The beheadings of two American journalists and a British social worker by ISIS were meant to scare us. These gruesome acts were supposed to invoke shock, panic and fear in Western populations — it worked.
But what about the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have been murdered by ISIS?
What about the 322 members of a Sunni tribe who were murdered by ISIS militants Monday? Their stories deserve to be addressed by the American public as much as the deaths of Westerners.
The public saw a plethora of media coverage about American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, but hardly any substantial accounts of the thousands of Iraqis who have been murdered by ISIS. The killing of three should not shock us more than the murder of thousands.
Personal stories resonate. We tend to remember the shocking stories that evoke a sense of pathos, sympathy or emotion.
However, journalists have recently focused only on the effects international issues have on the very specific demographic of Americans. Lack of depth denies readers full perspectives, thus limiting the information circulated, especially about the crisis in Iraq pertaining to the terrorism of ISIS.
Tim Urban, co-founder of waitbutwhy.com, spent the past summer visiting five countries and publishing a blog series about his experiences and observations, “Odd Things in Odd Places.” His fourth stop brought him to Iraq, for his article, “From Muhammad to ISIS: Iraq’s Full Story.” Urban visited the Khazir refugee camp as a journalist looking for the stories of real people who have unfortunately been forced to endure the schisms of the Iraqi government and the advances of the terrorist group ISIS.
Urban found more than 15 people living in a single tent, cooled with just one fan, if that, baking in the 118 degrees summer. No showers, no plumbing, no safety existed for the individuals who were now forced to call this haphazard tent village their home. Shared toilets drained into the pathways where children played with the infants who had been born in the camp, making illness common and often untreated. Food was scarce for the large families who inhabited these makeshift homes, and reminders of the ISIS takeover still affected their lives every day.
Every tent he entered held another dozen stories, perspectives and experiences that deserved to be shared. Individuals whose loved ones had been taken from their homes and executed by ISIS were commonly found, as were injuries from the airstrikes and bombings of the first night of fighting. Entire houses in Mosul were desolated by the bombs dropped during ISIS’s advance and the Iraqi government’s attempts at rebuttal. Urban was handed fragments of the skull of an 8-year-old boy who had been partially blinded and deafened and now suffered from brain damage and digestive problems as a result of ISIS’s takeover.
This is a story that stays with the reader. Firsthand accounts of the people living through the tragedy and pain brought on by ISIS should have just as much power in the media as the beheadings of three Westerners.
Reach the columnist at smmaki@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @syd_neym
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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