By calling out a person’s name, you humanise him or her. Let’s go back a few years to the shooting of Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, during which 50 people were killed.
The then New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Arden, vowed never to say the gunman’s name so as not to humanise him. “I implore you, speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless,” she said.
Today, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, three Israeli hostages returning home after 15 months in captivity in Gaza, have become household names. Their lives have been scrutinised from every angle. Their photographs, prior to their being taken as hostages showing them laughing and happy, have been seen on screens around the world, making them familiar faces.
In the 48 hours preceding their release, we came to know them not only by name, but also by age, background, family connections, citizenships, and injuries. We were told the locations where they were captured and where they would be released and how close the two locations were to one another.
Once they were released, we were told that Emily, Doron, and Romi had finally arrived home on Israeli soil. It was a hero’s welcome as far as the US network CNN was concerned. The joy of their return was depicted with photographs showing them enveloped with hugs, kisses, and tears. The moment when the mothers met their released daughters was considered poignant and touching.
Then we were told that they were in good health, which was immediately attributed to resilience and strength on their part and not to the fact that they had been treated well. The Western media, hoping to make viewers even more sympathetic to the released hostages, described the three women’s joyous smiles as superficial since they had to be under huge duress.
We were told that the recovery process was expected to be long and painful. The treatment they will receive was identified; not only will medical teams look for injuries but also for mental, psychological, and traumatic issues. We were told repeatedly that they had been kept in tunnels for 15 months, not seeing the sun and breathing polluted air. They would thus need a long period in which to recover, the Western media said, and possibly they would never overcome the tragic ordeal they had faced.
They would need to be remain hospitalised, the Israeli Health Ministry said, for as long as it took to make sure of their wellbeing and to carry out further assessment and treatment.
The release of the three hostages was indeed an exceptional moment for their families and friends who saw their loved ones come home. I am in no way questioning how wonderful this moment must have been. However, to dehumanise the Palestinians to the extent that no footage of any released prisoner was seen in the Western media was abysmal. I watched the Western media for hours, hoping to see a glimpse of empathy towards the released Palestinians, but there was absolutely none.
Not only were their names not mentioned, but their identities and the joy that their families felt remained untold.
Let’s address the Western media: 18,000 Palestinians, some mere children, others in their teens, some of them in captivity for years without ever being charged, deserve more respect and recognition. The 90 Palestinian prisoners freed at the same time as the Israeli hostages will also need medical treatment after the torture they suffered during their captivity. Don’t these prisoners deserve acknowledgement?
According to the UK newspaper the Guardian, “violence, extreme hunger, humiliation and other abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalised across Israel’s jail system… with mistreatment now so systemic that [Israeli] rights group B’Tselem says it must be considered a policy of ‘institutionalised abuse’.”
Yet, the Western media did not give the Palestinian prisoners the time of day. They remained unidentified and dehumanised.
Flip to the Egyptian channels and see the other side of the story. The released 90 prisoners were named with their ages as well. Incredible footage was presented: of seemingly distraught 62-year-old Khalida Jarrar, who had been held in solitary confinement in a 2.5 by 1.5 metre cell for six months; of a 50-year-old Palestinian woman seen running back towards her home on foot; of families carrying their few belongings and holding their children’s hands as they trudged back; and of bikes, scooters, and donkey driven carts heading back to totally ruined or severely damaged homes.
All this tells the story of a people who have suffered tremendous pain.
The double standard is obvious. Will the world see through the Western media’s depiction of one of the most appalling wars in the history of our time or not? Will the world see through the unfairness and bias?
The Palestinians deserve to be named and recognised, too. The Western media must be fair and show less bias if it is to avoid the accusation of deceitful double standards.
The writer is a former professor of communication who is based in Vancouver, Canada.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 30 January, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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