Thursday, January 26, 2012

Suspected 'honor killings' shock Canada

As we look at more and more blogs, the prevalence of written articles and visual media combined is clear. However, as I searched CNN, this headline, "Suspected 'honor killings' shock Canada" of a video caught my attention. Though the killings occurred in 2009, the Shafia family is now going on trial over the matter of their massacred family.

The story is chilling in that the evidence heavily supports a father, brother, and mother killing their sisters/daughters and Shafia's second wife in an act of 'honor' to their homeland when the daughters sought to leave the abusive family and westernize themselves to fit in.

Should this video have an accompanying article along with it? Is this a story that should be shown to US citizens considering the rift and anger citizens feel toward immigrants, especially those from the Middle East? Does the reporting make it seem like a crazy foreign soap opera, or are the facts spelled out in an informative manner?

This article by the GlobalPost offers a few more details and a written alternative to the story in case you care to read, compare, and contrast.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/canada/111220/canada-honor-killings-trial


7 comments:

  1. I think this is a very unique story that readers are interested in. This is a sad and strange story. I think the author does a good job keeping the story accurate and unbiased. It does a good job taking us through the events and how they were told to the jury to give us a good picture of what happened. This is an oddity and clash in the culture between the Western and Eastern worlds.

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  2. I thought this story did a good job utilizing the inverted pyramid style of writing. It started off with all the vital information and told me what I needed to know. I read the entire article and found it to be very educating. I know these types of things occur, but the facts they gave really supported the story. They stated, “The United Nations has estimated that 5,000 occur worldwide every year.”

    The quotes of what the father said in the car were a little graphic to my liking. They helped give you a better understanding of how the father felt. It’s hard to imagine a father thinking or saying those types of things about their daughter. I thought the article did a good job shedding light on this issue, but it could have been a lot more condensed.

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  3. When I looked up the video, there was an article with it. I thought that the CNN article focused more on the aftermath of the murders and the effect it has on the Islamic community. The video just talks about the trial and gives a brief outline of the story. I did not like the opening for CNN's article because it sounds like a sad attempt at a dramatic opening. The facts give the same effect with this tragic subject matter.

    The GlobalPost's story went more in depth into the murders and gave a better picture of what happened. Based on content and coverage, I would say this article was better than CNN's. Although the trial's been going on for a wile, CNN skims over the details and assumes the reader/viewer knows what's going on, which wasn't very helpful for me.

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  4. This is a really different story. The reporter did not include bias in the piece, and that can be really appreciated by most readers. I enjoyed reading the story because the reporter did a great job in keeping it interesting and unique.

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  5. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I thought the author did an excellent job over all. I particularly enjoyed his quotes, which really gave a deep look into the soul of the raging father. The most compelling quote in my opinion was when the father admitted that his daughters deserved to die, which was essentially an admission of guilt. The fact that this happened in Canada, and not the Middle East makes it much more interesting, since it shows that religious extremists are everywhere and there is not limit as to what they might do

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  6. If anything I would want a an American to read this and encourage immigration. These people should come to the land of the free, like populations always have, to escape the prejudice of their cultures.

    This happened in Canada which makes it newsworthy. In Pakistan stuff like this happens ALL the time while the Western world turns a blind eye. I am not one to put down a culture's beliefs and if that is what this family had to do, and if it was within their morals to do so, then more power to them. Even if they did break the law.

    This is something as Americans that we cannot comprehend because it is not bound to our culture. These people would be put to death here, but in their own culture they would probably be praised.

    Maybe a morality pill would solve problems like this. (LOL)

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  7. The quotes in this story were very good (I guess that’s what happen when you wiretap) and though an accompanying video would be helpful, I don’t feel it is entirely necessary because the article does possess such a strong narrative quality.

    I wish the story had focused less on the crime and more on Islam. When it comes to immigration, I feel religion and fundamentalist practice plays a large role. If the honor killings were carried out because the daughters had turned their backs on their religious practice and family to instead pursue “westernization”, then as a reader I’m left wondering what mosques and community institutions (if any) support that fundamentalism.

    The statistics at the end of the story are entirely alarming to me. Canadian social workers are mentioned and I assume they must possess a regular presence in the Canadian Islam community. When it comes to situations like this I’m just glad I’m not the one who has the responsibility of making immigration laws, but if this is such a frequent occurrence I would think there would already be no-tolerance laws in place.

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