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D.R. of Congo: Fifth fatal crash in under a year, food prices the real disaster

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, D.R. of Congo, Breaking News, Citizen Media, Disaster, Food, Humanitarian Response, Media & Journalism

News agencies [1] are reporting that 75 were killed when a cargo plane crashed in Goma shortly after takeoff on Tuesday. An overloaded cabin [2] may have been the cause. It's the fifth fatal plane crash since June 2007.

Last October, Du Cabiau à Kinshasa, responding to a plane crash in a poor district of Kinshasa [3], the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, wrote, ominously: “This crash was not the first…it will not be the last” (Fr).

Sadly, these words have proved prophetic. In the wake of this latest disaster, Cabiau reflects on how a plane crash can bring attention to the DRC [4], generally ignored by Western media, even though it's reeling from one of the greatest human disasters in a century.

C'est bien connu, un arbre (…ou un avion) qui tombe fait plus de bruit qu'une forêt qui pourrit. Et en matière de douleurs oubliées, la RDC a déjà donné. Le pays vient de connaître le conflit le plus meurtrier depuis la seconde guerre mondiale sans émouvoir outre mesure les médias occidentaux. Un avion qui tombe suscite l'émoi et l'intérêt journalistique. Comme les moines tibétains, c'est un symbole fort qui touche les gens. Alors les voix se lèvent et l'opinion s'indigne… un peu.

It is well-known that a tree (…or an airplane) that falls makes a louder sound than a rotting forest. And in terms of forget sufferings, the DRC has already delivered. This country has just gone through the deadliest conflict since World War II, without really moving the Western media. An airplane that falls from the sky provokes emotion and journalistic interest. Like the Tibetan monks, it's a strong symbol that touches people. So voices are raised and the public becomes indignant…just a little.

Je ne conteste pas la pertinence de certaines causes médiatiques. Mais je constate seulement qu'il y a deux poids, deux mesures. L'Afrique souffre en silence de ses trous noirs (dixit BHL qui pour une fois avait raison). Ces concentrations de misère et de douleur auxquelles personne ou presque ne s'intéresse. Les victimes somaliennes ou congolaises ne bénéficiceront jamais du feu des médias… pas l'ombre d'une caméra. Ils faut croire que ces dizaines de milliers de femmes violées, ces centaines de villages pillés et ces populations terrorisées méritent moins de considération. Je n'arrive pas à comprendre pourquoi.

I'm not contesting the appropriateness of some of the media's motives. I am only saying that there are two measures, two standards. Africa suffers in its black holes of silence (dixit BHL is right for once). This concentration of pain and misery which no one or almost no one cares about. Somali or Congolese victims never benefit from the bright light of the media…not a hint of a single camera. The tens of thousands of women who have been raped, the hundreds of villages pillaged, their populations terrorized, merit less consideration. I don't understand why.

Skyrocketing food prices: the real (less photogenic) disaster in the making

Aujourd'hui, le nouveau drame vient de la flambée des prix. Des millions de personnes voient la famine fondre sur elles. Mais il faut attendre des émeutes pour que les consiences se réveillent… un peu. Ce matin, je lisais dans la presse locale : “En moins d’une semaine, les prix des produits de première nécessité ont quasi doublé sur le marché kinois. Les mamans déboussolées ne savent plus à quel saint se vouer”…La mesure de farine de manioc est soudainement passée de 100 à 150 fc, celle de maïs de 150 à 200 fc. Le sucre a augmenté de 25% en quelques jours et les haricots de 50%.

Today, a new drama comes with the rise of food prices. Millions of people watch as famine descends on them. But they must wait until there are riots [5] before people wake up…a little. This morning, I read in the local press: “In less than one week, the price of staple foods have nearly doubled in Kinshasa. Bewildered mothers don't know to which saint they ought to pray”…[the price of] cassava flour is more than 100-150 Congolese francs, corn flour is 150-200 francs. [The price of] sugar has risen 25% in a few days, beans 50%.

C'est moins impressionnant que la chute d'un Antonov et pourtant les conséquences risquent d'être bien plus catastrophiques. A croire que Jean Ziegler [sic] a prêché dans le désert…

This is less impressive than an Antonov [airplane] falling from the sky, and yet the consequences will likely be far more catastrophic. It as if Jean Ziegler [6] [UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food] were preaching in the desert [7]