It is hard not to develop a negative outlook to the medium term prospects of humankind if we pause to scan world news for just 5 minutes. Whether the rise of ISIL as a consequence of the leadership vacuum created by the Western coalition led by the USA assassinating Saddam Hussein. There is the takeout of Muammar Gaddafi. Two years later Libya has two factions warring for the right to rule. The latest: the United Nations will attempt to broker a deal to delay a Gaddafi stable country from slipping deeper into civil war. Some will say this is part of the growing pains of a democracy taking root. What is democracy anyway? We could easily have highlighted the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the destabilization of Syria, volatility in Afghanistan and many others.
While the Western Press has decided to give 24 hour coverage to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the ensuing events, the BU household remains numb struck at the report hundreds of Nigerians were murdered in what has been described by Amnesty International as the ‘deadliest massacre’ in the history of Boko Haram. In this part of the world – Barbados included – intoxicated by newsfeeds from CNN, BBC, FOX and affiliates, little mention and public commentary is generated out of Africa. And when we get information it is of the negative variety. We sit back and debate the USA’s right to invade countries in the Middle East which aligned with geopolitical interest BUT we ignore what is happening in other places. And we know why.
