HOT PURSUIT

It was horrifying to watch the news unfold last week about five people who died after an expensive excursion headed to gawk at the Titanic wreck on the Atlantic Ocean floor went awry.

But just days earlier a battered fishing boat with an estimated 700 migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea. Some survived, but most did not.

First of all, my hearts go out to all those who died and their families from both tragedies.

However, along with the grief, there is something more that has been tugging at my heart strings.

Why is it that five deaths gripped the world with suspense building as to whether they would be found alive and hundreds fleeing poverty and violence to find a new life only drew at best a shrug?

They were covered by the media in sharp contrast.

It seems that the sharp contrast between the two tragedies and how they were handled is fueling a discussion around the world in which some see cruel disparities about who you are and your ethnic background.

For whatever reason, most people around the world, including Americans, don’t seem to think much when hundreds of migrants sink to their deaths. It may seem harsh, but the reality is that many people simply don’t value the lives of others equally.

It certainly is understandable why the submersible of the Titan captured so much attention. After all, it was connected to the most famous shipwreck in history.

But, as you begin to peel back the layers, it becomes even more clear what’s at hand. Abroad the Titan were three wealthy businessmen, reportedly billionaires. They paid $250,000 each to go on the excursion. It appeared many countries were pulling all stops to find those people.

The migrants were primarily from South Asia and the Middle East, trying to reach Europe. Most had little to no money. Hundreds of them are still missing. The European states are reportedly doing very little to aide in the rescue.

I think the media also plays a role in how these catastrophes are viewed by the public. Some have gone to the extreme of calling the Titan tragedy “deranged coverage” by the media. All I will say is that social media, for better or worse, has changed the landscape of how news agencies report the news. 

Based on my religious background, God created all people equally. As scriptures have pointed out, the rich and poor have this in common: The Lord made them both. No one person is better than the next. It shouldn’t matter what color you are or how much money you have in the bank. It saddens me to think that people continue to struggle with this and display a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

Last week former President Barack Obama commented about the submersible, “the fact that that’s gotten so much more attention than 700 people who sank, that’s an untenable situation.”

Could it be that we are just fatigued with disaster? The pandemic. Mass shootings. War. And the list goes on. Sadly, people have had enough and are starting to tune out.

While both tragedies don’t appear to have touched anyone directly on the local level, I think we can use those situations and take a refresher in equality and racism. We need to continue talking as a society, even on the local level, about racism and xenophobia.

If any of your loved ones ever go missing, I hope and pray that the public goes in hot pursuit of paying the same attention to all stories regardless of race, religion, demographics and other factors.