It is not the armed conflicts which have been lacking for half a century: Vietnam, ex-Yugoslavia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Syria, Yemen and many others. The most recent, in Ukraine, shows live the suffering and catastrophic effects of any modern war.
Since the Russian invasion of February 24, we have been living the daily life of Ukrainian civilians. We know their life in the shelters, the mourning, the destroyed buildings and even the corpses in the streets. The testimonies describe their dramas or their hopes. On all media platforms.
We discover people who are similar to us. Same urban lifestyle, aspirations related to work, housing and travel. Shattered dreams or new lives in exile. They are dressed like us, have pets, children are in pushchairs to cross the borders, and recent cars circulate in the streets of kyiv.
The Ukrainian government and its allies quickly realized the effect of identifying audiences to aid their cause and gain political and military favors from NATO leaders.
It is difficult not to identify with the misfortunes and adversities of the Ukrainian people. The destroyed streets of Kharkiv could be those of Montreal. Bars, cafes, cinemas and universities demolished.
However, before this conflict, little was said about Ukraine, except about corruption and economic difficulties. A line from time to time about the conflict in the Donbass, but not much. Who had heard of this former television comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, now consecrated leader of the free world?
Of course, other wars have been covered by the media. In general, it was a military vision and often superficial: live bombardments of Baghdad on the CNN channel during the time of Saddam Hussein, photos of ruins in Syria and Yemen, NATO operations in Libya, for example. A target seen in black and white from the top of a drone then a small flash. Anonymous who disappear. Combatants or innocent collateral victims? Who knows.
There was the photo of the little Syrian boy stranded on a beach, dead for trying to cross to Europe. But it’s harder for the average Westerner to see themselves in one of those millions of dead or refugee Syrians. Distance, cultural, societal, religious or linguistic differences have meant that the civil war there, the Afghan disaster or the massacres in Sudan unfortunately do not have the same impact on emotional fiber or attention span. television of North Americans or Europeans.
The Syrian refugees note, with good reason, the difference between the treatment reserved for them in Europe and the very generous one granted to those arriving from Ukraine, in much greater numbers. From Russia, while the foreign and local media are under the thumb of Putin’s censorship, there is radio silence. Occasionally, the funerals of soldiers and the crying of grieving mothers or propaganda.
Ukraine won the media war, no doubt. The fact remains that this dynamic of feelings in favor of kyiv, although legitimate and normal, risks pushing towards a dangerous one-upmanship.
Between the necessary defense of a nation savagely attacked by its neighbor and a wider conflict involving NATO intervention, there is a fine line. Our leaders, always in search of votes, can be sensitive to the emotion of voters. Especially when their poll scores are low. With a perilous escalation in the nuclear age.
On the other hand, the danger which awaits the Ukrainian authorities is the possible disaffection of the Western public, which would turn to other subjects more buoyant for the ratings. Putin is undoubtedly banking on this possibility. He believes time is on his side.
The Ukrainian government will therefore have to continue to systematically show what we may have forgotten: a war is always cruel, devastating and tragic. Waiting for the parties to decide one day or another to negotiate peace.