Conflict in Gaza has confirmed my Goal of Journalism

Over the past few weeks, Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip with heavy weaponry, and even a ground invasion. You all already know this. You all already know that over a thousand Palestinians have died, and the almost indiscriminate killing is set to continue, as at the time of writing, another ceasefire has broken down. You already know that the Gazan-Israeli conflict is hideously one-sided, and you already know that world powers such as the United States are almost certainly not going to step in, at least in any way that might be construed as criticising the government in Jerusalem.

So, why write this? What else is there to write? A quick review of the majority of British news sources reveals my answer. Last week, the BBC, Sky News, CNN and The Times all ran with a version of the headline "Israeli Soldier Seized by Militants". Not a word on the 53 Gazans killed, at least in the headline. It's not so much that these are inaccurate, though kidnapped is certainly the wrong term to use when a soldier is taken during combat, as pointed out on Twitter by Mehdi Hasan, but they are one-sided. They focus on an Israeli plight, which though tragic, should not be the biggest story today.

Certainly more worrying are the areas of U.S. media, such as the notorious Fox News, where the likes of Sean Hannity are not only spreading vitriol and opinion as fact, but frankly putting their own journalists in danger, for very little reward. As Yousef Munayyer (who you may remember from the Hannity vs Brand spat, as the victim of Hannity's "interview") puts it, "within Fox News there are journalists who are trying to do a far more professional job in covering this issue. They even have journalists on the ground in the Gaza strip who are risking their lives to bring the scenes and images and the reporting of what’s going on there to American viewers".

Instead of sources such as Fox, and even Sky and the BBC sometimes, I look at the efforts of The Guardian, Channel 4 News (especially the gallant and up-standing journalism of Jon Snow), and Al-Jazeera. I find here the same thirst for truth, justice and balance that makes me feel such a strong desire to join their ranks, to be a professional journalist.

However, even behind the clearly woeful reporting of Hannity and Co., there are journalists working for Fox News in Gaza, and as Munayyer reports, actually doing an honest day's work. It's an unfortunate reality, but once again shows the positive work that journalists do. Hannity is not a journalist. He is a mouthpiece for the Murdoch Empire. But there are those in Gaza, for whichever media outlet, with whichever stance, who are trying to report, and bring us news. This is the work I respect, and wish to do.

There are stories to be told, not only in Gaza, in Nigeria where Boko Haram still hold over 200 school girls, in Ukraine, where fighting continues even after the MH17 crash, and in Syria, where the Civil War has been all but forgotten by the mainstream, as it is overtaken  by conflict in Palestine. I have named only a few, but my point can be applied almost anywhere in the world. Even here, in leafy, suburban Chelmsford, there are news stories to be written, and documentaries to be filmed.

Change can be made, and information spread through journalism. And my early Sunday mornings watching the news, after returning from work in a bar till 5am, act only to prove to myself that this is the career for me, and all my continuing hard work will be worthwhile. 

Why I Haven't Watched the Commonwealth Games

Some might start an article like this by announcing that "on the face of it, these Games aren't problematic". But I'm not really sure which face of the Games these people have been looking at. On the smallest scale of problems, Usain Bolt, probably the world's most famous athlete has allegedly muttered that the Games in Glasgow are "a bit shit". On a larger scale, the Games deal with a Colonial legacy that Britain seems to have overcome. More accurately, perhaps, many of us have forgotten.

There are problems found as easily as looking at the name of the Games. The "wealth" that is said to be "common" is very far from being so. One only needs to look back four years, to the Games in Delhi to see how that particular Imperial lie has continued, and continued to fail.

 Those games were generally successful in the end, but the controversy leading up to the start of the Games cannot be ignored. Tales of corruption ran rife, as they always seem to do when countries outside of Western Europe and the US organise large tournaments or competitions. And athlete's portrayed what seemed to be quite understandable concerns regarding safety  and living standards in the Village.

Some might argue that this is simply bad luck, that India happens to be a post-colonial nation, and happened to suffer these setbacks when hosting the Games. But this is a lazy analysis. India was once again put in the position of the colonised nation, expected to reveal its wonders to the European powerhouses which came to visit. However, as a nation still struggling with some aspects of post-colonial life (as one might expect, due to the tyrannical nature of such regimes)these issues and failures resulted.

On a sporting level, these Games were a success, as I'm sure the Glasgow Games are proving to be. However, the nature of this 4-yearly event cannot be isolated as a solely sporting creation. They are linked horribly literally to the age of the British Empire, when we raped and pillaged our way to control of one third of the Earth.

Yet, instead of teaching in our schools and universities how this era of history was not something to be proud of, we hold a sporting tournament to bring together all those nations who experienced Colonial rule, from either side of the aisle. Except the United States, of course. They had the temerity to revolt, and declare independence. How dare they? 

We are treated to an awkward, not-quite-as-good-as-London-but-with-a-gay-kiss Opening Ceremony, and the Queen "photo bombing" some athletes. As if she knows what that is. (Yes, I may not have been watching the games, but I do read Buzzfeed every so often.) I'm afraid that doesn't quite cut it.

This is not just a sporting event. This is a living legacy of a Colonial period of history which should be regretted, and whose evils should be taught.  We should not celebrate, and we certainly shouldn't force the nations we occupied to celebrate alongside us, as though they were equal partners in this episode. They were not. It's time for Britain to stand up, and make amends.