"Specifically, you write that the "war has led to tens of thousands of Palestinians dying." This passive voice, "dying," makes it appear that the deaths were spontaneous, and it conceals from the reader the fact that these people were killed by Israeli military actions."
February 20, 2024
To:
Mah Noor Mubarik,
Journalist, CBC News, Yellowknife
Nancy Waugh, Managing Editor, CBC News
Dear Ms Mubarik
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME.org), Saskatoon Chapter, about your recent article titled "Yellowknife Resident Fears The Worst For Family in Gaza as Weeks Go By with No Contact," which was published in CBC News North on February 20, 2024.
While I acknowledge and appreciate your effort to shed light on the heartbreaking situation faced by Palestinian Canadians with families in Gaza, I have some reservations regarding the portrayal and framing of the issue, especially in terms of the use of the passive voice and a lack of adequate contextualization.
Specifically, you write that the "war has led to tens of thousands of Palestinians dying." This passive voice, "dying," makes it appear that the deaths were spontaneous, and it conceals from the reader the fact that these people were killed by Israeli military actions. In terms of the number of people killed, far more accurate data are widely available and should be used instead of generalizing: OCHA oPt reported on February 20 that 29,195 fatalities were reported, with 69,170 wounded; two thirds of those killed are women and children. [UN]
You quote Rami Kassem, who states that he lost contact with his family members "either because of the internet, or because they were displaced somewhere else, or they died." While Mr Kassem will of course be cognizant of the context, your readers may not be and therefore it is necessary to report the facts surrounding this statement. The people of Gaza don't just 'die.' Rather, it is the Israeli army which creates communication blackouts and issues repeated orders for Gazans to evacuate to areas which it claims will be safe and are subsequently bombed. Israeli soldiers kill Gazans directly in military attacks on homes, apartment buildings, hospitals, churches and mosques where people shelter,and kills them indirectly by bombing and shelling civilian infrastructure and withholding all necessities of life: shelter, water, food, and medical care. All these actions violate international laws and conventions and constitute war crimes.
You write that Nazim Awan said this "isn't just a religious issue — it's a humanitarian one." This sentence, because it includes the word 'just', threatens to frame the issue as religious in character whereas in fact the international community accepts that the current situation is the result of the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the military occupation of the Palestinian territories -- an occupation which has gone on longer than any other in modern history. The International Court of Justice has just begun to deliberate on the question of whether this occupation is still legal. Palestinians, both the majority Muslim population which you mention, as well as Palestinian Christians, are subject to Israeli attacks, including on Christian Gazans sheltering in churches.
I do appreciate your inclusion of both Palestinian and Muslim voices, but in the interest of further diversifying the voices in the article and in avoiding treating this as a religious issue, the article could have been improved by including a statement from YK Citizens for Ceasefire.
Other relevant context that could be mentioned is the problematic temporary visa program , offered to only 1000 Gazans who are immediate family of Palestinian Canadians. In contrast, 958,190 applications have been processed for temporary visas for Ukrainian refugees.
Whereas transportation loans and subsidies were offered to Ukrainian nationals regardless of their connection to Canada, the government is not offering financial support to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
I hope you can incorporate some additional context in your article and avoid using the passive voice in future reporting.
Thank you for reporting on Palestinian Canadians in Yellowknife and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Renée Nunan-Rappard