Tsunami Survivors Anxiously Face Future Without Women

[Guest guest]

March 28, 2005: Tarmizi Mohammad has plenty to worry about as he

helps tsunami survivors in a village in Indonesia's devastated Aceh

province, but as the emergency subsides, one thing is preying more

on his mind, the absence of women.

 

"Look at us here, we are all men and mostly under 30," said

Mohammad, who runs a survivor coordination post in Cot Lamkuweuh, a

small community on the coastal outskirts of the main city of Banda

Aceh. Around him, a dozen men gather at the post, mending fish nets

and chatting, oblivious to Mohammad's concerns.

 

"That is one thing you will easily find all over this area, tsunami

widowers or bachelors, or sometimes, widowers claiming to be

bachelors," he said, momentarily exchanging his sombre look for a

brief smile.

 

Firmansyah, a man in his early 30s, is a typical case. "I have lost

my wife and three children," he said, adding that three women now

cooked for some 50 men and children living in tents in the

village. "Nobody brings me my coffee in the morning and no one cooks

my favorite dishes."

 

Among the 260 survivors in Cot Lamkuweuh, which once boasted a

population of 1,350, there were only 87 females, including children,

a picture repeated all along's Aceh's devastated coastline, and in

other areas.

 

Three months after the December 26 disaster killed 273,000 people

around the Indian Ocean, a pattern of disproportionately high female

mortality is emerging that could heap further problems on

communities already struggling to recover.

 

In a study released last week, British-based charity Oxfam said four

times more women than men died in some tsunami-affected areas,

including Aceh, Southeast India and parts of Sri Lanka.

 

The report said the imbalance was because many men were working

inland or fishing offshore when the waves hit on a Sunday morning,

while the women were at home. Men were also more capable of climbing

trees or swimming, it said.

 

"In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of those

killed were women," said Andrew Hewett, executive director of Oxfam

in Australia. "The impact on the gender balance within the community

seems to be so severe that the consequences are going to ripple

right through the whole society for many years to come."

 

In Aceh, the situation at Mohammad's village is repeated in

settlements all along the coast.

 

"Less than a third of our 1,272 survivors are women," said Faisal,

the head of Punge Jurong, some three kilometers from Lamkuweuh.

 

Further down the coast in Lamlumpu, there were only 17 women left of

the 1,700 that had inhabited the village before the tsunami

destroyed it, said Musafir, of the Build Aceh Forum, a non-

governmental group working there.

 

"You encounter this condition in almost all displaced communities,"

he said. Nazamuddin, an economist from Aceh's state-run Syah Kuala

university, said the situation was likely to have a far-reaching

effect on the province as it rebuilds since women previously played

an important role in the local economy.

 

Except for the tilling of soil, all work in rice fields is

traditionally done by women in agricultural communities, while in

the fishery sector, women dominated the processing stage after

fishermen had landed their catch.

 

A 2004 report of the UN Development Programme showed that the

percentage of women overall in employment was at 49 percent in Aceh -

- considerably higher than the 26.6 percent in the Indonesian

capital.

 

For women in senior official, managerial and technical positions,

the figure was again high, 45 percent compared to 35 percent in

Jakarta.

 

Syah Kuala university sociologist Ahmad Humam Hamid said the

repercussions of the gender imbalance were difficult to gauge but it

was now an imperative to factor in the needs of women in programmes

aimed at assisting survivors.

 

He said surviving women also faced the increased burden of looking

after widowed men in their extended families and communities,

although this was a problem before the disaster due to deaths in

fighting in a separatist conflict in the region.

 

"The tsunami was a second blow to Acehnese women. Many had already

taken on the burden of raising their family on their own because of

the long-dragging conflict here, because their men died or had to

leave," Hamid said.

 

"Now, a decreasing number of women have to bear the expanded

responsibility of also taking care of the men and children in their

neighbourhood. Their voice should be heard when planning for the

recovery," he said.

 

Faridah, a housewife in her 20s who is among the newly burdened

women, is stoic about here new chores of preparing meals for 35 men

sheltering in tents at a mosque that is the only standing structure

in the village of Ulee Lheue.

 

"We are used to this, and besides, they are now like family to me,"

she said.

 

SOURCE: Sify News. "Tsunami survivors anxiously face future without

women." By Bhimanto Suwastoyo in Indonesia. Monday, 28 March, 2005.

© 2004 sify.com India Limited. .

URL: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13703125

[Guest guest]

I hope that rather than foist the care of these "womanless" men onto

a few women who are also facing the need of putting their own lives

back together, men in need in the affected areas learn to feed and

care for themselves and others. There would be no added burden then,

rather, a new balance. Such a new balance would be far more

attractive to women who might consider moving into the area than the

thought of stoically take care of a bunch of men who aren't able to

cook for themselves or get their own coffee.

 

I wonder a bit about the slant of the articles you've posted, DB. If

a woman in the affected area says she is unaware personally of any

abuse by womanless men who outnumber women 10 to 1, and that she's

just working to put her life back together, does that mean she's

being "stoic" or that other women aren't being honest about abuse

that exists? Is it to be trusted what the media reflects, that women

are being victimized all over the affected area? Or might that not

be something to scare women who are just trying to take care of

their lives?

 

, "devi_bhakta"

<devi_bhakta> wrote:

>

> March 28, 2005: Tarmizi Mohammad has plenty to worry about as he

> helps tsunami survivors in a village in Indonesia's devastated

Aceh

> province, but as the emergency subsides, one thing is preying more

> on his mind, the absence of women.

>

> "Look at us here, we are all men and mostly under 30," said

> Mohammad, who runs a survivor coordination post in Cot Lamkuweuh,

a

> small community on the coastal outskirts of the main city of Banda

> Aceh. Around him, a dozen men gather at the post, mending fish

nets

> and chatting, oblivious to Mohammad's concerns.

>

> "That is one thing you will easily find all over this area,

tsunami

> widowers or bachelors, or sometimes, widowers claiming to be

> bachelors," he said, momentarily exchanging his sombre look for a

> brief smile.

>

> Firmansyah, a man in his early 30s, is a typical case. "I have

lost

> my wife and three children," he said, adding that three women now

> cooked for some 50 men and children living in tents in the

> village. "Nobody brings me my coffee in the morning and no one

cooks

> my favorite dishes."

>

> Among the 260 survivors in Cot Lamkuweuh, which once boasted a

> population of 1,350, there were only 87 females, including

children,

> a picture repeated all along's Aceh's devastated coastline, and in

> other areas.

>

> Three months after the December 26 disaster killed 273,000 people

> around the Indian Ocean, a pattern of disproportionately high

female

> mortality is emerging that could heap further problems on

> communities already struggling to recover.

>

> In a study released last week, British-based charity Oxfam said

four

> times more women than men died in some tsunami-affected areas,

> including Aceh, Southeast India and parts of Sri Lanka.

>

> The report said the imbalance was because many men were working

> inland or fishing offshore when the waves hit on a Sunday morning,

> while the women were at home. Men were also more capable of

climbing

> trees or swimming, it said.

>

> "In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of those

> killed were women," said Andrew Hewett, executive director of

Oxfam

> in Australia. "The impact on the gender balance within the

community

> seems to be so severe that the consequences are going to ripple

> right through the whole society for many years to come."

>

> In Aceh, the situation at Mohammad's village is repeated in

> settlements all along the coast.

>

> "Less than a third of our 1,272 survivors are women," said Faisal,

> the head of Punge Jurong, some three kilometers from Lamkuweuh.

>

> Further down the coast in Lamlumpu, there were only 17 women left

of

> the 1,700 that had inhabited the village before the tsunami

> destroyed it, said Musafir, of the Build Aceh Forum, a non-

> governmental group working there.

>

> "You encounter this condition in almost all displaced

communities,"

> he said. Nazamuddin, an economist from Aceh's state-run Syah Kuala

> university, said the situation was likely to have a far-reaching

> effect on the province as it rebuilds since women previously

played

> an important role in the local economy.

>

> Except for the tilling of soil, all work in rice fields is

> traditionally done by women in agricultural communities, while in

> the fishery sector, women dominated the processing stage after

> fishermen had landed their catch.

>

> A 2004 report of the UN Development Programme showed that the

> percentage of women overall in employment was at 49 percent in

Aceh -

> - considerably higher than the 26.6 percent in the Indonesian

> capital.

>

> For women in senior official, managerial and technical positions,

> the figure was again high, 45 percent compared to 35 percent in

> Jakarta.

>

> Syah Kuala university sociologist Ahmad Humam Hamid said the

> repercussions of the gender imbalance were difficult to gauge but

it

> was now an imperative to factor in the needs of women in

programmes

> aimed at assisting survivors.

>

> He said surviving women also faced the increased burden of looking

> after widowed men in their extended families and communities,

> although this was a problem before the disaster due to deaths in

> fighting in a separatist conflict in the region.

>

> "The tsunami was a second blow to Acehnese women. Many had already

> taken on the burden of raising their family on their own because

of

> the long-dragging conflict here, because their men died or had to

> leave," Hamid said.

>

> "Now, a decreasing number of women have to bear the expanded

> responsibility of also taking care of the men and children in

their

> neighbourhood. Their voice should be heard when planning for the

> recovery," he said.

>

> Faridah, a housewife in her 20s who is among the newly burdened

> women, is stoic about here new chores of preparing meals for 35

men

> sheltering in tents at a mosque that is the only standing

structure

> in the village of Ulee Lheue.

>

> "We are used to this, and besides, they are now like family to

me,"

> she said.

>

> SOURCE: Sify News. "Tsunami survivors anxiously face future

without

> women." By Bhimanto Suwastoyo in Indonesia. Monday, 28 March,

2005.

> © 2004 sify.com India Limited. .

> URL: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13703125

[Guest guest]

MOTHER Nature do have its own unique way of teaching us of how to

appreciate each other now. Sometimes only when you have lost it, you

began to realise the true value of your lost.

 

I remember sometime back some young uns come here and said : we are

in control of our destiny. We are the one who decides our own future.

 

Can you control and tell Mother Nature what to do? You can put whatever

device to monitor the earthquake or whatso ever, but can anyone predict

when it will happen?

 

 

Nature have its own agenda!

[Guest guest]

Hi Mary Ann:

 

You wrote: "I wonder a bit about the slant of the articles you've

posted, DB."

 

I posted two articles on the same topic, one that focused on the

women's concerns and one that focused on the men's concerns. They

were by two different reporters from two different newspapers in two

different hemispheres. I felt their "slants" were rather different

from one another.

 

You added: "Is it to be trusted what the media reflects, that women

are being victimized all over the affected area? Or might that not be

something to scare women who are just trying to take care of their

lives?"

 

I suppose anything is possible, but if there is an Asian media

conspiracy to scare Asian women, I think Canada's Montreal Gazette is

a kind of odd place from which to launch the assault.

 

Thanks as always for your input and commentary.

 

DB

 

, "Mary Ann"

<buttercookie61> wrote:

>

> I hope that rather than foist the care of these "womanless" men

onto

> a few women who are also facing the need of putting their own lives

> back together, men in need in the affected areas learn to feed and

> care for themselves and others. There would be no added burden

then,

> rather, a new balance. Such a new balance would be far more

> attractive to women who might consider moving into the area than

the

> thought of stoically take care of a bunch of men who aren't able to

> cook for themselves or get their own coffee.

>

> I wonder a bit about the slant of the articles you've posted, DB.

If

> a woman in the affected area says she is unaware personally of any

> abuse by womanless men who outnumber women 10 to 1, and that she's

> just working to put her life back together, does that mean she's

> being "stoic" or that other women aren't being honest about abuse

> that exists? Is it to be trusted what the media reflects, that

women

> are being victimized all over the affected area? Or might that not

> be something to scare women who are just trying to take care of

> their lives?

>

> , "devi_bhakta"

> <devi_bhakta> wrote:

> >

> > March 28, 2005: Tarmizi Mohammad has plenty to worry about as he

> > helps tsunami survivors in a village in Indonesia's devastated

> Aceh

> > province, but as the emergency subsides, one thing is preying

more

> > on his mind, the absence of women.

> >

> > "Look at us here, we are all men and mostly under 30," said

> > Mohammad, who runs a survivor coordination post in Cot Lamkuweuh,

> a

> > small community on the coastal outskirts of the main city of

Banda

> > Aceh. Around him, a dozen men gather at the post, mending fish

> nets

> > and chatting, oblivious to Mohammad's concerns.

> >

> > "That is one thing you will easily find all over this area,

> tsunami

> > widowers or bachelors, or sometimes, widowers claiming to be

> > bachelors," he said, momentarily exchanging his sombre look for a

> > brief smile.

> >

> > Firmansyah, a man in his early 30s, is a typical case. "I have

> lost

> > my wife and three children," he said, adding that three women now

> > cooked for some 50 men and children living in tents in the

> > village. "Nobody brings me my coffee in the morning and no one

> cooks

> > my favorite dishes."

> >

> > Among the 260 survivors in Cot Lamkuweuh, which once boasted a

> > population of 1,350, there were only 87 females, including

> children,

> > a picture repeated all along's Aceh's devastated coastline, and

in

> > other areas.

> >

> > Three months after the December 26 disaster killed 273,000 people

> > around the Indian Ocean, a pattern of disproportionately high

> female

> > mortality is emerging that could heap further problems on

> > communities already struggling to recover.

> >

> > In a study released last week, British-based charity Oxfam said

> four

> > times more women than men died in some tsunami-affected areas,

> > including Aceh, Southeast India and parts of Sri Lanka.

> >

> > The report said the imbalance was because many men were working

> > inland or fishing offshore when the waves hit on a Sunday

morning,

> > while the women were at home. Men were also more capable of

> climbing

> > trees or swimming, it said.

> >

> > "In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of those

> > killed were women," said Andrew Hewett, executive director of

> Oxfam

> > in Australia. "The impact on the gender balance within the

> community

> > seems to be so severe that the consequences are going to ripple

> > right through the whole society for many years to come."

> >

> > In Aceh, the situation at Mohammad's village is repeated in

> > settlements all along the coast.

> >

> > "Less than a third of our 1,272 survivors are women," said

Faisal,

> > the head of Punge Jurong, some three kilometers from Lamkuweuh.

> >

> > Further down the coast in Lamlumpu, there were only 17 women left

> of

> > the 1,700 that had inhabited the village before the tsunami

> > destroyed it, said Musafir, of the Build Aceh Forum, a non-

> > governmental group working there.

> >

> > "You encounter this condition in almost all displaced

> communities,"

> > he said. Nazamuddin, an economist from Aceh's state-run Syah

Kuala

> > university, said the situation was likely to have a far-reaching

> > effect on the province as it rebuilds since women previously

> played

> > an important role in the local economy.

> >

> > Except for the tilling of soil, all work in rice fields is

> > traditionally done by women in agricultural communities, while in

> > the fishery sector, women dominated the processing stage after

> > fishermen had landed their catch.

> >

> > A 2004 report of the UN Development Programme showed that the

> > percentage of women overall in employment was at 49 percent in

> Aceh -

> > - considerably higher than the 26.6 percent in the Indonesian

> > capital.

> >

> > For women in senior official, managerial and technical positions,

> > the figure was again high, 45 percent compared to 35 percent in

> > Jakarta.

> >

> > Syah Kuala university sociologist Ahmad Humam Hamid said the

> > repercussions of the gender imbalance were difficult to gauge but

> it

> > was now an imperative to factor in the needs of women in

> programmes

> > aimed at assisting survivors.

> >

> > He said surviving women also faced the increased burden of

looking

> > after widowed men in their extended families and communities,

> > although this was a problem before the disaster due to deaths in

> > fighting in a separatist conflict in the region.

> >

> > "The tsunami was a second blow to Acehnese women. Many had

already

> > taken on the burden of raising their family on their own because

> of

> > the long-dragging conflict here, because their men died or had to

> > leave," Hamid said.

> >

> > "Now, a decreasing number of women have to bear the expanded

> > responsibility of also taking care of the men and children in

> their

> > neighbourhood. Their voice should be heard when planning for the

> > recovery," he said.

> >

> > Faridah, a housewife in her 20s who is among the newly burdened

> > women, is stoic about here new chores of preparing meals for 35

> men

> > sheltering in tents at a mosque that is the only standing

> structure

> > in the village of Ulee Lheue.

> >

> > "We are used to this, and besides, they are now like family to

> me,"

> > she said.

> >

> > SOURCE: Sify News. "Tsunami survivors anxiously face future

> without

> > women." By Bhimanto Suwastoyo in Indonesia. Monday, 28 March,

> 2005.

> > © 2004 sify.com India Limited. .

> > URL: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13703125

[Guest guest]

Hi DB: I think alarmist, fear-mongering media knows no geographical

bounds. I posted because I noticed that in the article featuring the

fishermen, they were portrayed as happily mending their nets, while

the journalist was putting together their dire straits due to lack

of women. Same with the article that featured the woman who is there

dealing with having to put her life back together. She was not

aware, according to the article, that there was a 10 to 1 ratio of

men to women resulting in women being shanghaied into marrying

codgers, etc.

 

Mary Ann

 

, "devi_bhakta"

<devi_bhakta> wrote:

>

> Hi Mary Ann:

>

> You wrote: "I wonder a bit about the slant of the articles you've

> posted, DB."

>

> I posted two articles on the same topic, one that focused on the

> women's concerns and one that focused on the men's concerns. They

> were by two different reporters from two different newspapers in

two

> different hemispheres. I felt their "slants" were rather different

> from one another.

>

> You added: "Is it to be trusted what the media reflects, that

women

> are being victimized all over the affected area? Or might that not

be

> something to scare women who are just trying to take care of their

> lives?"

>

> I suppose anything is possible, but if there is an Asian media

> conspiracy to scare Asian women, I think Canada's Montreal Gazette

is

> a kind of odd place from which to launch the assault.

>

> Thanks as always for your input and commentary.

>

> DB

>

> , "Mary Ann"

> <buttercookie61> wrote:

> >

> > I hope that rather than foist the care of these "womanless" men

> onto

> > a few women who are also facing the need of putting their own

lives

> > back together, men in need in the affected areas learn to feed

and

> > care for themselves and others. There would be no added burden

> then,

> > rather, a new balance. Such a new balance would be far more

> > attractive to women who might consider moving into the area than

> the

> > thought of stoically take care of a bunch of men who aren't able

to

> > cook for themselves or get their own coffee.

> >

> > I wonder a bit about the slant of the articles you've posted,

DB.

> If

> > a woman in the affected area says she is unaware personally of

any

> > abuse by womanless men who outnumber women 10 to 1, and that

she's

> > just working to put her life back together, does that mean she's

> > being "stoic" or that other women aren't being honest about

abuse

> > that exists? Is it to be trusted what the media reflects, that

> women

> > are being victimized all over the affected area? Or might that

not

> > be something to scare women who are just trying to take care of

> > their lives?

> >

> > , "devi_bhakta"

> > <devi_bhakta> wrote:

> > >

> > > March 28, 2005: Tarmizi Mohammad has plenty to worry about as

he

> > > helps tsunami survivors in a village in Indonesia's devastated

> > Aceh

> > > province, but as the emergency subsides, one thing is preying

> more

> > > on his mind, the absence of women.

> > >

> > > "Look at us here, we are all men and mostly under 30," said

> > > Mohammad, who runs a survivor coordination post in Cot

Lamkuweuh,

> > a

> > > small community on the coastal outskirts of the main city of

> Banda

> > > Aceh. Around him, a dozen men gather at the post, mending fish

> > nets

> > > and chatting, oblivious to Mohammad's concerns.

> > >

> > > "That is one thing you will easily find all over this area,

> > tsunami

> > > widowers or bachelors, or sometimes, widowers claiming to be

> > > bachelors," he said, momentarily exchanging his sombre look

for a

> > > brief smile.

> > >

> > > Firmansyah, a man in his early 30s, is a typical case. "I have

> > lost

> > > my wife and three children," he said, adding that three women

now

> > > cooked for some 50 men and children living in tents in the

> > > village. "Nobody brings me my coffee in the morning and no one

> > cooks

> > > my favorite dishes."

> > >

> > > Among the 260 survivors in Cot Lamkuweuh, which once boasted a

> > > population of 1,350, there were only 87 females, including

> > children,

> > > a picture repeated all along's Aceh's devastated coastline,

and

> in

> > > other areas.

> > >

> > > Three months after the December 26 disaster killed 273,000

people

> > > around the Indian Ocean, a pattern of disproportionately high

> > female

> > > mortality is emerging that could heap further problems on

> > > communities already struggling to recover.

> > >

> > > In a study released last week, British-based charity Oxfam

said

> > four

> > > times more women than men died in some tsunami-affected areas,

> > > including Aceh, Southeast India and parts of Sri Lanka.

> > >

> > > The report said the imbalance was because many men were

working

> > > inland or fishing offshore when the waves hit on a Sunday

> morning,

> > > while the women were at home. Men were also more capable of

> > climbing

> > > trees or swimming, it said.

> > >

> > > "In some villages it now appears that up to 80 percent of

those

> > > killed were women," said Andrew Hewett, executive director of

> > Oxfam

> > > in Australia. "The impact on the gender balance within the

> > community

> > > seems to be so severe that the consequences are going to

ripple

> > > right through the whole society for many years to come."

> > >

> > > In Aceh, the situation at Mohammad's village is repeated in

> > > settlements all along the coast.

> > >

> > > "Less than a third of our 1,272 survivors are women," said

> Faisal,

> > > the head of Punge Jurong, some three kilometers from

Lamkuweuh.

> > >

> > > Further down the coast in Lamlumpu, there were only 17 women

left

> > of

> > > the 1,700 that had inhabited the village before the tsunami

> > > destroyed it, said Musafir, of the Build Aceh Forum, a non-

> > > governmental group working there.

> > >

> > > "You encounter this condition in almost all displaced

> > communities,"

> > > he said. Nazamuddin, an economist from Aceh's state-run Syah

> Kuala

> > > university, said the situation was likely to have a far-

reaching

> > > effect on the province as it rebuilds since women previously

> > played

> > > an important role in the local economy.

> > >

> > > Except for the tilling of soil, all work in rice fields is

> > > traditionally done by women in agricultural communities, while

in

> > > the fishery sector, women dominated the processing stage after

> > > fishermen had landed their catch.

> > >

> > > A 2004 report of the UN Development Programme showed that the

> > > percentage of women overall in employment was at 49 percent in

> > Aceh -

> > > - considerably higher than the 26.6 percent in the Indonesian

> > > capital.

> > >

> > > For women in senior official, managerial and technical

positions,

> > > the figure was again high, 45 percent compared to 35 percent

in

> > > Jakarta.

> > >

> > > Syah Kuala university sociologist Ahmad Humam Hamid said the

> > > repercussions of the gender imbalance were difficult to gauge

but

> > it

> > > was now an imperative to factor in the needs of women in

> > programmes

> > > aimed at assisting survivors.

> > >

> > > He said surviving women also faced the increased burden of

> looking

> > > after widowed men in their extended families and communities,

> > > although this was a problem before the disaster due to deaths

in

> > > fighting in a separatist conflict in the region.

> > >

> > > "The tsunami was a second blow to Acehnese women. Many had

> already

> > > taken on the burden of raising their family on their own

because

> > of

> > > the long-dragging conflict here, because their men died or had

to

> > > leave," Hamid said.

> > >

> > > "Now, a decreasing number of women have to bear the expanded

> > > responsibility of also taking care of the men and children in

> > their

> > > neighbourhood. Their voice should be heard when planning for

the

> > > recovery," he said.

> > >

> > > Faridah, a housewife in her 20s who is among the newly

burdened

> > > women, is stoic about here new chores of preparing meals for

35

> > men

> > > sheltering in tents at a mosque that is the only standing

> > structure

> > > in the village of Ulee Lheue.

> > >

> > > "We are used to this, and besides, they are now like family to

> > me,"

> > > she said.

> > >

> > > SOURCE: Sify News. "Tsunami survivors anxiously face future

> > without

> > > women." By Bhimanto Suwastoyo in Indonesia. Monday, 28 March,

> > 2005.

> > > © 2004 sify.com India Limited. .

> > > URL: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13703125

[Guest guest]

Hi again Mary Ann:

 

Am in and out today, but found your message and thanks.

 

You wrote: "I think alarmist, fear-mongering media knows no

geographical bounds."

 

Well ... except in the U.S., where no matter how insane the Bush

administration's domestic and foreign agenda's become, most of the

mainstream news outlets remain calm and complacent. :-(( They seem to

save their "alarmist, fear-mongering" instincts for "event" stories

like (to name the current favorites) Michael Jackson's trial and

Terry Shaivo's feeding tube. :-/

 

Still, I'd stand by my guess that a Canadian newspaper report isn't

going to alarm many rural Tamil fisherwomen (who, realistically

speaking, are just as likely to be illiterate and not regular viewers

of television news shows).

 

*** I posted because ... the fishermen ... were portrayed as happily

mending their nets, while the woman ... was not aware, according to

the article, that there was a 10 to 1 ratio of men to women resulting

in women being shanghaied into marrying codgers, etc. ***

 

Doesn't all of that tend to support my assertion that these articles

are likely *not* spreading fear and alarm?

 

A lot of your objections, I suspect, result mainly from the culture

gap -- affecting both the Canadian reporter, who is (as you noted)

spinning the story through his own Western lens; and affecting you

the reader, who are spinning it through your particular lens as well.

 

The fact is, neither the men nor the women in these articles are

likely to be conversant in the language or ideas of Western feminism

or politically correct expression; they're just explaining their

feelings in terms of their everyday world (which is, after all,

profoundly different from the world of Southern California, urban New

England, or the wealthier nations of Western Europe).

 

I posted the stories simply because I thought they made for an

interesting follow-up to the shrill body-count articles that tended

to dominate the first generation of stories covering this disaster

and its aftermath. I agree with you that nuance and depth are rather

lacking, but keep in mind that they are merely quick journalistic

dispatches, not serious sociological analyses -- and in fairness,

they probably should be read as such.

 

DB

[Guest guest]

Hi DB: I figured the articles are written for the reading public

wherever they are printed; I wasn't thinking that the people

interviewed are illiterate. It sounded like the journalist actually

talked with a woman in the affected area, and that woman said she

was unaware of heightened danger to women and was just putting her

life back together. I thought it was like here in the US, when there

is a rapist on the loose (and when isn't there, but sometimes it's

more in the news than others), there's the reporting of genuine

information so people -- women -- can exercise more care and

caution, and then there's sensationalism that adds to the sense of

threat that inhibits people -- especially women -- from fully living

their lives.

 

 

, "devi_bhakta"

<devi_bhakta> wrote:

>

> Hi again Mary Ann:

>

> Am in and out today, but found your message and thanks.

>

> You wrote: "I think alarmist, fear-mongering media knows no

> geographical bounds."

>

> Well ... except in the U.S., where no matter how insane the Bush

> administration's domestic and foreign agenda's become, most of the

> mainstream news outlets remain calm and complacent. :-(( They seem

to

> save their "alarmist, fear-mongering" instincts for "event"

stories

> like (to name the current favorites) Michael Jackson's trial and

> Terry Shaivo's feeding tube. :-/

>

> Still, I'd stand by my guess that a Canadian newspaper report

isn't

> going to alarm many rural Tamil fisherwomen (who, realistically

> speaking, are just as likely to be illiterate and not regular

viewers

> of television news shows).

>

> *** I posted because ... the fishermen ... were portrayed as

happily

> mending their nets, while the woman ... was not aware, according

to

> the article, that there was a 10 to 1 ratio of men to women

resulting

> in women being shanghaied into marrying codgers, etc. ***

>

> Doesn't all of that tend to support my assertion that these

articles

> are likely *not* spreading fear and alarm?

>

> A lot of your objections, I suspect, result mainly from the

culture

> gap -- affecting both the Canadian reporter, who is (as you noted)

> spinning the story through his own Western lens; and affecting you

> the reader, who are spinning it through your particular lens as

well.

>

> The fact is, neither the men nor the women in these articles are

> likely to be conversant in the language or ideas of Western

feminism

> or politically correct expression; they're just explaining their

> feelings in terms of their everyday world (which is, after all,

> profoundly different from the world of Southern California, urban

New

> England, or the wealthier nations of Western Europe).

>

> I posted the stories simply because I thought they made for an

> interesting follow-up to the shrill body-count articles that

tended

> to dominate the first generation of stories covering this disaster

> and its aftermath. I agree with you that nuance and depth are

rather

> lacking, but keep in mind that they are merely quick journalistic

> dispatches, not serious sociological analyses -- and in fairness,

> they probably should be read as such.

>

> DB