The people of Bosnia-Herzegovina poured onto the streets of Sarajevo to protest their government on Feb. 5. Since the civil war in the early 1990s ended, the political leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina have been reluctant to work together and corruption has seeped in.
The economy is virtually stationary and according to the Guardian, the unemployment rate is close to 30 percent. Public companies that used to employ thousands of domestic workers are filing for bankruptcy.
This has left a large number of people without jobs.
These people are without work, without any form of pension, and are starving. They did the only thing they could do — they took to the streets. According to the CNN iReport, the protests began peacefully, but conflict between the police and the protesters escalated to violence. On Feb. 7, unrest became very apparent and the protests spread all over Bosnia-Herzegovina to as many as 20 cities.
The messages of the protests ranged from expressing civil distress to the demand for change. The gatherings went from peaceful protests to bloody riots.
Fire raged the streets of Sarajevo as cars and buildings burned. As described by the Guardian, the police used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to deter the swarms of people. The Bosnian people had such rage toward their president and their standing government that in Sarajevo the citizens burned their presidency building, and in Tuzla 5,000 people stormed and destroyed a government building.
Yet, for some reason, it appears that mainstream media in the U.S. does not consider these recent events breaking news.
The riots in Ukraine have been taking place since the end of November 2013, and according to the BBC News it began on Nov. 30. The riots in Ukraine surfaced in our news, but only very briefly when it began. But these riots have continued for months with no significant coverage.
Police buses have been set ablaze and fires were rampant in the city. Much worse were the Molotov cocktails, or petrol bombs as described by the BBC News, that were used against the police.
Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych enforced anti-protest laws which were followed by more unrest. As the chaos persisted, two people were shot and killed, one person was found dead just outside of Kiev with signs of torture, and hundreds of people, protesters, and police alike were injured.
With complex and convoluted issues such as unemployment, it is extremely difficult to truly decide what is best for a country while looking on from the outside. Several factors come into play, including culture, heritage, the economic status of the masses, living through several administrations, and the history of the country and its people.
Individuals like myself can do very little without proper knowledge of the situation. That’s why we need to be educated on the matter by the people who can: the media.
People in conflict with their own government calls for global attention. How can we show our support in their endeavor without knowing what’s happening around the world? How can we agree or disagree with them if we are ignorant? How can we better understand the world around us if we are not educated on the matter?
That is what is wrong with the U.S. media. While the riots and protests in other countries — like the uprisings in the Arab Spring — were broadcasted for their importance, it’s no coincidence that there were other motives for publicizing the event. The governments were being overthrown in countries where there was U.S. interest. People were fighting for freedom and a more westernized style of democracy rather than the harsh rule of religious leaders, and the U.S. media felt that they should keep tabs on that.
No doubt it was an important series of events, but similar things are happening in Eastern Europe and all over the world. People are fighting and dying for a more organized and prosperous government and the media does not find this newsworthy. The media here only does two thing: stir social controversy through their particular bias and push only the economic prospects of the government. Nothing else is done.
It’s sad and appalling. News stations like CNN would rather discuss the rantings of some hick on a TV show — whom you wouldn’t bat an eye for if he was on the street ranting about the unholiness of homosexuality — for two straight weeks rather than discuss the civil unrest of any country that the U.S. has no interest in.
Unfortunately this is done to keep the masses distracted and ignorant of global affairs. Keep yourself educated. Don’t fall for the tactics of the media. Find a source of knowledge that you enjoy and read regularly, because anywhere else you are not going to find it.