There has been a heated discussion on social media about how unequal human lives are.
The whole world has watched closely since the submarine carrying tourists to the wreck of the Titanic disappeared on Sunday. The time for rescue operations is running out today in terms of oxygen sufficiency.
At the same time, the number of victims of the migrant boat accident that happened in the Mediterranean last week on Wednesday is increasing. It is feared that there will be hundreds of dead, as it is estimated that there were 400–750 people on board.
The actions of the authorities and the way the media reports on the rescue operation of a few rich people and the accident that claimed hundreds of victims have sparked a heated discussion on social media about how unequal human lives are.
Little attention has been paid to Mediterranean deaths for a long time
Professor of communication and media studies at the University of Tampere Kaarina Nikunen is not surprised by how events have been handled in the media with different voices. The cases embody the operating logic of the media.
– Quite typically, attention is paid to things that are thought to be somehow exceptional and surprising. This kind of disproportion has always been a part of the news coverage, that at the same time something else of really long-lasting suffering can happen.
According to Nikunen, the question is also about what happens nearby or what is perceived as close in some way. Suffering that is perceived as distant does not receive as much attention.
The humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean has also lasted for a long time.
– People are quite typically numb. The research has considered why so little attention has been paid to drowning deaths in the Mediterranean, compared to how many of them have occurred over the years.
The setting tells about the inequality of global well-being
Professor of world politics at the University of Helsinki Teivo Teivainen says that he understands the logic of the news, but he also has feelings of awkwardness from the point of view of responsibility.
According to Teivainen, the setting tells about the inequality of global well-being. Compared to pleasure trips, people have probably gone to cross the Mediterranean more out of necessity, even though there is a political climate in which they do not want to give incentives to come to Europe.
Others, on the other hand, can take bigger risks, for example with a leisure diving trip, when they also know that someone is ready to come to the rescue.
– Here is one indication of how the incentives related to risk-taking work in the world, and how our own environment and public administration work.