A growing problem I am realizing is what terminology to use while blogging. Especially terms that describe a person or group of people. The integrity of my blog is based on using correct information no matter what my personal view is of the situation. While reporting on Somalia I keep running into words like insurgents, militants, and pirates. I was researching, I found that there is a story behind everything and they are stories that make you think twice about the terms we use to describe people.
Insurgents is one of my stumbling blocks. Somalia is a country that has not had a stable government since 1991. They do have a transitional government even though they have not been able to make strides in curving the ongoing violence in central and southern Somalia. One of the many groups operating in Somalia is al-Shabaab which is an off-shoot of the Islamic Courts Union. The Islamic Courts Union splintered after Ethiopian forces removed them out of power in 2006. (The Islamic Courts Union was a rival administration with the Transitional Government in Somalia) The group does fit the text book definition of insurgency which means an armed rebellion against a constituted authority.
However when we hear the word ‘insurgents’ it’s like we shudder. There is a negative association with the word and it appears that our media paints them as being bad and too violent and hurtful. But isn’t that what we believe in especially in America? We believe that if a government is not representative of its people then something must be done even if it’s an armed campaign. So why do we think of these groups in such a negative light?
After 9/11, our whole country’s thought process changed. We didn’t know any insurgents, let alone Islamic militants or anything like that. Bin Laden is a household name and the fear of another attack is in the back of all of our minds now. And I think that has allowed us to feel comfortable with thinking that anyone or group that takes to violence as a way to be heard and force out a government that’s not working. I think we would applaud a group who fought for what they felt was right.
