Accelerating Genocide? The Media In Conflict

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Panelists:

Helen Fein
Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Genocide

Monique Mujawamariya
Rwandan Human Rights Activist, Human Rights Watch

Bryan Rich
Director, Studio Ijambo, Bujumbura, Burundi; Nieman Fellow, Harvard University

Alexis Sinduhije
Journalist, Studio Ijambo, Bujumbura; Shorenstein Barone Fellow, Harvard University

Amina Tirana
Former Refugee Resettlement Officer, International Rescue Committee, Thailand and Sierra Leone; Photographer/Freelance Journalist; Project Manager, Central American Project, Harvard Institute for International Development

Moderator:
Carole Corm
EPIIC Colloquium

Interlocutor:
Peter Rosenblum
Projects Director, Harvard Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School; Author, Zaire: Repression As Policy

The proliferation of high-speed communications has led to widespread concern and consideration regarding the media's influence in humanitarian crises. On one hand, the media are instrumental in drawing attention to humanitarian crises and mobilizing assistance. On the other hand, the media can exacerbate the crisis through sensationalist coverage. Media's role in publicizing crises and influencing public opinion is nothing new. But the increasing complexity of humanitarian crises necessitates the conveyance of an accurate, balanced and accessible view of the issue. Can media be relied upon to assume this responsibility? Is the role of the media to inform or to entertain?

The media's role in the recent conflict in Rwanda and Bosnia, particularly that of the local media, highlights the concern of media run amok. Broadcasts by local media outlets enflamed already volatile situations with messages of hate. A Hutu-controlled radio station broadcast the goal of killing all Tutsis in Rwanda throughout the genocide of 1994 (the genocide resulted in an estimated 800,000 Tutsi deaths). A Bosnian Serb-controlled television station reported on the "plan" of the Muslims to take over all of Bosnia and displace the Serbs from their homeland, instilling the fear of the return of the Ottomans. Propaganda emits from all sides, and without an independent media to counteract its effects, it can bear part of the burden for the acts it incites.

Related to this is the reporting of outside media parachuted in to cover the latest conflict. Setting aside the issue of sensationalism, reporters new to an area can miss the roots and subtleties of the situation, tending to reinforce a superficial understanding. In the former Yugoslavia, as in the Great Lakes crisis, much of the media reported the events as the conflagration of age-old ethnic hatreds rather than a current power struggle and manipulation of history. An international community, witnessing the rearing of a centuries-old conflict may feel powerless as opposed to understanding the underpinning calculations of current politicians and being able to react. News outlets struggling with budgets have reduced their foreign bureaus, putting reporters in difficult situations. Can one reporter bear the responsibility for reporting on half of the continent of Africa with all of the nuances? For understanding the spiraling collapse of Yugoslavia since Tito's death in the context of all of Eastern Europe?

Another aspect of the media's involvement is that for many years it has been depicted as a decisive causal link between a given humanitarian crisis and the reaction of the international community by forcing the pace, and sometimes, the direction of government policy formation through its influence on public opinion. Debates exist as to the nature and degree of influence that the media wields, but there is little doubt that the media influences people's understanding of humanitarian crises to some extent. By drawing attention to humanitarian crises, the media are instrumental in prompting policymakers to respond. But, despite these influences, the media can inadvertently cause several problems. Some observers suspect that the need for officials to be doing something outweighs the need to do the right thing. Moreover, the media portrayal of humanitarian crises as a morality play, for example by using images of lifeless children and masses of suffering Africans or Asians, transforms crises into a logistical issue which puts policymakers at the center of the process and treats the person helped as the dependent victim. These particular portrayals also prevents policymakers from addressing the root causes of the crises, lost in the need to be doing something.

There is close interaction between the media and relief agencies amidst humanitarian crises. Relief agencies benefit from media coverage of humanitarian crises because it provides them with opportunities for public exposure, increased activity and fundraising. Media coverage of relief assistance also serves to legitimize the activities and existence of relief organizations. But despite the halo created over every relief agency by the media, these agencies sometimes lack the credibility and capacity to undertake humanitarian activities. Moreover, increased media coverage of the crisis increases aid supplies which, if not employed strategically and carefully, are often diverted by rebel groups to prolong the crises.

The media also greatly affects the local people caught in the midst of humanitarian crises. It is instrumental in constructing the image of the "dependent victim" or of "savage rebel groups" or of the "other". Such images, however, fail to portray the realities of the people in the crisis. Furthermore, these images can undermine the creation of constructive relief efforts by de-emphasizing the use of local coping mechanisms as an effective response to crises. Every society has coping mechanisms to respond to crises and such local capacities should be highlighted rather than portraying a bleak image of helplessness.

The effect of the media on humanitarian crises is difficult to determine. Nonetheless, it is evident that the media can wield undue influence that may undermine relief efforts. An issue for future examination will be how media can be strategically used to further enhance humanitarian relief operations rather than undermine them.