By Globus Correspondent Esther Rowntree

‘But why didn’t anyone do anything?’

When schoolchildren learn about the Holocaust, this is the question heard in classrooms across the world. Their teachers reassure them that the average citizen had no idea about the genocide being committed- that if they had known a fraction of what was happening, they would have stood up for what was right.

While this was true for many, would teachers be able to say the same for us today?

Apathy towards suffering is prevalent across society. Whether it stems from lack of education or of empathy is a difficult question to answer; however, its presence can be seen in the responses (or lack of) to crises across the globe.

In Palestine, a genocide is being committed. Thousands of men, women and children have been killed in weeks, a culmination of years of oppression. We have access to more photos, videos, and testimonies than at any time in history; yet many remain apathetic- or deny any crimes.

Simultaneously, 40,000 children are being exploited in the DRC to mine the cobalt which powers the phones in our hands. They undertake dangerous labour, with no protection from the dust which can lead to horrific diseases, for 12 hours per day with little pay. 84% of parents in the UK are worried for their children’s online safety while using their phones– but ignore the children whose physical safety is ignored to manufacture them.

In her 2022 article, GLOBUS correspondent Sakeena Rajpal wrote about the internment of over 1 million Uyghur people by the Chinese government and the horrific abuses they suffer- declared a genocide by the House of Commons. Yet, the British government invested over £150 million in PPE produced by companies linked to human rights abuse- including forced labour from Uyghurs- during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even as seas rise and forests burn, climate change denial prevails. Action is needed- now- to halt the steady march of rising temperatures; but as celebrities clock up miles in their private jets and governments make non-committal ‘pledges’ towards ‘becoming greener’, the planet moves rapidly towards the point of no return. Despite this, many see sustainability as little more than a buzzword, and pro-environmental action as an inconvenience.

We are all guilty of apathy towards the plight of our world. Indeed, even the most active campaigners give business to companies with dubious human rights records. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the barrage of bad news we see every day, which desensitizes us towards pain. Death tolls become numbers, not lives; the miles which separate us from victims of conflicts distance us from their agony.

The causes of this apathy are complex and multifaceted. One glaring, uncomfortable truth for many in the UK, however, is that many of the attitudes held here are the legacy of our colonial past, which has led to the prejudice we see today. Although few would admit to it, the perceived values of the lives of people in formerly colonised countries are often held in lower regard than those in Western countries. This has been noted in studies around empathy and race, as well as the noticeable difference in the media’s rhetoric surrounding different conflicts- refugees from Ukraine, for example, have largely received a rightfully warm welcome, with government and community support; however, victims of conflict in Africa and the Middle East are often met with suspicion or outright discrimination.

It is impossible to pinpoint one root cause of public apathy within the scope of this article. However, the lack of response to the ongoing genocide of minorities, such as Palestinians and Uyghur Muslims, is hard to separate from the racism and Islamophobia rampant in British society and the media. Even the manmade climate crisis arguably has its roots in the entitlement of humans to exploit anything possible for financial gain, even as it becomes clearer that this could be humanity’s undoing. The morals of individuals often become murky when faced with the choice between convenience and conscience.

So, what is our response to our children when they ask us, ‘but why didn’t anyone do anything?’?

Is it because we didn’t know what was happening?

Or is it because we didn’t care?