Peshawar in Grief: A Cynical View of its Represntation in the Media

It is a field day for writers, journalists, experts, mediapersons, media managers, and all who sell news and views. The diversity of the genre has been expanded beyond recognition with the social media and every status upload we all make. Amongst us are those who produce for different media, having different perspectives, and at times different agendas. They have this space in different media and also enjoy the luxury of using the social media, amongst so-called friends. Thus, comments, likes, ego inflation as “servers of truth and saviors of humanity”. We all have a day. And what a day! I am just looking at all that is being said on individual, national, and international levels. It is amazing how concerned the whole world is. How people are gathering to show their sympathies and showing solidarity with the innocent victims of yesterday's massacre. But when we carefully look at all this, we don't see the children. We see agendas: local, national, international, global, just name it and there is an angle; except the human one. Those who are talking about the grief of the parents don't really know what such a loss could be. A personal loss is a personal loss. Its very important we stay with the people in pain, but are we? We always have a statement, an agenda. We are using the incident as a peg to hang our prejudice on. We shouldn't do it. Sharing someone's loss isn't conditional, it doesn't need a slogan. I know all those sharing the grief mean well, but we are so mediatized that we have got into a habit of "marketing our love", proving it "fits into a format, a frame". We need to unlearn this habit to remain human. Now lets look at the media, the grief selling industry, the rating machine, and the interest-marketing monster. Since yesterday I am looking at the national and international media. The national one is analyzing first and reporting later. The typical exercise of using our tears as bait to lure us into an analysis where fixed agendas could be served on the table. The benefit of such a scheme is that no matter how bitter these seem to a sane person, these sell good in moments of indecision. To a careful eye the whole action seems premeditated. It is not premeditated in the sense of the media having the knowledge of the event. It’s rather the frame it has for its own audience. It is furthering the existing prejudices. One of the great myths of "what is positive in the tragedy"? "We got united." We didn't. And this is the unity we always have on the media scene. But did it ever help in the long run? It never. So, please don't beat the beaten path. And most importantly, if this leadership is united at such a cost, I think it is not worth. And what would be the outcome of all this unity and meetings we are pinning our hopes onto. Lets wait and see. We all know the results. Do the media managers know? Yes they do. Then why are they doing it? Either they are incapable to doing a sound analysis, or they just don't have it on their agenda. Now lets have a look at the international media. Shameless, as it is all the time. Fitting Pakistan into the frame of the terror haven is what they are doing. Well, many would argue this is what it is! Well, lets buy this for a moment. But would they do it to their own people if such a tragedy happens? They won't! It’s for us. Cobbling an image through naming all acts of terror that have taken place in the region and using the image of innocent children to prove the point is criminal. Be human for a moment. Think about the innocent loss of lives in this Godforsaken part of the earth. When a guy kills dozens in Norway, the country is not painted as racist. It is just a lone guy gone mad. And Pakistan bashing is not difficult. You get more than one chance every day. Just close the shop for one single day. You don't want to accept us as human beings, just leave us alone for a day, at least. Just let your frames rest and keep your hands off.