Intro
Recently my motherland, Poland, is living with the news about the situation in Afghanistan and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Talibs who took the country. Many social groups are forced to leave Afghanistan - women, LGBT, people who were working for NATO countries, intelligence, religious minorities. Migration, which can be as big as during the previous Syrian crisis, already started and some Afghans are trying to get to Poland what, unfortunately, another time is used in politics to raise the fear against some people. Part of the society, based on the politician speeches and some media who are looking for the sensation, are forgetting what is it all about and that those people desperately need help.
Migration in the modern world is bigger than ever before and it will only rise with time, because of the new tensions which may be caused by global warming. It's not only Syrians or Afghans. In South America, nearly 10% of Venezuelans left their country in the last 10 years looking for a safe place to live. There is a big migration of Haitians, Peruvians, people are constantly leaving Peru, many Mexicans are migrating to the US since a year there is the exodus from Belarussia where Lukashenko becomes more violent month by month, there are people running away from wars and hunger from Yemen or Sudan and from tens of other places I don't even know about. I bet all of us have met or will meet during our lifetime some refugees and that's why it's so important to educate ourselves properly, know how to do it. That's why I have prepared a short tutorial that helps to select good-quality articles about migration from harmful clickbaits.
How to read about migration; what rhetorics are harmful to us and them?
1. Has migration been presented only as a threat?
Don't link migration only to a threat. This way you judge people without knowing their history. You put them in one bag. You reinforce stereotypes. Remember that some politicians will want to present migrants as a threat to the most important values: family, health, and safety. Why? As a result, such connotations serve them to build a sense of false panic and to shape hateful, suspicious attitudes in society to manipulate it.
2. Is migration only discussed in a political context?
Therefore, talk about people, not about "crisis" or "problem". Avoid dehumanizing and unpleasant metaphors ("wave of refugees", "flood of migrants" etc.). Remember that there are no "illegal migrants" - a person cannot be "illegal", illegal can be only an act.
Building tension and presenting migration as a political problem helps to make the situation problematic and if the situation is difficult, it is easier to manipulate and intimidate the society - as, for example, during the 2015 election campaign in Poland. (I was writing about it here)
3. Is migration presented in a military language?
Therefore, avoid the terms "hybrid war", "tactics of dealing with refugees" etc. Nobody is attacking here, nobody is trying to kill or shoot anyone. Migrants are people who want to live in another country. Refugees are people who have been forced to flee from war or other dangers.
4. Have the migrants' problems been presented? If so, was it presented as equally important?
Why do you emphasize the challenges of your region or country, and reduce the tragedy of those who are just going through the same or much worse problems in another part of the world? Did you think about that people like the individuals or are you debating about this situation as it's some kind of abstract? Think about how would you like to be treated in a similar situation.
5. Has a fuller picture of the story been presented, or is it just a fragment?
From where, why, and with what trauma does someone appear at the gates of your country? Who benefits from it? When you decide to express an opinion on this topic, read more than just a few press articles. Learn how to listen with open mind people who have more knowledge than you and always be ready to change your mind.
6. Who is quoted and why they are quoted in the article you are reading?
Are we only listening to this person because he is the president? Or is it because he knows a given field?
Did you know that 90% of the articles on migration do not mention women migrants or even migrants at all? Do you want articles about your country not to cite any citizens? Talk to those who are closest to the situation: residents, NGOs, lawyers. And the migrants themselves!
7. What does the picture you are viewing show?
Are the people presented in a negative, neutral or positive way? Was the photographer hunting some shots like on a safari? How was the person in the photo feeling? Would you like to be the person in this photo yourself?
8. Are the title, photo, headline sensational? Is it informative?
Often the problem of migration in the media becomes tabloidized - migration becomes a clickbait, a cheap sensation. Is it clickbait with violence, which deepens negative stereotypes and strengthens political fear management campaigns? If so, avoid it. It's not worth your time.
Thank you for reading,
@papi.mati
It is sad that, some dehumanized hearts, catalog immigrants as a threat under of xenophobia, racism and intolerance. It is good that you share this valuable information; In this way we can all set out on the pleasant path of respect, tolerance and coexistence.
You said it yourself:
And I completely agree.
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Yes, it's very sad that there are people who treat immigrants as the worse. You know, people forget that every nation has the history of migration and that when they complain about immigrants, they often complain about their grandgrandparents. All Americas are made of immigrants from Europe, Poland where I am from, migrated to run away from the great war, then communism and yet they so easily judge others who have to leave their homeland and look for the safe place to live...
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