Attitude towards Asylum Seekers

Discuss about the case study Research Project for Migration Crisis.

In this time of migration crisis, the concept of asylum seeker is a very popular one. An asylum seeker is an individual who has left his home country, because of political reasons, or due to war, and arrives at another country hoping that the government will protect him. Now, while the asylum seekers arrive at another country in hope of getting international security, the state itself is under international obligation to provide social, political and economic security to the asylum seeker. The asylum seekers are not only entitled to enjoy every kind of benefit and security in the new country, but are also ensured that they live with dignity and self-respect (Philips , 2013). However, the reaction of the nation and the media representing the ideology of the nation often turns out to be hostile and negative towards these asylum seekers. This essay intends to evaluate and critically analyze the strong sense of nationalism inherent in the representation of the asylum seekers in the foreign country.

An asylum seeker is considered to be nothing better than a burden, threat or the “other”, to a country. It cannot be denied that the legal inhabitants of a particular country are always disposed to hate the asylum seekers of that country (Middleton et al., 205)). However, the question arises as to why bethere such a pessimistic attitude towards a group of people, who are absolutely helpless about the condition they are living in? Usually, the asylum seekers are foreign residents, and as such they create a sense of fear and panic in a foreign country. The Refugee council of Australia has pointed out that the media, both printed as well as digital, has created a sense of fear among the residents. The connection between illegal residents and terrorism has always panicked the residents of various countries, and much of it has been contributed by the newspaper reports, articles, public documents published by the foreign country (Mckay et al., 2012).

According to the Marxian theory of ideology, the journalists and reporters of a nation will always be guided by the dominant ideology and spirit of the State it lives in. Keeping this in consideration, it is an undeniable fact that there is a lack of factual and unbiased coverage of facts in a country, as far as the issue of asylum seekers of the country is concerned (Couttenier et al., 2016). The asylum seeker of a country is indeed a burden for that country, as he despite being a non-resident, gains access to the economic resources of the country. Not only so, as a result of the sudden intrusion of the asylum seekers, the residents of the host country suffer from shortage of resources, such as money, job opportunity, security, and others. Besides, the host country fails to empathize with the helpless condition of an asylum seeker, as it often does not feel a sense of belonging to a person with a different national identity, belonging to a separate community (Kenny et al., 2016). News journalism is an integral part of the State, and it scarcely differentiates its opinion from that of the state.

Nationalism in Reporting

A nation has always been defined as a homogenous and unified entity, and the entrance of a foreign resident is not an idea that is usually welcome by the government of a country. Again, it often happens that two countries did not have a very favorable political relation in the past. As a result, when a resident of one country arrives in the rival nation, as an asylum seeker, his presence puts the government in discomfort. For example, according The Dawn, many Hindu residents of Pakistan were unable to cope up with the persistent harassment that they encountered in Pakistan. As a result, when they arrived in India in hope of getting some relief, what they had to face, was suspicion and a cold shoulder(Rizvi, 2015). The political relation between India and Pakistan has always been a disturbed and controversial one, and as such a strong sense of patriotism might have prevented the Indian sentiment from empathizing with the pathetic condition of the Pakistani asylum seekers. In the very same way, as many as 88 Pakistanis were being sent back to their country from Sri Lanka. The journalists, reporters or the media persons of a country always have a sense of attachment towards the national sentiment of the particular country, and hence have been prone to present a biased form of reporting. For example, there has been frequent depiction of the negative impact of the intrusion of asylum seekers in a country, highlighting severe consequences such as rape, crime and terrorist activities (Rowe& O’Brien, 2013). According to the Effects Theory of media studies, each form of media has a profound impact on the mindset and perspective of the audiences. The worldview of the audience is created in accordance with the message decoded by them from the media channels. When the inhabitants of a particular country get informed about the assault, violence and brutality perpetrated by the asylum seekers, they start feeling a sense of fear and distrust towards them. The asylum seekers who enter a country do nothing but trespass, and as such are accused of illegal migration charges. Van Dijk in the year of 1991, had rightly pointed out how the Tamil asylum seekers who had arrived in the Western European countries, were being portrayed as a “threat to our territory” in the newspaper articles of the respective nations (Ro.uow.edu.au, 2016).

It is noteworthy here that according to the survey conducted by pew Research Centre , most of the countries reveal a hostile, and not so empathetic attitude towards the asylum seekers of a different country(Yeung, 2016). Most of the countries perceive the asylum seekers as people who pose a threat to their social and economical well-being. The majority of the countries, such as Hungary, Italy or Poland, are worried that the asylum seekers will take away their jobs, social benefit and other amenities. In addition to this, people of various countries such as Greece, Poland, Hungary, possess unfavorable opinion towards the Muslim residents of a foreign country(Kirkwood et al, 2016). According to The Independent, most of the European countries possess a sense of apathy and fear towards the asylum seekers, and as such they express their discontent and discomfort with the arrival of these non-residents (The Independent, 2016) .

Impact of Media on Perception

Figure 1: Diagram Showing the Reaction of the European nations towards the Asylum Seekers

Source: (Yeung, 2016)

As it can be seen from the above diagram, most of the European peoplehave a sense of dislike towards the arrival of asylum seekers. This kind of hostile attitude towards the asylum seekers is indeed undesirable. Yet it is undeniable that the newspaper reports, articles, blogs, television channels have largely contributed to the development of this negative perception. However, at the same time, the media persons can also not be blamed in all instances. Their sense of nationalism has always been at work, while writing or presenting the issue of asylum seekers. For example, it is indeed a well-known fact that Europe has suffered terribly from major terrorist attacks, and in many cases, the attackers had travelled from Syria. The concern of national security has been pre-dominating the mindset of the media persons. Many European people claim, that they are apathetic towards the asylum seekers of their country, because they believe that it might increase the likelihood of terrorism in the country. Since the government of several countries intends to introduce more stringent anti-immigration policies, the government purposively constructs such negative discourses about the asylum seekers (Kimelman, 2016). Hence, Van Dijk pointed out that the government and consequently the media persons representing the dominant ideology of the State, links the presence of asylum seekers with criminal and terrorist activities. The government develops the public opinion, through the powerful influence of the media channels. Keeping in mind the importance of preserving the limited resources and opportunities for the countrymen, and also for the purpose of national security, the asylum seekers have been continually depicted as “illegals” or “queue jumpers”(Long, 2013).

It is not an unknown fact that Neville Roach had resigned from the council for multicultural Australia, as he was disgusted by the negative asylum rhetoric of the then government. It was indeed shocking that how 91% of the government documents were presented opposing the asylum seekers in Australia.

Figure 2: Government Documents expressing Concern Over the Issue of Asylum Seekers

Source: Source: (Yeung, 2016)

As it can be understood from the above table, most of the government documents revealed a negative, unrelenting attitude towards the asylum seekers. There was no sign of sympathy, nor was there much instances highlighting the good behavior of the asylum seekers. There is scarcely a limit to the sense of negativity associated with the concept of an asylum seeker. A table can be used here to show how the government documents portrayed the asylum seekers as undesirable people that will normally create a sense of fear and panic among the ordinary masses.

Hostile Attitude towards Asylum Seekers

Figure 3: Terminology used by the Federal Government to Describe the Asylum Seekers

Source: Source: (Yeung, 2016)

As the above table suggests, the total number of words used, opposing the asylum seekers is way too higher than the total number of positive words spoken in favor of the asylum seekers. The asylum seekers have been continually depicted as harmful and undesirable. To reinforce the sense of negativity, these government documents have been repeatedly using words like, “threat”, “burden”, and “illegal”. These words have been deliberately used in the government documents, because these had helped them create a sense of exclusion concerning the asylum seekers (Masocha , 2015). The use of such negative words would help the government justify the detention of these asylum seekers. A press release can also be referred to here. It is worth mentioning that an Australian press release claimed that the asylum seekers are not fleeing from any sort of persecution, but are rather trying to migrate, by misrepresenting their identity. These press releases themselves, along with the newspapers which collect much information from the government documents, create a sense of panic and terror among the inhabitants of the specific country (Portin, 2015).

Asylum seekers have more than often being considered as a threat to the national security of the country. The influence of government on the media channels is a well-known fact. When the government deems the asylum seekers to be hostile to the well-being and overall progress of its country, it will indirectly influence the media to create a sense of fear and distrust among the masses regarding the sudden arrival of the asylum seekers. This in turn will help the government frame and justify stricter anti-immigration policies. There are instances where the asylum seekers, unable to get any sort of benefit or minimal assistance in the foreign country, protested via hunger strikes, or ended up in harming themselves. The newspaper articles written on these instances definitely dealt with these issues in a sympathetic way; yet it is undeniable that these articles consisted of harsh, negative words about these asylum seekers, categorizing them, as the ”economic burden”, “social threat”, and the “other” of the community. Similarly he digital media also reinforced the sense of negativity surrounding these people, by highlighting the instances of crime, violence and deviance associated with them (Greenhalgh& Watt, 2015)

The issue of asylum seekers needs to be considered in the light of greater compassion and empathy. There should be a sense of deep understanding towards the difficulty faced by the asylum seekers, and the sense of patriotic sentiment can be sacrificed to some extent. For example, countries like Germany and Sweden have a huge number of asylum seekers, who have become a major part of the population of the country. Half of the countrymen of these nations uphold that the asylum seekers make their country stronger by contributing their skill, talent and work. Of course, the importance of national security is undeniable. However, at the same time, it is important that the journalists as well as article writers or bloggers refute the “not genuine”myths inextricably associated with the concept of an asylum seeker. This is high time that the people come out of their prejudice, and develop their own perspective about the asylum seekers.

Reference List:

Couttenier, M., Preotu, V., Rohner, D., & Thoenig, M. (2016). DP11079 The Violent Legacy of Victimization: Post-Conflict Evidence on Asylum Seekers, Crimes and Public Policy in Switzerland.

Greenhalgh, E. M., & Watt, S. E. (2015).Preference for consistency and value dissimilarities in dehumanization and prejudice toward asylum seekers in Australia. European Journal of Social Psychology, 45(1), 110-119.

Kenny, M. A., Procter, N., &Grech, C. (2016).Mental health and legal representation for asylum seekers in the ‘legacy caseload’. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 8(2), 84-103.

Kimelman, D. (2016). Welcoming the Stranger: African Refugees and Israel’s Asylum Regime.

Kirkwood, S., Goodman, S., McVittie, C., &McKinlay, A. (2016). Theory and Method in Understanding the Experiences of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers.In The Language of Asylum (pp. 24-39). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Long, H. (2013). Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Contemporary Germany: A Critical Analysis of Political Debates and Media Depictions.

Masocha, S. (2015).Asylum Seekers in Media and Parliamentary Discourses.In Asylum Seekers, Social Work and Racism (pp. 40-69). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

McKay, F. H., Thomas, S. L., & Kneebone, S. (2012). ‘It would be okay if they came through the proper channels’: Community perceptions and attitudes toward asylum seekers in Australia. Journal of Refugee Studies,25(1), 113-133.

Middleton, A., Howie, J., Clarke, T., Allen, M., & Lehm, S. (2015). Can asylum seekers be traced!. European Respiratory Journal, 46(suppl 59), OA1449.

Phillips, J. (2013). Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts?. Canberra: Department of Parliamentary Services, Parliament of Australia.

Portin, M. (2015). ‘I have something to tell the world’: A comparative discourse analysis of representations of refugees and asylum seekers in print media and texts written by refugees and asylum seekers themselves, within the frames of creative writing workshops. Retrieved 5 August 2016, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-asylum-seekers-europe-terrorism-terror-threat-brexit-immigration-migrants-a7132256.html

Rowe, E., & O’Brien, E. (2013).Constructions of asylum seekers and refugees in Australian political discourse. In Crime Justice and Social Democracy: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference (Vol. 1, pp. 173-181). Queensland University of Technology.

The Conversation,.(2016). What Underlies Public Prejudice towards Asylum Seekers.Theconversation.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016, from https://theconversation.com/what-underlies-public-prejudice-towards-asylum-seekers-23974

The Independent,. (2016). Refugee Crisis. Independednt.co.uk.