The French photojournalist Alexandra Boulat has very sadly died at the age of only 45. Her astounding war zone photographs created a new standard for sensitivity and cultural awareness. Among the many tributes to this remarkable woman is an obit that cannot be improved upon, from Jim Johnson. Via everyone
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4 Comments
I currently recoil at phrases like “sensitivity and cultural awareness”. It is precisely that attitude, that I think is naive, that underlies the multicultural mess of Britain where we never challenged people on their cultural practices on the basis, one assumes, people thought they would civilise and fit in. In the case of Muslims, that is largely not true and now 4000 of them are under terrorist surveillance, and there are many ghetto areas full of resentment and neanderthal treatment of women.
Its now a big problem establishing humanitarian relations with this, because the communities are not humanitarian and we allowed it to happen: the majority of these people have seperatist values which disadvantages them which then makes them resent others, and their attitudes towards women are foul.
That doesn’t need “sensitivity and cultural awareness”, it needs challenging.
In my experience despite the current onslaught from government and the press, communities with all kinds of differences do live comfortably and happily together.
One wonders whose interests are best served by perpetuating these myths about who and who is not “civilised”, especially in a week when it is clear that the police have it so spectacularly wrong.
I think some of the overall facts are the most important thing, not individual experiences. My experiences are probably similar to yours – not much evidence of a problem. But I’ve seen Muslim Bradford, Leeds, Manchester and Bolton, and seen for myself in those ghetto areas there obviously is. Similarly, 4000 Muslims under terrorist surveillance is not a myth, its a fact that was only just admitted by senior police in the public media. That itself speaks volumes, because its clearly only the tip of the ice berg in those close knit communities that – as Channel 4 Despatches concluded (we knew it anyway, it was obvious) – the majority of Muslims are seperatist, and as the Times found over 2 years ago over 10,000 are “sympathetic” to Al Qaeda. Its now probably more than that, and in Holland 60% of Dutch Muslims sympathise/support the murder of Vin Gogh. And look at the cartoon riots, trying to impose Islamic attitudes on a free espeech West. There is approximately one “honour killing” a month, in Britain, and the Home Office states probably more because they don’t know the extent of it and there are suspicious statistics. And while that’s not exclusively Islamic, it is predominantly Islamic. Recent terrorist convictions are not a “myth” either, just a very very serious problem, as is the constant supply of hate preachers like abu hamza, Omar Bakri, Abu Qataada, and now this one:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2402998.ece
I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point. It is most definitely a problem, in the way I’ve described it.
Overall facts are indeed important, not hearsay and rumourmongering.
Whatever the police are doing doesn’t in itself indicate anything other than a political and media preoccupation with labelling distinct groups of people as terrorists. That you say there are so many people under surveillance is in itself a problem. And I repeat, in the week that the police have so spectacularly failed to demonstrate competency, and are not being tried for first degree murder, speaks volumes.
I’m now going to close comments on this post, since we are far from discussing Boulat’s life and photographs. But thank you for your time, your comment will remain to show the kind of issues and attitudes we are all struggling to overcome, with the sesnitivity and tolerance her life’s work conveys.