SUICIDE BOMBERS AND THE MEDIA

Yesterday in Lahore, 54 people were killed, and about 100 injured, in two separate suicide bomb attacks. Yet this appalling incident was only about the tenth item on last night's Danish national news, well after stories such as the increasing use of cocaine by young people in nightclubs on Friday evenings, and the level of noise in kindergartens.

When I was growing up, there were no suicide bombers. Very, very occasionally, someone decided to set fire to themselves as a form of protest; a Tibetan monk, perhaps. However, while bizarre, it harmed only the person concerned. There were also bombers from time to time, notably the IRA. But they never wanted to blow themselves up.

One of the major developments of modern times is the coming together of these two themes. There are now suicide bombs virtually every day. And because the bombers are willing to lose their own lives in the act, casualties are high. Lahore was by no means unusual; Iraq and Afghanistan have had similar experiences.

Not only are such incidents common, they are also becoming commonplace. Media organisations place them lower and lower in their list of newsworthy items. My children have grown up to believe that they are a part of everyday life. That is a tragedy.

Walter Blotscher