s role in the circulation and communication of these global challenges to humanity as well as the conflicts and contentions that surround them (Cottle, 2009). Studying how to report global crisis is crucial, because for instance, when pandemic happens, the public which generally lacks knowledge about international affairs is at a big disadvantage when trying to follow the story of an outbreak of disease abroad, as they also lack basic knowledge about the functioning of science and medicine. In this way, media audiences are heavily dependent on the media as information sources and for guidelines about how to feel and how to react (Moeller,1999).