A refugee is defined to be a person who has been forced to leave their country due to the external environment and personal circumstances which may pose a threat to them.[ ] An asylum seeker is a person who has left their home country and to seek asylum in another.[ ] By these definitions it is evident that refugees and asylum seekers have been through a substantial amount of struggle in their home countries and seek refuge in a country which provides them with safety and a ‘normal’ life. The media is often perceived as a great method upon which one can build awareness regarding their society on both a local and global scale, and exposure to it has grown exponentially with the rise in live news reports and social media. In a recent study 2,020 Australian citizens were interviewed it was found that the majority of the sample determined the media to hugely influence one’s views on a particular topic and that the influence is “subliminal”.[ ] However, how does the media …show more content…
The topic of refugees and asylum seekers is one of uncertainty, the media is often witnessed portraying refugees and asylum seekers as “enemies at the gate”.[ ] A studied conducted by Chavez involved analysing magazine covers from America publications from 1965-1999, this study indicated the increase of negativity over the years regarding refugees and asylum seekers, often being portrayed as “invaders”, individuals whom ‘steal’ jobs, terrorists in disguise or even harbourers of disease.[ ] Such distinctions of refugees and asylum seekers produces negative opinions in society, especially considering how big of an influence the media is specifically to the younger generations whom have no personal experiences or knowledge on the topic.[3] The media has also been exemplified to play a significant part in the dehumanisation of refugees and asylum seekers, where an individual may feel deprived of human qualities and feelings through such distinctions and identifications of the population of refugees.[ ,
Phillips, J. (2011), ‘Asylum seekers and refugees: What are the facts?’, Background note, Parliamentry library, Canberra.
Definition of an Asylum Seeker: An asylum seeker is any person who has unwillingly fled their country of origin and is unable return due to facing persecution because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, political opinion or involvement in a particular social or political group.
Refugee is someone who fled his/her country because of conflict or for fear of been prosecuted for reason of race, nationality, religion, sexuality, and political opinion (UNHCR, 1 February, 2002). An asylum seeker is someone who fled his/her country of origin and applies for recognition as a refugee in another country, and
The conditions of Australia’s immigration detention policies have also been cause for concern for probable contraventions of Articles 7 and 10 of the ICCPR. Whilst in Sweden, asylum seekers are afforded free housing whilst their applications are being processed, Australia’s methods are much more callous. Under the Pacific Solution, maritime asylum seekers are sent to impoverished tropical islands with no monitoring by human rights organisations allowed (Hyndman and Mountz, 2008). The UNHCR criticised Australia’s offshore processing centres stating that “significant overcrowding, cramped living quarters, unhygienic conditions, little privacy and harsh tropical climate contribute to the poor conditions of… Nauru and Papua New Guinea” (Morales
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugee is a term applied to anyone who is outside his/her own country and cannot return due to the fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political opinion. Many “refugees” that the media and the general public refer to today are known as internally displaced persons, which are people forced to flee their homes to avoid things such as armed conflict, generalized violations of human rights or natural and non-natural disasters. These two groups are distinctly different but fall ...
In such a heated topic, it is important to make the distinction between an asylum seeker and refugee. Definitions are disputed, but the UN uses the following definitions. A refugee is a person who has left their country due to legitimate fears of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political views, or social class. An asylum seeker is someone who claims refugee status but has yet to officially gained said status. Often times, one might seek asylum in times of war or when one feels threatened by their government. It is important to note that while a definition seems straightforward, arge political controversies may arise depending on the...
Many people in the UK coupled with media stories, tend to portray asylum seekers as bogus individuals who are here purely for economic gains (Teater 2014). This has led organisations such as Refugee councils and Refugee Action
Bhabha, J., & Young, W. (1998) Through A Child's Eyes: Protecting the Most Vulnerable Asylum Seekers. Interpreter Releases 75 (21), pp. 757-791.
The term refugee refers to persons fleeing their country due to religious persecution, war or violence. In the history of refugees there have been many instances in which thousands of refugees had to flee, or were forcefully evicted from their country. Among these instances include the Armenian Genocide, the expulsion of Germans from and the Syrian
Refugees have two basic choices. They can return to their home country, or they can try to settle in another country. Most refugees, however, cannot return home because conditions in their native country have not changed sufficiently to eliminate the problems from whi...
Reflection (Choose a quote or series of quotes and respond. Locate your reflection in evidence and LANGUAGE not in feelings)
America needs to accept the Syrian refugees because if they do not, the United States is abandoning its morals and leaving thousands of people stranded in danger. While Syrian refugees are often labeled as terrorists, they are actually the opposite. Through research by Lauren Gambino, Patrick Kingsley, and Alberto Nardelli, three writers from an English Newspaper, “The Guardian”, have found interesting results. They admit, “Syrian refugees are generally afraid of exactly the same thing that Americans are: Islamist terrorism” (Gambino 3).
U.S. immigration law is very complex, and there is much uncertainty as to how it works. The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members ("How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet"). Around the world there are so many immigrants/refugees who are in the hunt for a fitter life. Some come from places where civil war occurs or some suffer economically trying to support their family. Knowing the fact that they are desperate to seek for a better life, the best option is to migrate to the U.S, the land of opportunities. The problem lies in the migration to the U.S. What are the quotas for new immigrants arriving to the U.S? What are the eligibility requirements to becoming a permanent citizen in the U.S? With much inquiry, this topic has become very intriguing. What people must understand is that
The first chapter of the book provides a highly informative background and history to the concept of refugees, as well as their relevance to the modern international political system. The authors importantly point out that defining a refugee is not simply a matter of academic concern because resulting definitions may mean the difference between life and death for people in conflict zones. Defining a refugee involves political and ethical considerations, inevitably creating disagreement regarding the issue. For example, when refugees are defined in a certain way by the United Nations, research will consequently revolve around such definitions and will help support the status quo of the institut...
A family, living in a war-torn country, is uprooted from their home and community due to a variety of reasons such as political unrest, famine, and threat danger. This family flees their country in order to seek safety in a neighboring, more stable country. These people are considered refugees. Refugees are not travelers or immigrants because they are displaced due to some devastating reason, whether that is war or persecution. Other countries extend money, resources, and even their land to help resettle refugees out of political and humanitarian obligation. The United States is historically notorious for wanting to remain isolated during certain global events such as each world war. However, the United States began to create and build on refugee