Opinion – Orientalissimo: On an American channel, a reporter says that Ukraine is ‘civilized’, unlike Iraq

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused mixed reactions in the world of Arab and Islamic culture. On the one hand, demonstrations of solidarity in the face of the destruction and death caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army abound. On the other hand, residents of countries like Syria – which have been living through bloody wars for years, including Russian attacks on civilian targets – wonder why the Ukrainian drama is more emotional than theirs abroad. Between the lines, they say: are our lives worth so little?

This anguish was evident this Saturday morning (26), when a video of the correspondent Charlie D’Agata, from the American network CBS, began to circulate. Covering the war in Ukraine, he said live that the situation was particularly problematic because Kiev is a “relatively civilized, relatively European” city — unlike, he said, places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Here’s the sentence:

The video has been circulating on social media, accompanied by harsh criticism. to a world that privileges certain lives over others. “Imagine the kind of damage these people have done over the years,” commented a reporter. some users asked the American network correspondent to apologize for what he said.

It’s not that they ignore the immense risk posed by Russian actions in Ukraine. As I said to sheet British historian Jeremy Black, “Russia has the ability to turn a regional conflict into a full-scale war.” Furthermore, “as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has the power to destroy the architecture of international relations,” he said. That said, the words used to refer to other countries and peoples – these are civilized, those are not – contribute to their dehumanization. Dehumanization, in turn, cheapens the lives of those who are considered minors, as inferiors.

This dehumanization helps to understand the first European reactions to the Ukrainian refugees that are expected to start arriving. Some leaders have already been in favor of the entry of Ukrainians – but in the past, they had refused the Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans.

Watch the video with the full speech of the CBS reporter below: