BY NANCY cotten HIRST
DBJ Contributing Editor

This time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, during Ramadan, and just preceding Hannukah–a time of high holy days for three great and closely related religions–I would like to write about other things, good things, godly things. And it is my great hope that by next year, I will be able to do that without having to gloss over baser realities.
This year, however, it seems more sensible to issue some cautionary remarks. Bluntly put, take everything in the media with just a grain of cynical salt. I usually abhor cynicism, but when I see hundreds of reports on virtually every network, cable or otherwise, repeatedly stating that the Pashtun are the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, I have to cringe.
This is just one tiny example of the type warning I’m issuing. It is, however, glaring and intentionally misleading. The pundits not only say these words over and over again, but the graphics people put it up in large, bold lettering at the “crawl” space below the pictures. The truth is that the Pashtun are a little less than 40% of the population. While that is the largest of the ethnic groups, it is far from a majority.
In an American election, a 60% win is considered a monumental landslide. So what is the message that the media is conveying here–and why? They all know these figures, so why do they intentionally mis-state the facts? Are they saying that 60% of Afghanistan’s population is somehow irrelevant? Are they saying that because they aren’t all one ethnic group, they aren’t 60%? Are they saying that because they don’t always work well together they shouldn’t get their percentage of representation? I am completely mystified, but I also consider this dangerous.
It is obvious that the media, for reasons I don’t understand, want the Pashtun to have a larger share in a future government than their numbers deserve. I don’t know whose agenda this is, but considering that there are more Pashtun in Pakistan than in Afghanistan, and that it is from this ethnic base that both the Taliban and the heinous madrassas spring, I find it frightening.
Just a little hint to the wise - the Pashtun fight among themselves as much as the Tajiks and Uzbeks do. The big problem, however, is that if they obtain more than their fair share of power in the “new” government, that would once again threaten the country with Pakistani puppetism–not to mention possibly being a destabilizing influence on Pakistan itself.
Another good example of distortion is the repeated airing of some self-designated “U.N. spokesperson” pontificating about atrocities. Not only are there no facts to substantiate a single one of these claims, but these people are NOT U.N. spokespeople. They are aid workers hired at the local level by the U.N. The media, however, once again puts up big graphics identifying them as U.N. spokespeople.
The truth is that the entire knowledgeable world is pleasantly amazed by the behavior of the various non-Taliban forces throughout the country. After the multitudinous atrocities perpetrated by the Taliban for the past five years, I am thrilled by the restraint shown so far. I, myself, would find that a difficult effort. So what is the media’s agenda here? They report these things as if they were fact, as if the rumor mongers were legitimate, and then very lamely add that they don’t have “independent” verification.
By these standards, I could vilify and slander everyone I know, with only a little demurrer that my rumors are not “independently” verified. I can only assume that since these reports are more sensational than the actual knowledge they have, that they can’t afford to pass up something that has “entertainment value” at the expense of responsible reporting. Nonetheless, it is damaging to the “other 60%” who are not a majority in Afghanistan.
There will be some atrocities–on both sides–as there have been throughout the history of this beleaguered country. We’ll have plenty of time to report the ones we know are true. These are only two examples of media distortion. There are dozens of others. Therefore, I urge everyone to consider the source before giving too much credence to many of the reports. If we watch and read carefully, we can sort out fact from among the deluge of opinion and outright fiction. DBJ