Life is like that!

Pete's Points

My readers will recall that I mentioned the relative unfairness of the volume of reportage on the issues happening in the Middle East when compared with other battles between extremist Islamic forces and other governments. I was specifically interested in the issues happening in Somalia and the potential involvement of the Ethiopians and the Eritreans who as most people would be aware have been fighting among themselves for years and relying on the world community to deal with the refugee results and famines that have taken place there as a result.

This morning the BBC has reported that Ethiopian troops have crossed the border.

Ethiopian troops are approaching the Somali town of Baidoa, seat of Somalia's transitional government.

Ethiopia is the Somali government's main ally against the Islamic militia who control the capital, Mogadishu.

The Somali government has meanwhile declared support for an Eritrean rebel group, accusing Eritrea's government of supporting the Somali Islamists.

Regional rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea have both denied accusations that they are fighting a proxy war in Somalia.

In June, militia loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts took control of Mogadishu, which had been divided among rival warlords for 15 years.

In the past month the Islamist militia have moved northwards into central Somalia."

• I wonder whether this event and what will most likely follow will actually receive more than a passing mention in the Australian media.
  
• Do we have a substantially large group of refugees and migrants from Eretria or Somalia or Ethiopia here in Australia.
  
• What will be their points of view?
  
• Will they come out into the streets to support one side or the other?
  
• Will there be an outcry about the effects that this new round of violence is likely to inflict on innocent civilians?
  
• Will there finally be some historical coverage of the impact of over 15 years of strife on the lives of people to put the current conflict into perspective?

If there is NO such coverage and no such outcry then I need to ask some questions.

Why is 30 +DAYS of fighting more relevant than over 15 YEARS of fighting?

• Are the people in this region of the world irrelevant?
• Why do we care less about these people than those in the Middle East?

I suspect that these questions may result in a simple answer - money!

News about the middle east sells media advertising space. Fanning passions among people here who say that they have left their country of birth because they wanted a better life, but then seem so attached to the life and the politics of the countries that they ostensibly left behind and still call "HOME", seems to be a money spinner.

News about impoverished people in areas that are not 'important', in geo-political terms at least, do NOT sell media advertising.