The Vivienne Foundation – 18.3.22
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The Big Picture 18th of March 2022
My name is Cora Corré, Vivienne is my Grandmother. My parents are Joe and Serena. My mother is originally from Kashmir, a place of ongoing conflict. I am working with Vivienne on a campaign focusing around Stop War.
I’ve struggled to articulate myself without feeling as if I’ll be accused of being insensitive. So, I’d like to start by saying that the suffering of Ukraine is heartbreaking and unjust in every way. What I am about to say is not intended to undermine such injustice…
The racial bias within the Western media coverage of Ukraine is deeply unsettling. There is a clear differentiation between conflict and refugees in Europe and countries in the Global South, such as Afghanistan or Yemen.
These harmful narratives perpetuated by the media reinforce notions of white supremacy, demonstrating greater sympathy and an urge to protect those who are white. This reinforces harmful colonial stereotypes that black and brown people are predisposed to violence, so war in non-European countries is unsurprising.
Humanity extends to and includes everyone. We should strive to do everything in our power to ensure that these harmful narratives that undermine the suffering of black and brown people are challenged.
Educate yourself on the wars throughout the world. Understand and hold accountable your very own government for their complicity in supporting states that consistently commit rights abuses against the innocent. And, share the same light and support you share for those on your doorstep with all of those in need.
For Yemen, Ukraine, Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia.
Where innocent lives pay for war and never the oppressor.
So well said! Please tell Cora that I appreciate her honesty and her compassion for all refugees and victims of war. Thanks for posting her letter.
Best,
Jeffrey
Comment by Jeffrey Jordan on 18/03/2022 at 7:05 pm
Thank you for being sensitive when addressing this topic! It’s insane in this world! There’s definitely a double standard for refugees, no one can deny it, it’s painfully obvious. No one no matter the colour, age, gender, class etc., simply no one should suffer. All wars are terrible and I cannot wait for the world without a war if there’s such a world in our future. And yes, we all should educate ourselves on what’s going on in all parts of the world, however recently it’s very challenging as there are many things going on in the world, way too many for one human being to coprehend. In terms of media coverage, I’m not so sure though, unfortunately I see a difference in Putin’s war and it’s not about whiteness, it’s more about the global impact it already has and will have, not even mentioning the threat of WWIII or geopolitics. As an example, let’s take food security, this is a real issue which will affect the poorest, p.e. 74% of the wheat for Uganda comes from Ukraine, you don’t want to even imagine a situation when the crops and export would fail. I mean we can talk for hours why this war and all the wars are devastating. And I have no idea what more I can do to stop it to the extent that I’m becoming sick of people because no one cares and everyone simply keeps living the life as if nothing’s happening. Take care!
Comment by Julie on 20/03/2022 at 10:49 pm