On 3rd December, Matt Murphy (Senior Journalist – BBCNews and BBCWorld) wrote a piece that appeared on the BBC website regarding a ‘new’ building in Mariupol. Here’s the original piece (you can find it on the Internet Archive).
The ‘Russian Army Base’ Matt is referring to is actually a 60-bed civilian hospital completed by the Russian ‘army corps of engineers’ some two months ago ‘for the people of Mariupol‘, as can be seen in this video.
I emailed Matt (with a link to the video), to let him know that the facts he was ‘unable to verify’ were, actually, verifiable. Many people informed him via Twitter, too. As a result (I assume), Matt silently edited his original piece, which can currently be seen live, HERE.
It’s laughable. A Russian Army Base is now a Russian Army Facility. If you’re tallying reports from the BBC, as I have suggested… this ‘reporting’ is a minus one.
Slow handclap, Matt. By the way… it’s a civilian hospital.
With regards to the current situation in Mariupol, alongside the 60-bed hospital that Matt (for some reason… oh wait) refuses to acknowledge… here are a few thoughts.
The devastation to communities across Ukraine and in particular to those cities, towns and villages that have been and are close to the contact line, is utterly horrific. Horrendous damage has been and is being done by both Russian and Ukrainian forces; damage that will take decades of reconstruction and rebuilding.
Civilians are dying and suffering wounds, loss and privation that I find almost unimaginable and as with any empathic human, I condemn it all and would seek an urgent cessation to hostilities.
Mariupol isn’t alone in terms of devastation and destruction but in the links below, at least – in video form – is some evidence of will, intent, and the actuality of reconstruction efforts.
I do realise that these videos are Russian-sourced (including the rather slick ‘Military Construction Complex of the Russian Ministry of Defense’ – similar to the UK Army Corps of Engineers)… but this does not mean they should be dismissed as ‘propaganda.’
However, that such fact, context and evidence is not shown by our media to their western audience is, I believe, unconscionable. Our own outlets are far too enamoured of their own ‘narrative perspective’ to allow anything that may distract western populations from using their own eyes, ears, and brains.
For some context, perhaps… consider the appalling state we westerners left Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya in (to name but a few).
None of the following videos excuse anything… by any side… but they do, nevertheless, show a reality as true as the photographs of devastation, above.
Click on the image to open the related video in another browser tab…
