Madam, - I am writing to complain about the article on the tragic drowning deaths of the two Roma girls in Italy (July 23rd).
If you look at the actual photos it is clear that they were taken with a very long lens, making the seemingly callous sunbathers look closer than they actually were. It seems to me from the photo that the couple were actually quite unaware of what had happened.
I would expect The Irish Timesto be sufficiently media savvy to see when tragic incidents such as these are being co-opted for political ends. I doubt your reporter actually witnessed this first hand, more likely he just cut and pasted off the newswire.
I think this article has fallen below the usual high standard of Irish Timesreporting, and is straying into tabloid territory.- Yours, etc,
DAVID McDERMOTT,
Kobe,
Japan.