The Representation Of Refugees Through A Political And Media Discourse

For many years refugees have been demonized by the country through the spread of fear and misconception. Furthermore, the disgusting treatment of refugees in the detention camps by the Australian Government has been roundly criticised by the international community.

As Australia accentuates their generosity and acceptance of those seeking refugee, long-established ideals of race and superiority from the past have a profound influence on the way migrants are treated and integrated into society. According to the article “The Refugee Crisis and Fear Populist Politics and Media Discourse,” author Peter Gale describes how fear for what is different has repeatedly lead to the persecution or forced adaption like the one which occurred in “contemporary

The resettlement of refugees in Australia is a controversial topic; many people believe that they come here to commit crime, change our culture and steal our jobs. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ has enhanced my belief that refugees should be allowed to live in Australia. I believe that refugees are here to escape war and persecution; they are not criminals, nor do they want to change our culture or steal our jobs. Refugees are generally grateful for their new lives in Australia and they embrace our culture. ‘The Happiest Refugee’ is a source of evidence that supports this.

There are many different views about refugees in Australian society, where illegal boat people and over flowing detention centres are a controversial problem today. Go Back To Where You Came From is a documentary directed by Ivan O’Mahoney about a social experiment that challenges the dominant views of six Australians about refugees and asylum seekers. These six Australians are taken on a 25 day journey where they are placed into the troubled “worlds” of refugees. For a few of the Australians it is their first time overseas but, for all of them it is the most challenging and confronting experience of their lives. This essay will discuss

The 2011 SBS program, Go Back to Where You Came From (O’Mahoney, I, 2011) portrays the journey of 6 Australian citizens as they try to balance their beliefs against that of the ‘Boat People’ that they meet. In the show we are introduced to 6 individuals, Raye Colbey, Adam Hartup, Darren Hassan, Raquel Moore, Glenny Ray and Roderick Schneider. The aforementioned individuals are then sent footsteps of Asylum Seekers. This broadcast raises many issues with today’s society that needs to be addressed. The issue of Racism, Asylum Seekers, the lack of respect for others religion and beliefs are all raised to the forefront of today’s society and need to be addressed.

Today 60 million refugees, and asylum seekers are internally displaced . This is almost double what it was 10 years ago. Mega conflicts in Syria and Iraq have displaced millions of people. These are conflicts that are pushing refugees and migrants into flight. The world is in the midst of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Yet Australia’s approach in recent years has been to punish people seeking asylum, while increasing the numbers of refugees it resettles. This contrasting approach threatens the long and proud history Australia has of successful integration of refugee communities. This report reflects what we have heard from refugees and people seeking asylum, and the people supporting them. We thank all of the people who contributed to this report. The past two years have been a dramatic and traumatic period for refugees, both at home and abroad. More people are seeking safety – from persecution, conflict, violence and violations of human rights – than at any time since World War II. In the past two years, we have seen lifeless children washing up on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. We have seen ordinary Europeans lining up to help refugees at train stations. We have seen Australians demanding successfully that their leaders let in an extra 12,000 people fleeing the crises in Syria and Iraq.

On September of 2015, the image of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi went viral. “The toddler’s lifeless body on a Turkish beach had reverberated across the globe” (Parkinson & George-Cosh, 2015). Aylan’s family had “fled the brutal civil war in their native Syria and only attempted the boat crossing after Canada denied their application of admission as refugees. The image led to an astonishing outpouring of support for Syrian refugees” (Hein & Niazi, 2016).

Unfortunately, the narrative concerning refugees and asylum seekers as presented in the media is an overall negative one. Most of the fear present in Australian society is aggravated by media coverage. When discussing the representation of refugees it is important to take into consideration the language that is used and often associated with refugees. In most discussions presented in the national news, refugees are represented as a threat to

Asylum seekers or refugees have fled their countries’ due to volatile circumstances such as war, or fear of prosecution. Upon arrival in Australia they are moved to detention centres. Detention centres hold people who have come without a visa, any non-national and all unauthorised boat arrivals (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014). These centres hold refugees for indefinite periods and in poor conditions. They are used as a spectacle to represent illegality and a threat to Australian society (Marfleet, 2007, p672).

The documentary, “Go Back to Where You Came From” plunges six Australians participants into the intense fear and desperate situations that forces them to confront their attitudes towards the refugee seeking experience. In such a powerful social experiment, using the “Survivor” and “Big Brother” modes of reality television, powerful emotions erupt. The documentary mixes “real life” with constructed situations to produce emotional breaking points around an audience’s attitudes, especially in the heartfelt interactions with refugee families thus privileging immigrants. An audience experience the “borderline” minds’ of the participants and the unstable world of refugees for themselves. They get caught up in the turbulent emotions and crises that are inflicted by the documentary through the clever use of evidence, rhetorical questions, inclusive language and sensationalism. The author rebuts the prevailing misrepresentation of immigrants as freeloaders by providing living testimonies of so called once, “boat people” now living in Australia who are not only grateful but are willing to relinquish all they have for Australia’s sake because of the act of benevolence Australia has showed to them and their families. This is evident in the following quotes of Andrew, “They came here to be more effective in the society…. Amar without a doubt is the kind of refugee we want” and in Amar’s quotes, “If they want to go fight, to protect Australia, I will go……Australia gives us a lot, so easy

Gordon uses expert opinion, interviewing one of Australia’s most respected psychiatrists, Harry Minas. His debate emphasises Australia’s incapability to deal with the asylum seeker crisis as best as it can, stating “In 2011, we still have mandatory detention”. The expert opinion further pursuay the reader to look at the asylum seeker debate through the eyes of the refugees themselves, to see the human face.

Following Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s comments on the ‘danger’ of ‘uneducated and illiterate’ refugees and immigrants being accepted into Australia, debate resurfaced regarding the issue of asylum seekers and immigrants in general, and whether refugees deserved to be resettled in Australia. In an opinion piece for The Age newspaper, Kon Karapanagiotidis argues that Peter Dutton’s claims are false and that on the contrary, refugees and immigrants have much to contribute to Australian society. His arguments are fashioned in a heavily emotive tone, and overall the piece is compelling and compassionate while also heatedly opposing Dutton’s views.

To begin, Peter Dutton a member of the Australian House of Representatives accounts and accuses these refugees to be ‘illiterate and innumerate.’ This statement deters our racism and our unwelcoming spirit for refugees as a country. Our national anthem suggests a public expression of joy and pride of being Australian, so by not letting refugees into country despite their harrowing experiences - we are saying that we are proud, we are proud of being a country known for ‘exclusion’ and denying of refugee sanctuary, just

The research draws attention to different newspaper commentators and evidence found by the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre that displays an overall negative and ill-informed opinions regarding asylum seekers. Further investigation revealed that many Australians, because of political jargon and journalistic hate-mongering, aren’t fully informed on asylum seekers, their human rights, and the expectation that Australian, as a signatory to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, will assist them when they have been forced to flee from

We’ve all read or heard these statements one day or another, whether it be in our newspaper articles, through our television screens, or even spoken by our government officials. Primarily/especially some including ‘Asylum seekers’, ‘A new dose of cruelty’, ‘boat people’, or even ‘A tide of refugees’. They're deliberately spoken in a patronised behaviour which is tainted by fear. But above all do we truly know their meaning? Or are we just too busy in our personal bubble of happiness and joy that we don't realise the hardships which these people face day-to-day? And on top of all, do we understand that we can also be in the same situation one day? Envision/imagine a time when we’re forced to leave our war-torn country and we head by boat towards our neighbouring countries. But, when we ask them for aid, instead they send