this is: jok madut jok
What exactly is the point of journalistic reports about any incident of violence or political wrangling? Their point in my view is to first of all inform, alert the world community about what has happened. secondly, it is to try to explain the situation in such a way that the incident can be stopped so more death can be prevented. If i am right in summarizing what i believe is the moral duty of journalism, then i am not sure what has been reported in the last few days by many international journalists does any of that. We are a community here, we have many ways to resolve our own conflicts, and the context is complex. Yes, people have died in Juba at the hands of the Dinka and scores have died in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity, including my own immediate cousin, at the hands of Nuer. All of that killing is a few individuals for reason known to them only who are doing this. so what does it help for BBC or Hannah MacNeish to say that the Dinka-led government in Juba ordered the killing? What does purpose does it serve in view of the ethics of journalism does it serve for any one to say that these people died in the name of "tribe.?" How does that help us here as a community to stem the tide of these killings, if we keep telling South Sudanese that "oh, your kin were just murdered in cold blood by Nuer in Bentiu or in Juba by Dinka?" all without verification of the complex ethnic, historical and political issues involved? One journalist please tell me how your reporting has helped stem the violence?
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Please do realize that i am not saying that horrific things did not happen. you will also realize that i was one of the first to describe in my two previous reports in this space about what i witnessed against Nuer in Juba. What i am now saying is that journalists, one of whom claimed today to be the first "Western Journalist" to witness the situation in South Sudan, are framing the issues in a way that does not help. I will be the last to to try to hide the truth, gun to my head or not. What i am saying that you can't go into the UN camp in Juba as a journalist and claim that you have seen or heard the whole truth. There is far more to it than just hearing one distraught Nuer or Dinka and believe them face value that what they are saying without cross-checking that against other sources. I have driven through some of these neighborhoods but the journalists are talking about "eye witness accounts" in a country where the situation is so politicized that one's opinion is not just a reflection of what has happened to them, but a commentary on what they think is the general situation. My work on social cohesion and ethnic harmony will speak for itself, instead of me defending myself. I am a person who has continuously call for South Sudanese ordinary people to forge our own way forward, away from those leaders who are trying to get to public office at our own expense. But the way the current situation is being reported as a Nuer-Dinka fight is what i object to, based on what i have seen first hand, and not from "eye-witness account."
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International media, BBC, Hannah McNeish, please stop spreading these lies and making the situation in my country worse. I am not saying that ethnic clashes are caused by them, but they are not helping the situation by the kind of ghastly reporting that has happened over the past two nights. please, please stop hearing from one Nuer or Dinka person about their ordeal and then making the scale of it many times than it actually is. please be careful, otherwise, you are making it far worse, and i believe that is not really what you want.
What exactly is the point of journalistic reports about any incident of violence or political wrangling? Their point in my view is to first of all inform, alert the world community about what has happened. secondly, it is to try to explain the situation in such a way that the incident can be stopped so more death can be prevented. If i am right in summarizing what i believe is the moral duty of journalism, then i am not sure what has been reported in the last few days by many international journalists does any of that. We are a community here, we have many ways to resolve our own conflicts, and the context is complex. Yes, people have died in Juba at the hands of the Dinka and scores have died in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity, including my own immediate cousin, at the hands of Nuer. All of that killing is a few individuals for reason known to them only who are doing this. so what does it help for BBC or Hannah MacNeish to say that the Dinka-led government in Juba ordered the killing? What does purpose does it serve in view of the ethics of journalism does it serve for any one to say that these people died in the name of "tribe.?" How does that help us here as a community to stem the tide of these killings, if we keep telling South Sudanese that "oh, your kin were just murdered in cold blood by Nuer in Bentiu or in Juba by Dinka?" all without verification of the complex ethnic, historical and political issues involved? One journalist please tell me how your reporting has helped stem the violence?
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Please do realize that i am not saying that horrific things did not happen. you will also realize that i was one of the first to describe in my two previous reports in this space about what i witnessed against Nuer in Juba. What i am now saying is that journalists, one of whom claimed today to be the first "Western Journalist" to witness the situation in South Sudan, are framing the issues in a way that does not help. I will be the last to to try to hide the truth, gun to my head or not. What i am saying that you can't go into the UN camp in Juba as a journalist and claim that you have seen or heard the whole truth. There is far more to it than just hearing one distraught Nuer or Dinka and believe them face value that what they are saying without cross-checking that against other sources. I have driven through some of these neighborhoods but the journalists are talking about "eye witness accounts" in a country where the situation is so politicized that one's opinion is not just a reflection of what has happened to them, but a commentary on what they think is the general situation. My work on social cohesion and ethnic harmony will speak for itself, instead of me defending myself. I am a person who has continuously call for South Sudanese ordinary people to forge our own way forward, away from those leaders who are trying to get to public office at our own expense. But the way the current situation is being reported as a Nuer-Dinka fight is what i object to, based on what i have seen first hand, and not from "eye-witness account."
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International media, BBC, Hannah McNeish, please stop spreading these lies and making the situation in my country worse. I am not saying that ethnic clashes are caused by them, but they are not helping the situation by the kind of ghastly reporting that has happened over the past two nights. please, please stop hearing from one Nuer or Dinka person about their ordeal and then making the scale of it many times than it actually is. please be careful, otherwise, you are making it far worse, and i believe that is not really what you want.
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They need to get the context correct and hopefully in doing so violence is stemmed but the goal of journalism, as practiced by many orgs today, is "the view from nowhere," which is neutral and has no goal of stemming violence.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to realize is that you may ned to contact the local desk for these pubs and feed them sources. They are looking for sources and reporting the story. This is a process. The reporting 30 days from now will be more nuanced but by then the reporting may will have changed the situation on the ground. But they are going to interview whomever they can find, learning about vetting along the way.
ReplyDeletei am not optimistic that we will get any nuanced reporting anytime soon. i think there is a script that journalists follow when it comes to reporting news in Africa. and unfortunately even when they get challenged, they dont retract their words. still, kenyans on twitter are usually quick to engage with any misinformed writers, writing about kenya - id like to see that happen in s.sudan as well. some of the shit is unacceptable
ReplyDelete