What “Unrest” and “Risk of Riots”?

As I constantly watch the news, I am seeing a huge increase in American newscasters and reporters talking about potential riots and possible civil unrest. The headlines this morning – from Huffington Post to the UK Guardian – scream of impending violence.

But the images I’m seeing are quite different. In one TV report yesterday, the newscaster was describing desperate people fighting over relief packets. But the camera showed a large crowd of young men grabbing ONE packet each from an open carton. Each guy would jump in, grab a bag (perhaps of high-energy bars) and run out of the way. I didn’t see anyone punch anyone else or grab a handful or in any way display violent behavior. The newscaster’s words didn’t fit the scene as they showed it.

Of course I’m worried about the people who aren’t able to push their way to the front of the line when these sporadic deliveries of supplies arrive. The young men get to the front; the women are often holding children and get squeezed in the crunch; the injured have no chance of reaching the food and water on their own.

Later a reporter talked about vicious fights breaking out in all sorts of places and in fact showed a scene taking place in front of a huge pile of rubble. A group of men were shouting at each other back and forth. Were they about to “foment a riot”? No, they had just finished digging out the body of their pastor, with their bare hands, from the rubble of their church. Some wanted to take his body to the nearby mass grave and some wanted to burn the body. They eventually settled the matter and took the body away. This is civil unrest? No, this is people maintaining their humanity and their caring feelings despite impossible conditions.

And what’s with these reports of “looting”? What does “looting” mean in the context of starvation, thirst and destruction? If someone finds some food in a collapsed store or apartment building and takes it to save lives, is that really looting?

Americans have arrived with their Marines to “keep order” in Haiti. I remember the scenes from New Orleans where the authorities’ first concern too often seemed to be some notion of “law and order” – which seemed more important to them than saving lives. The stories afterwards were of people being forcibly held inside fouled buildings, being stopped at gunpoint from crossing bridges, being treated as criminals instead of as people in need.

There is no question that if the distribution bottleneck continues to delay the delivery of food, water and medical attention, people in Haiti will go mad. I’m sure it won’t take much more to cause people to freak out. But these predictions of upcoming violence should not be the leading headline in all these news outlets. The leading story ought to be the ways in which Haitians are fighting for their community and the need to find ways to deliver all the help being offered from so many countries, agencies and individuals.

Comments

[eleanor roffman]

you are so right on target. remember new orleans when black people were taking necessary things, they were looters, when white people do the same they were desperate.
same perspective presented in the media about what is happening domestically as well as internationally, covert and overt racism.

[Sue Katz]

As always, Eleanor, you're spot on! Thanks.

[Mia]

I agree, as always you are on the spot. I would love to say that I am shocked but I knew this was coming it is inevitable, in one way the it is funny because it;s almost comical in it's predicatbility, in another way...

[stellans]

Your comments totally reflect what my mate and I have been saying since coverage of this disaster began. First, it was "Things could get ugly here fast..." Then it was "Oh noez, fights are starting!" Now it's "Looters and Rioters and Unrest, oh my!"

And when any of those 3 things are discussed, it's the same few clips which are run! Where's the wide-spread panic, the city in flames, the hordes of people marching? They are trying to stay alive, that's where.

Shame on our media. Shame on them.