We are all grieving the tragedy that occurred in "Gunashli". The waves that swallowed thirty three people in the blink of an eye brought great sadness upon many families. There were some who blamed the terrible weather conditions and others who blamed the irresponsibility of certain entities for the tragedy. But the fact remains: 33 oilmen died in a tragic way.
As is usual on these occasions, the public opinion on the matter was mixed. Along with people who shared the pain, who were compassionate and mourned this tragedy as though it was their own, there were people who posted sensational updates and comments and took things out of context. Despite the never changing human nature, the aggression reared its ugly head. The incidents was presented from different perspectives. Some of the approaches were naive. In all cases, there were human casualties - young, middle aged people became the victim of a violent storm, of an unexpected incident in an oil field. It could be due to a technical failure, or the irresponsibility of the officers, or propaganda, or natural disaster... All this will, of course, be investigated by the authorities. The families of the victims will be compensated. But unfortunately, those who lost their lives in the tragedy won't come back...
It is equally tragic to listen to the interviews done with the families of the victims, to hear their heart-rending words, to know about the awful moments that the hospitalized oil workers endured during the tragedy, to hear the screams of those who are looking and waiting for their husbands, fathers and sons. People who were praying to God yesterday for the survival of their loved ones are today praying for their bodies to be found ...Obviously, in times like this, we should all share their tragedy, show them support, the least we can do is to try and console them. Because we are all human beings.
It is strange to see that some users on the social media are doing it again. Strange trend has emerged in the way people react to tragedies. For example, the footage of a news anchor at ATV tearing up while reading the last message of the missing oil worker Iman Gasimov to his wife become a hotly debated topic in the social media. During 21:00 news, the anchor of " the ATV news" Lale Azertash couldn't hold back her tears while reading those messages. The same thing happened on ANS TV too. The presenter Nigar Mahmudova cried on air. Some users on social media accused these presenters of "faking it" and "making themselves the target of mockery". The fragile expression of human condition and human emotions became the object of ridicule for some. Human emotions sometimes do not know any boundaries or follow any rules.. Especially, when it is terrible tragedies and dozens of human loss that is eliciting
those emotions.. It doesn't matter where they occur, if someone is moved to tears by the impact of the news, it is difficult to understand how some people could mock and ridicule them. During these times, there can be no talk of the anchors breaking any rules by crying on air. These are all normal. These are human emotions.
What do some people want to prove by mocking human emotions while they usually have no problem with the outrageous and banal behavior that is often displayed on TV? This is difficult to understand. We may discuss everything and form a subjective opinion about issues. But when this subjectivity relies on objectivity and professionalism, then a better approach would be expressed.
Media experts are in agreement on the matter too. They say we are all humans and it is human condition to cry in the face of a tragedy and there is no place for sarcasm in this matter. The head of "New media and communication technologies" department at the Baku Slavic University, Aynur Bashirova does not think that there is something wrong with news anchors crying on air: "We are all human beings. I don't see any point in turning this into a controversy. She simple wasn't able to hide her emotions. Both the people who lost their lives and those who got emotional on air are citizens of Azerbaijan. In my opinion, anyone could break into tears at that time. It is very natural for someone to react this way to the tragedy and the messages". According to the expert, there is this notion of " It is between you and your God" and the most important element of the journalistic ethics is being sincere. It means,sincerity of the journalist is between them and their God: "Therefore these emotions should not be the subject of discussion. According to our religion, it is a sin to think maliciously of something. Let's not sin. And to the rest of the people, do not create tragedies out of tragedies ".
Aynur Karimova, the head of the "Radio and Television" department of the faculty of Journalism at Baku State University, is also of the opinion that the material the news anchor was covering was highly emotional. That's why it is impossible to act and pretend while talking about these topics: " Because this was not an ordinary incident. It was the last cry , the last words of a human being. People who criticize the news anchor are displaying unnecessary aggression. Because the news anchor is not made of stone or iron. We all teared up when we read those messages. And as the anchor was on air and reading those messages, she couldn't control her emotions". A. Karimova thinks that it is not right to take the anchor off the air at that moment. The anchors can only be replaced when they are failing to do their job properly or when there is something wrong with their health: " The anchor quickly pulled herself together. Similar situations often happen in Turkish media as well. It is not right to distract from the main issue. In such cases, we have to think about the authenticity of the information, not the way it was delivered. It is not normal to mock this lady for showing weakness. And the problem here is not with the unprofessional manner with which she did her job. These things happen all over the world. It is not everyday that we hear about missing people and their last cries, their last messages to their families. It is wrong to be aggressive at these times. We have to be more sensitive."
Unfortunately, those who are used to holding different, contradictory and often biased positions on even the simplest issues get divisive on many issues. In these situations, most people think they know better and they are more professional and they are trying to lecture others on professionalism.
We should be sensitive, or at least understanding of human emotions such as crying, sadness, tears and sometimes laughter and being happy. Because we are all human beings.
Tarana Maharramova
