New York Times Depiction of Lybia

The Arab world is in turmoil. Over the past few weeks, the media has made something of a bonanza of the increasing belligerence in Tunisia, Lybia, Bahrain, Yemen, and Egypt. As these crises have developed, the American media has promoted different images and themes to portray the events in different countries. While the success of uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia successfully overthrew dictatorial regimes, similar efforts in Lybia and Bahrain have not yet produced the same triumph. In fact, Lybian protestors have been brutally quelled by the Qaddafi and his hired mercenaries. From what I have seen, the American media has been quite up front in portraying the despair of this movement, despair that contrasts sharply with the celebrations in Egypt and Tunisia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/world/africa/27libya.html?ref=world

This is an article I read in the New York Times today. While the article itself is interesting, I thought the picture was of special note in seeing the New York Times's presentation of the situation in Lybia. This man is solitary. He is separated from the group behind him, struggling alone in his quest to find food (his age makes me think that he is probably trying to provide for a family). Secondly, he is carrying food, a life necessity, and given the title of the article which references "Long Bread Lines," he most likely invested serious effort to obtain the food he carries. The people crowd behind him probably waits in the same line he did to get their bread. The sweat on his furrowed brow glistens in the sunlight, and he looks defeated, his eyes downcast, his eyebrows angled down in seriousness, and his mouth drooping slightly trying to gain air. Rubble litters the ground around him, and physical obstacles in the form of makeshift barricades obstruct his path back to home. He carries the loaves of bread he holds as if they were an infant, as if losing his grasp would result in death or serious injury. If I trust the headline, this might be the only food this man will receive on this day or maybe even for a few days. One word comes to mind when I see this picture: struggle. The effort in Lybia is a struggle, both physically and mentally. Even men like this, with enough time to shape impeccably trimmed mustaches, have difficulty finding the means to provide for themselves and their families. This is far from the jubilant portrayal of the Egyptian gallantry during the fall of Mubarak. If this photo accurately describes Lybia, protestors against Qaddafi are in trouble.