[Reader-list] Another man spreading lies

shuddha at sarai.net shuddha at sarai.net
Wed Aug 11 00:31:33 IST 2010 

Dear Kshmendra, 

A hair line fracture of the skull, if it occurs without an accompanying
subdural hematoma, is not something that we would call a 'broken skull'. And
no, it is not critical. 

My issue with Ayyaz's report is not so much the extent of the boy's injuries,
(any injury to the skull is something that anyone should take seriously, even
if it is not critical, and is should of course get immediate medical attention)
but in the discrepancy in his reporting a stone pelting mob, and the news that I
heard, that there was no stone pelting mob, that a stray stone, perhaps lobbed
by some miscreant, did hit the boy, but there was, in what I was told, no mob
of stone pelters. And the people who told me this, spoke with the boy's family,
and with the doctor who treated him. 

The difference between the presence and absence of a mob makes one hell of a
'Rashmonesque' difference. 

The main point that I would like to emphasize is that the doctor who treated
the boy at the Trauma Centre at SKMS Soura also said that he has had to treat
136 cases of injury due to violence in the past few days, of which this boy was
one, the huge majority of those injuries, did not come from stones, they came
from bullets, tear gas shells and batons. And we know whose hands wield those
weapons. that is the context to the boy;s injury that Mr. Fayyaz fails to let
us in on. And that is why, it is a classic 'processed story'. I am sure you get
my drift.

best

Shuddha

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:14:13 -0700 (PDT) Kshmendra Kaul
<kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote

> Dear Shuddha
>  
> What do you mean by 'processed' news'?
>  
> If Fayyaz is known for "dishing out 'processed' news", who are the
ones known
> for 'dishing out' non-processed news from Kashmir?
>  
> In the next mail I will offer to you, for comparison betweeen Fayyaz's
> reporting and that of Greater Kashmir, the statement issued by Asiya Andrabi
> of Duktraan e Millat.
>  
> The very standards that you set for others Shuddha, you yourself flout by
> this poorly veiled allegation against Fayyaz.
>  
> But then, all news is in a manner of speaking 'processed'. From the
> 'roshomonic' stage to some degree of 'chinese whispers' at times, to the
> reporter, to the sub to the editor. When it is not, as in 'Live' TV coverage,
> it often makes a mockery of itself.
>  
> Fayyaz says that the boy's "head was broken with a stone".  Is that
> incorrect? I think not. A fractured skull is a broken skull.
>  
> Unless the term  is removed from the lexicon of all journalists (which would
> kill almost all 'investigative reporting') Fayyaz quotes what he calls
> 'informed sources'. Not a first hand report but from 'sources'. Is that a
> problem? How much of 'news' and even 'field reporting' is from being 'on the
> spot eyewitness to a particular happening'. Is quoting 'sources' a problem?
>  
> These sources tell Fayyaz:
> - the boy collapsed after the stone hit
> - was described as 'critical' at SKIMS
> - was discovered with a skull fracture
> - was put under 'intensive care'
>  
> Let us look at the 'processed' news that comes through you:
>  
> - Your friend fails to mention anything about a 'collapse'. That is
> incredible when you realise that the stone had enough kinetic energy to to
> fracture the skull (remember that the skull is a bloody hard nut to crack).
> An oversight perhaps.
>  
>    It is more than likely that the boy 'collapsed' - had a concussion.
> Perhaps that is why he was (to quote your friend) "immediately rushed to a
> doctor in the town, ...... he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura".
> Obviously he had everyone greatly worried inspite of his not having (to quote
> your 'sources') a 'visible wound'
>  
> - You confirm that "the boy did get hurt", that "The doctor has said that he
> has a hairline
> fracture. He has been given first aid and medication"
>  
>   What kind of 'first aid' was he given when he reportedly had no 'visible
> wound'?
>  
>   To stress the point. A stone hit that fractures the skull and does
> not leave a 'visible wound'? Looks like your 'sources' are mis-reporting to
> you. Fully the the work of someone or the other's amenisic imagination.
>  
> - Having availed of the opportunity to make a just short of a libelous
remark
> against Fayyaz, your main grouse seems to be over the use of the word
> 'critical'.
>  
>   A stone hit; A fractured skull; A (much more than likely)
> collapse/concussion. Is that a 'critical injury'? Yes it is. Irrespective of
> whether Fayyaz used the term on his own or was quoting his 'sources'. See
> http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900834_e.htm
>  
> - Given the 'history' of why the boy was brought to SKIMs in the first place,
> it would be the normal and essential thing to do for the hospital to put the
> boy under 'critical care' observation for some period.
>  
>   Even after needing to administer him just 'first aid' and releasing him
> from the hospital (judging that he was not in a 'critical condition', they
> would have asked for the boy to be kept under observation for 'unsteady
> gait'; 'vomitting'; 'disorientation'.
>  
>   Check on that from your 'sources'. 
>  
> - Think about this too - why would your souces tell you that the boy "is
out
> of danger" unless he was thought at some stage to be "in danger"?    
>  
> Kshmendra
> 
> --- On Tue, 8/10/10, shuddha at sarai.net <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: shuddha at sarai.net <shuddha at sarai.net>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies
> To: reader-list at sarai.net
> Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 12:16 PM
> 
> 
> Dear All,
> 
> This did not get sent to the list, by mistake
> 
> best,
> 
> Shuddha
> 
> 
> Original Message
> ----------------
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Another man spreading lies
> From: "shuddha at sarai.net" <shuddha at sarai.net>
> Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:48:43 +0530
> 
> Dear Rashneek,
> 
> Ahmed Ali Fayyaz is not exactly an unknown quantity when it comes to the
> dishing out of 'processed' news from the Kashmir valley. He has plied this
> trade for a long time. Some of us are quite familiar with his body of work.
> 
> That said, yes, a boy did get hurt, and yes, his name is Imtiyaz Ahmed Dar
> S/o
> Ghulam Nabi Dar R/o Shilwat, Sonawari. But he is not 12, he is 15, and
> studies
> in the 9th class (not that this makes a difference,as far as the substance of
> the story goes).
> 
> I asked a friend to make enquiries about the boy. He did, and spoke the boy's
> uncle, Mohammed Ramzan Dar, who is also the head of the family. According to
> his uncle, the Boy had gone to Sumbul town to buy notebooks. While at the
> shop
> he got hit on the head with a stone. There was no crowd, no stone pelters. A
> stray stone, which could have been lobbed by a miscreant, or by anyone, hit
> him. He was immediately rushed to a doctor in the town, his family was
> informed, a cousin came and then he was then taken by taxi to SKIMS Soura.
> 
> Luckily, the boy was NOT (contrary to the report) injured seriously. He does
> not have a visible wound, the person I spoke to has also spoken to the doctor
> who examined and treated the boy. The doctor has said that he has a hairline
> fracture. He has been given first aid and medication, and sent home. He is
> not
> in a critical condition, is out of danger and is recovering.
> 
> The doctor also informed him that SKIMS Soura alone has had to treat 136
> serious injuries from bullets, tear gas shells, baton charges and the
> occasional stone, (lobbed both by protestors and lobbed back by the security
> forces)
> 
> 
> This is by no means to overlook the fact that in the stone pelting, ordinary
> people have gotten hurt (either by accident, or due to stones thrown back by
> security forces) . But then, whenever possible, they have usually been rushed
> to hospitals by local people. The ferrying of people has of course often had
> to
> face the normal Kashmiri obstacle of a curfew.
> 
> So, yes, some of what Ahmed Ali Fayyaz has written in his report, especially
> stating that the boy had a 'critical injury' is partly the work of his
> imagination.
> 
> Even informers usually do a better job.
> 
> best
> 
> Shuddha
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:25:23 +0530 rashneek kher <rashneek at gmail.com> wrote
> 
> > I do not claim to know the authencity of this news.I think all he writes
> > here could be his imagination neither do i know who the stone pelters
> > were...
> >
> > http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=57784
> >
> > NO HINDI FONTS OR TRANSLATION REQUIRED.
> >
> > the journos profile is in the link below,just in case we may want to sue
> > him
> >
> >
> >
http://aafayyaz.blogspot.com/2010/08/12-year-old-critically-injured-in-stone.
> > html?spref=fb
> >
> > best regards
> > --
> > Rashneek Kher
> > http://www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com
> > http://www.nietzschereborn.blogspot.com
> > _________________________________________
> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> > Critiques & Collaborations
> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe
> > in the subject header.
> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
> 
> 
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe
> in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
> 
> 
>   =

More information about the reader-list mailing list