Boko Haram has been busy these days, massacring whole villages, with hundreds or even thousands of victims. Some voices on social sites complain that we are dedicating so much time to the Paris terrorist attacks and there is so little coverage from Africa.
There has been little coverage about the latest massacres, because coverage from Africa is so scant and most of the places in which these things happen are so difficult to access. Also, these extremely risky areas and the central government and army are busy ignoring them. It’s hard to even get hard facts. Terrorists, whose main purpose is publicity, act in places where they can get maximum exposure, like Paris, not in the back of beyond. Boko Haram seems to be more interested in slaughter for the sake of slaughter, which is another terrorist tactic, useful at local level.
I would advise those who demand better coverage to do something about it. Maybe even go and do some coverage from the spot or, at least, contribute by financing media to go there and take risks so that they can be informed.
With media starved for funds, as everybody wants to find everything served on their computer for free, we can’t complain too much that we are not getting coverage from difficult areas – and that trend will only become more marked in the future.