Arab Media Watch - British Media Potrayals of Somalia

This is a detailed study on the representations of Somalis and Somalia in all forms of media in the UK. You can read the report here.

Two things here are interesting to note; one is that an organisation concerning itself with the Arab world and its representation in the media has taken upon itself to include Somalia in its remit. This appears to be a matter only of political expediency as for some stupid reason the author has conflated religion [Islam] with race [African/Arab]. In this instance it follows for retards that all Muslims are Arabs and all Arabs are Muslims. Once this is the case, then it means that non-Somalis are dictating the terms wherein which Somalis should be represented in the media in the UK. This as we all know is ridiculous. Nevertheless, this is the case.

The second area of interest that is of note in this article is that stupidly by affirming that Somalia's political climate is being simplified by the media, Arab Media Watch then go on to simplify the complexities of Somalia's political culture. They have become part of the problem rather than being part of the solution. It is again worth highlighting the fact that language + thought = action. That is that if this organisation claims to be part of the change in discourse about the Horn of Africa nation then they should understand that in this context language + thought = action [producing the report in the Somali language + involving the Somali community in the report's formation = the action for change in the current representation of the Somali community in the media in the UK].

There are points raised in the report that are an accurate reflection of the current climate but they are masked unfortunately by the methodological flaws that mark this piece. Fundamentally it exposes the need for Somalis to talk about themselves publicly, communicate with one another effectively and act as a collective.