10 Wars To Watch (And That The Media Ignore)

Bloodshed, famine, rape, internal displacement. There are truly few things as awful as the reality of living through modern warfare. The horror, suffering, and pain caused by war are acutely felt on an individual level—what it does to that woman, man, or child and their family can be as devastating as any large bomb that destroys a city. Often though, that pain is endured quietly, out of view, while the media focuses on bombs falling and guns firing.

The goal of projects like ours are to make public what has previously been private in order to create a world in which no humans are subject to or forced to witness that kind of secret horror. Yet while we strive for that, we live with the reality that mainstream media must pick and choose which stories to share, and politics—and profit—often play profound roles in determining which stories we get to know.

Here, we’ve assembled a list of 10 ongoing conflicts that we think you should keep your eye on—whether the nightly news is covering them or not. (And while we’re at it, media, here’s your cheat sheet.)

We assembled the list using three criteria: annual number of fatalities based on data from a variety of media and academic sources; the degree to which we perceive potential for escalation; and the degree of what we perceive as media neglect. The list is not exhaustive—ideally, one could pay equal attention to all wars—but with that said here are 10 to watch, in red (and five more to keep an eye on, in yellow). Click around below or here for a full-sized version of this map.

http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/10-wars-to-watch-and-that-media-ignore