Has humanity set priorities already?

ON Monday August 8 a suicide bomber detonated his/her device in a hospital in Quetta, killing 70 people, many of them lawyers who had gathered at the hospital following a fatal shooting of one of their own (“Suicide bomber kills at least 70”, August 9).

Two terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for this attack, the report of which was seen on page 7 on the lower left hand side The Herald published on Wednesday (“Shaken lawyers begin boycott as Pakistan mourns massacre victims”).

Had this attack been in Europe or the US, it would have received front page coverage worldwide and been the subject of much vitriol by world leaders, followed by an immense outpouring of grief worldwide. Heads of state would have condemned the attack and citizens worldwide would have united in marches in various cities.

Quetta? It is the provincial capital of Balochistan, Pakistan and the ninth largest city of Pakistan. The city is known as the fruit garden of Pakistan, due to the numerous fruit orchards in and around it.

My question is to question the ethics of news agencies, world leaders, humanitarians and our own dismissive feelings. Who has ever heard of Quetta?

We have all heard of Paris, Brussels, London, New York. But Quetta?

Is our lack of grief and horror for the events in Quetta a manifestation of what we as humans have found to be acceptable?

Quetta is far. Quetta is not important. We will never go to Quetta, Quetta is not in Europe or the US, therefore Quetta is less important than New York, London, Brussels and Paris.

I guess humanity relates better to Europe and US, than to the poor families who lost loved ones in Quetta. Humanity seriously needs to get its priorities right or has humanity done so already?

Gordon Upton, Port Elizabeth