Replace Amsterdam with Iraq and Palestine. Replace the old confidant, the diary, with its modern avtar, the blog. And you have online personal accounts of people living in strife-hit regions, in politically troubled zones.
It seems all too familiar: the stories of fear, of oppression, of denial of rights. The doubts, anxieties and hope. But what is different is the accessibility to and use of such tales.
While Anne Frank* used her diary to pen her thoughts and treated it as a companion, modern-day bloggers are using their blogs to describe to the world the trauma and pain of living in conflict zones. Anne Frank’s work was published after her death; the diary could hardly draw global attention to her family’s plight when she was alive. However, today, bloggers are using the power of the Internet to turn their blogs into communication pieces that attract global attention.
‘Baghdad Burning’ is one such virtual sea of posts made by a girl who identifies herself as ‘river’. An Iraqi, she puts together compelling narratives of everyday life in a city torn apart by strife. In the process, providing views and insights that most mainstream media does not. A similar tale is told by another blog. It is from a Palestinian mother and journalist, whose accounts of normal domestic life acquire political tones.
Like these, there are hundreds of bloggers who are talking to the world through their posts. Perhaps they began blogging to merely record their thoughts (the faithful journal goes online) or they saw it as a means to tell people across countries about the turmoil and anguish they experience, thanks to unfair political decisions. Whatever be the intent, these blogs have certainly drawn attention.
While Anne Frank’s journal came to light after World War II had ended, these blogs are posted in almost real-time, sometime just minutes and hours after an incident takes place. So, the sense of spontaneity is greater, making them more impactful.
Whatever be the boons and banes of technological progress, there’s one thing you can’t deny: sharing your thoughts with the world has never been easier than this. Doing an Anne Frank and recording your observations for people to read has never been easier than this.
*Anne Frank (1929-1945) was a young German Jewish girl who received a diary as a gift for the thirteenth birthday. She treated the diary as a close friend and confidant, describing her ideas, emotions and observations in its pages. She came to fame posthumously after her diary was published. The diary records her experience of living in hiding, following the German occupation of Netherlands.