Nairobi Fire Disaster

[SuperMikey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14879401

 

One can only imagine the scenes while that was going on, terrible thing to happen. It seems to have disappeared off the BBC news 'most read' section very quickly though, obviously the UK public care more about Phillip Hammond talking about trains rather than dozens of people being killed and horribly disfigured in a third-world country.

[SuperMikey]

Seems to be the way - not in British, not British people so doesn't matter. I never know how I'm supposed to react to news of accidents in Britain, or other Western countries, or a murder etc. Awful as they are, I feel a bit manipulated I'm people told I should feel bad for these people, while countless more people are ignored. Given how many are dying and ignored every day in third world countries you could technically feel sympathy and misery about something constantly, so it's hard to really get effected solely by local events.

 

Suppose anything is sadder when you get more details, names, faces etc. but if too largescale and daily you can ignore it easier without knowing too many specifics. If you visit any of those places though it's not something you ever get out your mind completely though.

 

Still, we were talking about trains...

 

Agree with that, you only need to look at 2 separate incidents in Kenya over the last few days to see that. A British tourist murdered in Kenya - obviously a very sad and important news event, there's no doubting that - dominates news coverage for days, but upwards of 100 people killed and dozens more seriously injured as well as a large area of Nairobi destroyed in the same country is regarded as non-important by the British media and public. It's a sad state of affairs really that we in this country seem to not care about things which don't involve British people or Britain itself.

[skintsaint]

come watch Australian news...totally fixed on their own news - things like a woman mugged locally is no2 in the newsthread. Nothing internationally on the mainstream news unless something major major happens.

 

I have to read the BBC news to work out what is going on in the world.

[Ohio Saint]

If it were not for your post, and thanks to the BBC, I would never even have heard about it here in the socially insular USA.

 

Rather than berating the BBC, you should be praising them for even featuring the item in the first place!