"In that case, I would recommend alternating between the names listed above. Referring to Gaza and Palestine as an ambiguous “region” lacks precision and perpetuates Canadian media’s tendency to leave Palestine and its indigenous people unnamed."
March 27, 2023
To:
David Hutton, Senior Managing Director, CBC News Manitoba
Melanie Verhaeghe, Managing Editor, CBC News Manitoba
Dear David Hutton and Melanie Verhaeghe,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express concern regarding a recent article titled “’The need is massive’: Mennonite Central Committee sends food aid to Gaza,” published on March 26 on CBC News Manitoba.
While I am relieved and happy to read that the Mennonite Central Committee is putting shipments together for Palestinians in Gaza, there are glaring holes in your reporting of the imminent famine in Gaza. Further, your weak, obscure language subtly undermines the scale of starvation and dehydration in the Strip and, most importantly, absolves Israel of its central responsibility for these devastating outcomes.
Obfuscating language can be identified in the following cases:
- “The Mennonite Central Committee is hoping its first shipment of food aid to Gaza will feed more than 600 families struggling with food insecurity.”
- “The organization has five more shipments planned as the region continues to struggle with rising levels of food insecurity.”
- “It was ready to ship…but the supplies had to wait in a long queue of other trucks trying to get into the region. It also needed to be stopped for inspections three times before reaching its destination.”
Later in the article, the author asserts that the “region” is already “facing or will soon struggle with famine.” Yet, CBC Manitoba repeatedly settles for the term “food insecurity” within the first few paragraphs. The starvation, dehydration, and malnutrition preceding a famine do not fall under the scope of “food insecurity.” Palestinians in Gaza are not “food insecure.” They are starving. The special brief to which you refer sets forth appropriate terminology. Please adjust your wording accordingly.
Another pattern that works to obscure the situation unfolding in Gaza is the use of the word “region” instead of obvious alternatives: Gaza, the Gaza Strip, and Palestine. Perhaps “region” was used to avoid repetition. In that case, I would recommend alternating between the names listed above. Referring to Gaza and Palestine as an ambiguous “region” lacks precision and perpetuates Canadian media’s tendency to leave Palestine and its indigenous people unnamed.
Finally, and perhaps most pressingly, Israel’s deliberate actions, which have fostered an unlivable environment for Palestinians in Gaza, are entirely omitted from the article. You write that the supplies transported by trucks needed to be stopped for inspections three times before reaching their destination. Inspections conducted by whom? How did these dire circumstances emerge? By excluding the role that Israel plays in the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, CBC Manitoba is perpetuating harmful misinformation that works to defend and conceal Israel’s genocidal actions. Please contextualize the starvation covered in your article with information regarding Israel’s military assault on Gaza and its deliberate blockade of humanitarian aid.
Thank you for making these edits promptly.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East