U.S. Media Discovers Darfur, Again
NPR’s recent piece on the fall of El Fasher to paramilitary forces focuses on the immediate tragedy, noting “mass civilian deaths” during an “18-month siege.” A crucial detail, one might think, especially for a region that saw a genocide declared two decades ago. The media seems to operate on a principle of belated concern: atrocities only become newsworthy when they reach a dramatic crescendo, or
when the perpetrators are not U.S. allies. This selective alarm is, shall we say, consistent. The original Darfur crisis, branded a genocide by the U.S. in 2004, faded from sustained attention with remarkable speed. Now, with the Rapid Support Forces, notorious for their Janjaweed roots, completing a takeover, the suffering reappears—briefly—on our screens. One has to wonder: how many 'last
strongholds' and 'mass civilian deaths' get to occur before the 'Middle East' media section dedicates consistent focus, or before the U.S. government applies sanctions with the same vigor it reserves for, say, punching down on smaller economies?