When a catastrophic earthquake left Haiti in ruins in January, stories of the disaster flooded American media. Coverage of the destruction dominated the headlines for weeks afterwards and, consequently, Americans poured millions of dollars in aid to the struggling country. Guilt-tripped by images of displaced children and stories of enormous casualties, Americans were moved to help due to in large part to the extensive press coverage.
This fall, massive floods submerged much of Pakistan. Over one million homes were destroyed and more than 21 million people were left injured or homeless due to the floods.
Although the situations were similarly destructive, the press largely ignored the disaster in Pakistan, especially in comparison to its relentless coverage of Haiti. The situation in Pakistan should have garnered far more attention than it did. From an international relations standpoint, our diplomatic relations with Pakistan are of critical importance. For this reason alone, any major crisis there should be reported here in great detail.
From a humanitarian standpoint, the disparity in coverage is an even bigger issue. If the disaster in Pakistan had such a wide reaching impact, killing and displacing such a high number of people, why is it that it was largely ignored by the American public? Part of the answer lies in geography. People have a habit of caring more about things that happen close by, and therefore the plights of our Caribbean neighbors mattered far more than those of people half way around the world. Beyond that, Pakistan's location in the Middle East probably contributed to the lack of coverage. There are so many other problems in the region &- wars, terrorism, infighting &- that adding another problem to the mix barely caused people to bat an eye.
The fact is, we cannot afford to ignore catastrophes in other parts of the world. The United States has always been very generous in its contributions to other nations in need. The press needs to be equally generous in its coverage of a wide variety of world incidents, instead of just picking and choosing what it will cover based on what makes for the best story. The press has the power to influence people's actions based on how much attention it gives to certain issues. It needs to be sure to use that power responsibly.
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