Not our children, not our problem?

Concentrating on the context: The media can make a change

Children are often subjected to exploitation, trafficking, torture and inhumane treatment. But in most cases, the reporting on such heartbreaking stories does not prompt audiences to take action.

If you were given the opportunity to be a journalist, how would you make the world care about the crimes against children?

Consider two issues:

Consider the tragedy of young girls, given away as child brides, often to men much older than they are.

Then consider the crimes committed against albino children in Tanzania, who are mutilated or killed for their body parts, which are used by witch doctors for “alternative medicine.”

Which photos would you use to report these news stories? And why would you use those particular ones?

YOU BE THE EDITOR

Imagine you are a photo editor for an international news outlet. You need to select a lead photo for a major story about child brides throughout the world. You have the following five photos. Which one would you choose for your homepage?

All the photos below DID appear in a news outlet. Scroll down to consider and answer the questions below. Then scroll further down to find out which news outlet published the photo you want to use.

The five photos above and below all show child brides. Each was posted by a different news outlet around the world. Click on the image to see the original story that published the photo.

1. Is the race of the child in the photo important to attract the reader’s attention?
2. Does the presence of husbands make you understand the injustice more?
3. Do you feel more empathy and care as you look at the photos that express the girls’ sad facial expressions?
4. If you were reporting on child brides, which photo would you choose to publish in order to initiate activism among your readers?

Sadly, the issue of child marriage is still very evident around the world. Some communities justify child marriage through labeling it as just ‘cultural’, while others hide behind religion. Although there are many campaigns that speak up against child marriage, the problem is still very evident.

What will YOU do about it?

Albinos: Born with a Price Tag

Albino children are born with low levels of melanin, this means that their bodies are unable to produce color. Despite their handicap, albino people are capable of being productive individuals in society. However, not all communities accept albinos as members of society. Some such hostile communities are located in Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda, where witch doctors remove and sell the body parts of albino children. According to Robinson (2017), some people tell the mothers to kill the child immediately, if she refuses, her and the child will become outcasts.

In these communities, albinos are viewed as ghosts and holders of bad luck. For these reasons, witch doctors cut off pieces of albino children’s body parts and perform spells on them. Later, witch doctors sell these body parts as objects of good luck.

Unfortunately, not many people are aware of these atrocious acts of violence. This begs the question: why is the media not reporting on the death of innocent children?

The five photos above and below all show albino children at risk of murder. Each was posted by a different news outlet around the world. Click on the image to see the original story that published the photo.

Which photo would you choose to make your audience care?

1. Do the photos that show suffering compel you to act?
2. Do the photos that show innocence make you care more?
3. Do the photos that show the contrast in skin color compel you to think about discrimination?
4. If you were reporting on this issue, which photo would you choose to publish in order to initiate activism among your readers?

Which news outlets chose the same photo as you?

Every once in a while, devastating photos of injured albino children make the news. Instead of making people feel bad for these children by making a news story out of them, the media should find a way to use its power to defend and prevent the death of the albino children in Africa. Using media for a good cause, instead of using it to get views.

→To know more about this issue read the interview below from BBC News.

This is an interview conducted by with a witch doctor, done for BBC NEWS shows that albinos are used for money, they are born with a price tag. The interview was produced by Venema (2016):

“Are you aware of the fact that the number of albinos is diminishing and that it’s not good to kill human beings to make sacrifices?” asks Ebongue.

“People go in search of money. They kill albinos not for the pleasure of killing them but to make money. That is why they get killed,” says the witch doctor.

“Are you not scared that one day the police will come and find you because you work with the bones of human beings?” Ebongue asks.

“What do the police want? Money. If they come we will agree.”

To read the full story click here

References

J.Robinson.The Daily Mail. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4334330/Albinos-Tanzania-face-killed-body-parts.html

V.Venema. BBC NEWS : http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36131711

https://www.amnesty.org.nz/malawi-protect-people-albinism-murder

N.Kirkpatrick. The Washington Post :https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/28/the-saddest-bride-i-have-ever-seen-child-marrige-is-as-popular-as-ever-in-bangladesh/?utm_term=.e719939c191c

S.Rahman. Mirror UK. Retrieved from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/child-bride-aged-14-killed-4867292

J.Chang. ABC NEWS: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/africans-albinism-hunted-tanzania/story?id=8567612

Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-africa-albino-children-20150818-story.html

http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/march/child-brides-are-a-huge-issue-across-the-u-s

B.Sarwary. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-21245099

UNICEF : http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/unless-we-act-almost-half-of-the-worlds-child-brides-in-2050-will-be-african-warns-unicef/