When BBC disseminated the so called “Rwanda’s untold story”, the documentary which distorts a good image of Rwanda and its leaders, I was outside of the country but I was shocked as many Rwandans were also harmed emotionally and psychologically. The idea came into mind recently is that if African countries including Rwanda don’t develop strong media; western media shall continue to shape our story as they need to meet their political intentions and their negative agenda on Rwanda.
What darkness prevails in the mind of the producer(s)? What gains for whom derive from journalistic pretentiousness and unmitigated stereotype of Rwandan leaders?
Several times western Media organizations employ to specifically dump negative news materials and information when reporting, communicating, or disseminating anything concerning Africa and Rwanda in particular. Rwanda as one of African countries which has passed through tragic history of genocide and it was turned into ashes but amazingly, His Excellency president Paul Kagame and the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) saved the country from genocide, regionalism and from all abominations inherited by colonization and dictatorship regimes.
A media which ignores the role of good leaders that Rwanda has known after genocide, it is a lazy reporting. Once in a while we see a positive Rwanda season then western media revert to sensationalist and stereotypical coverage. With the stroke of some western journalists’ pens, the efforts of Rwanda’s leaders are pejoratively reduced to nothing.
In my view, the result of the continuing tendency to ignore the irreversible role of Rwandan leaders and president Kagame is the west political intention.
Thus, a specialist Rwandan and African coverage in the world’s media is mostly needed to tell our story objectively and based on our experience. In the meantime, however, informed consumers of Rwandan news have to adopt a more proactive approach, using social networking to vent with immediate effect.
Emmy Arsonval Maniriho,
MBA in Airlines&Airport Management
MA in Human Rights
PGD in NGO Management
BA in Journalism and Communication
Diploma in Theology
Coimbatore City, India.
Email: maniarsonval@gmail.com
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