Pay attention to the East

April 14, 2014 was an incredibly tragic day for the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. It was the night in which female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School by Boko Haram, an extremist terrorist organization. When women in Nigeria spoke out about the kidnapping, they stirred a sense of global outrage. However, after two years have passed, the 219 missing girls have still not been released and much of the world has already forgotten.

It is a sad reality that there are tragedies occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere that often don’t capture the world’s attention. While the Paris terrorist attacks last November gained global attention and France’s national colors were seen on national monuments to show support for the country, many people did not even know of the horrors that occurred in Lebanon just one day prior. People must become aware of the happenings in the East as well as the West. Focusing on just the Western Hemisphere is unacceptable.

While some will say that this lack of knowledge about the tragedies is naturally because they impact us on a much smaller scale, it is evident that this claim does not justify the reason as to why we, as a society, don’t hear about these events. People must pay attention to the world, and not just the developed countries.

To begin, knowing about the tragedies occurring in different parts of the world helps the developing countries. In order for change and aid to come to these areas, people need to first become aware of the situation. Information and knowledge about these tragedies must be made known to the world.

In the case of the lost Chibok schoolgirls, awareness was spread and the world was ready to lend a hand. However, after two years, nothing was truly done. Because this situation would most likely not have been left alone for two years, had it taken place in a developed country, it should be equally as important in the eyes of the rest of the world. Only with more awareness will change come to these less developed countries.

Finally, this lack of awareness must discontinue in order to merely become more understanding people. In our fast-paced society in which we pride ourselves in being extremely connected with the help of our technological advancements, it is incredibly necessary that people don’t focus on merely their own lives. In other words, it is unacceptable that we focus only on the events occurring in the Western Hemisphere. Having technical advancements is an accomplishment worth being proud of, but we need to focus on all incidents, not just one.

Awareness must be spread about the events that happen in the Eastern Hemisphere. Learning about tragic events occurring in a developed country, but not in a less developed country cannot continue. Not only does this harm the country getting less coverage, but it affects us as well.