Coverage of Westgate tragedy another case of Western media’s racist attitudes

Editor,I wish to respond to Sunny Ntayombya’s column, “Why did we have to see the Westgate bodies?”(The New Times, September 25).I thank the author for this compelling article. It is ironical how the West and Western-inspired media like to portray African calamities as news sensational. Being Rwandan I understand better Sky News and several other Western media houses ‘preyed’ on the bodies of Tutsis floating in the Akagera River during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.Why should tragedies in Africa be treated as news sensation but when the same take place in the US, UK and France they are treated differently? If this is not racism, what is?Brown, Kigali******************I am of the view that the author’s opinion is valid. It is about ethics in a profession. Think about it, if all our dead were to be displayed on every screen around the world and none of their dead is ever filmed or photographed (because it is inhumane), is there nothing wrong?What is bad for the goose should also be bad for the gander. It is simple logic.Donart, Kigali******************I sincerely thank you for this great article. I had this same reaction during the war in Iraq when American TVs and newspapers would not show photos of the dead or injured US soldiers but kept sharing photos of dead Iraqis or injured – men, women and even kids.I was so outraged that I sent multiple messages to Anderson Cooper and other news anchors but they never replied to my messages. This is a serious issue and it’s hard to think that the journalists don’t realise the hypocrisy and racism in it. It’s disappointing!Larissa, United States

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Coverage of Westgate tragedy another case of Western media’s racist attitudes