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One thing I have came to think of this week is how people on the easternmost part of so-called "Western Europe" can be so ignorant about what happens in neighboring "eastern" countries.
Despite that Latvia is only a few hours away from Sweden, this barely even made it to the news here. If the same thing had happened in Finland which is almost equally far from Stockholm as Latvia is, this would have been on the front page on Aftonbladet News and people would have publicly mourned for the victims at Sergel's Square.
And if it had happened in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands or Ireland or even extremely far away places like Australia, Canada and the USA, it would also be on the front page. But not when it happens in Latvia, literally only a few hours away from Sweden. Considering how close Stockholm is to Riga, this SHOULD logically be on the front page of every Swedish newspaper and especially in Stockholm, but nope, it's not a major event and some newspapers did not even write about it.
Here is what the Swedish media had to offer about this tragedy in our neighbor country:
Aftonbladet, the biggest newspaper, has not even bothered updating the death toll. And if you want to read about it at aftonbladet.se, you have to scroll down really far, to get past "important" events like a lynx in a suburb, a blogger giving birth, latest news of Swedish Idol, and some British priest who used drugs.
Does other "western" Europeans near the eastern borders also experience that the people and the media in your country are that ignorant about major events and tragedies in neighboring or nearby "eastern countries"? And why do you think people are that ignorant?
The countries that I am thinking in particular about is Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy and Austria, of which all has major neighbors in eastern Europe (either by land or short distance by sea)
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-23-2013 at 12:03 AM..
Our local news: we hear about a moose who decided to go for a swim in somebody's backyard swimming pool in America, while we hear nothing of the 10,000 people in Bangladesh who drowned in a flood.
One thing I have came to think of this week is how people on the easternmost part of so-called "Western Europe" can be so ignorant about what happens in neighboring "eastern" countries.
Despite that Latvia is only a few hours away from Sweden, this barely even made it to the news here. If the same thing had happened in Finland which is almost equally far from Stockholm as Latvia is, this would have been on the front page on Aftonbladet News and people would have publicly mourned for the victims at Sergel's Square.
And if it had happened in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands or Ireland or even extremely far away places like Australia, Canada and the USA, it would also be on the front page. But not when it happens in Latvia, literally only a few hours away from Sweden. Considering how close Stockholm is to Riga, this SHOULD logically be on the front page of every Swedish newspaper and especially in Stockholm, but nope, it's not a major event and some newspapers did not even write about it.
Here is what the Swedish media had to offer about this tragedy in our neighbor country:
Aftonbladet, the biggest newspaper, has not even bothered updating the death toll. And if you want to read about it at aftonbladet.se, you have to scroll down really far, to get past "important" events like a lynx in a suburb, a blogger giving birth, latest news of Swedish Idol, and some British priest who used drugs.
Does other "western" Europeans near the eastern borders also experience that the people and the media in your country are that ignorant about major events and tragedies in neighboring or nearby "eastern countries"? And why do you think people are that ignorant?
The countries that I am thinking in particular about is Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy and Austria, of which all has major neighbors in eastern Europe (either by land or short distance by sea)
This has been news in Australia so I'm sure other European countries would have reported on it as well.
Well, I think that some people in Europe really have very approximate view of Russia. And even of such countries as Latvia. They can ask you: "Oh, Russia is a cold country? People here are very melancholic and patriotic, aren't they?" and so on. It not all the people, but some people do so.
Yesterday, a supermarket roof collapsed in Latvia, killing 51 people:
........................
Does other "western" Europeans near the eastern borders also experience that the people and the media in your country are that ignorant about major events and tragedies in neighboring or nearby "eastern countries"? And why do you think people are that ignorant?
So, let me get this straight. You consider a roof that collapses a major event? It is a sad event, but there is no major impact for other nations. Lots ot local things that happen have a ver small effect on the world, so why report it in other nations? If it had happened in Sweden it would not have made the news in Holland. It would not even have made the news in Holland if it had happened in Germany.
Aftonbladet, the biggest newspaper, has not even bothered updating the death toll. And if you want to read about it at aftonbladet.se, you have to scroll down really far, to get past "important" events like a lynx in a suburb, a blogger giving birth, latest news of Swedish Idol, and some British priest who used drugs.
LOL!
Even though the "Iron Curtain" has been down for quite awhile, there's still a sort of mental Iron Curtain in people's minds. I was always surprised as to how little interest Scandinavians had in Russia and eastern Europe.
The countries that I am thinking in particular about is Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy and Austria, of which all has major neighbors in eastern Europe (either by land or short distance by sea)
Except for Estonia, the Baltic states very seldom make the news here. Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest newspaper in the Nordic Countries mentioned the accident in a small article in the foreign news section. The largest Swedish newspaper here, Hufvudstadsbladet, have a skinny article on their website without any follow up. The other tabloid, (can't remember which) did a front page article, the other one (we have two just like Sweden) did a very small one. The biggest interest seems to be the Swedish swastika-Christmas cakes...
Not saying that it was a bad thing that Swedes showed solidarity with Norway, but no one in Sweden mourns over 51 dead Latvians, even though they are pretty much our neighbors (it's not far from Stockholm, and very near Gotland).
There was also similar reactions in Finland after the MS Estonia ferry disaster, even though very few Finns were involved, most of the victims were Swedes and Estonians...
If I'm not wrong, Stockholm is actually closer to Riga than Oslo.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-24-2013 at 07:16 PM..
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