The Big Idea: Should the US ‘airdrop’ millions of cell phones into Syria?”

3 On May 29^th, 2012 John  D Sutter of CNN blogs on the topic “The Big Idea: Should the US ‘airdrop’ millions of cell phones into Syria?” This blog was in response to the citizens and journalists or risk their lives to upload photos to get out the carnage that is occurring in that country. He notes that in the Nuba Mountains cell phones are getting out the message that the Sudanese government is attacking the Nuba population.

However, that is nothing in comparison to the “20 million cell phones” suggested by a CNN commenter. However a detractor notes that this digital instrument is not going to be the way to end the violence. “Cellphones and communication are all well and good, but unless they have a means to defend themselves then they're as good as dead.” Important point for governments such as Syria’s will retaliate quickly when they find opposition. Speaking out against a government is considered opposition in countries like Syria.

Sutter asks the question “are cell phones a valuable form of international conflict negotiation?” Communication to the rest of the world is important. When a country refuses to allow journalists to record the reality of a situation, it is necessary to find other ways to let the world know what is happening. The problem is what we are seeing now, violence escalates, such as the massacre in Houla, the world finds out and nobody helps.

Nothing has changed since a young girl who was being attacked screamed for help in New York decades ago. No one came to the rescue. We may have developed the technology as a ways and means to communicate an atrocity to the world, but if we don’t follow up and do something about what we see, then we have not truly advanced at all.