Beirut and Baghdad Suffer Tragedy, Paris Overshadows Balance of media coverage questioned
The unprecedented terrorist attacks in Paris drew the attention of the western media away from other deadly attacks that occurred in the Middle East and Muslim communities over last weekend.
Two suicide bombers targeted a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon on Thurs., Nov. 12, in what has been called the worst attack to strike the city in years. There are 43 confirmed dead and over 200 injured victims of the terrorizing event. The attack took place in the neighborhood of Bourj al-Barajneh which is home to a Palestinian refugee camp that has “absorbed many refugees,” says the New York Times.
While ISIS has claimed responsibility in the attack, the Islamic State extremist group has yet to be confirmed as the sole perpetrator. A potential suspect has identified himself as one of the bombers and told investigators he was an ISIS recruit that arrived
from Syria with three other attackers two days prior. CNN reports that “Lebanese intelligence officials said the bombers could be part of a cell dispatched to Beirut by ISIS leadership, but investigators are working to verify the surviving suspect’s claim.”
The group, who attacked during a bustling rush-hour in order to maximize casualties, said it intended to target Shiite Muslims in addition to Hezbollah, the “Shiite militant organization that backs the Syrian government in the civil war raging next door” according to the NYT. The explosions detonated within 150 meters and five minutes of one another.
A video released by CNN filmed with an unsteady camera in the chaotic crowds after the bombings shows red and blue lights flashing, citizens of Beirut carrying other bodies, what appears to be an emergency medical center, all amongst the shattered glass, clothing, shoes, and general wreckage littering the streets. Journalist Tamara Qiblawi,
reporting from Beirut, said in a voiceover that it was a “scene of carnage.”
The next day, more violence occurred as two bomb blasts in the capital city of Iraq took the lives of 26 and wounded dozens more, according to the NYT. Like in Lebanon, the two blasts also targeted Shiite communities in Baghdad. While ISIS took responsibility for the first attack, it is unclear if the terrorist group was also responsible for the second attack later that day.
The first blast occurred at a memorial service for a Shiite militia soldier who died fighting against the Islamic State in a Baghdad suburb. The suicide bomber’s blast left 21 dead and over 40 others wounded.
The second attack was a detonation of a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) which was set off outside a Shiite shrine in Sadar City. This blast killed 5 and wounded 15.
These attacks mark a continuing trend of terrorism that has occurred in Iraq’s capital city as well as throughout the rest of the country and neighboring nations like Syria. Since the Islamic State and their extremist followers have emerged, these attacks have become a near daily occurrence throughout the country. The majority of these attacks have targeted the Shiite civilian communities and Iraqi forces and government officials with explosions similar to the ones on Friday creating the highest death tolls in urban areas.
What has rendered even more shocking reaction to these tragic events, however, is not the death toll but rather the lack of coverage in wake of the Paris massacre.
Social media platforms have become inundated with uproar from the global community pressing major news organizations to highlight other equally devastating incidents. While the situation in Paris may be considered a semi-regular occurrence in the Middle East, major news outlets have taken to extensive coverage due to the influence the French capital has over the western world.
It will become the responsibility of both the readers and the media to create a better balance between the news we want to hear versus the news we should hear.