Episode 388

Are refugees fleeing persecution today generally seen as people who need help, or problems to be pushed away?

Migration and refugee researcher Professor Uma Kothari discusses how media representations of asylum seekers influence our attention and response to the plight of individuals and groups fleeing their countries in search of safety.

Politics & Society

What is a refugee?

“We see a lot in newspapers around the fear that people have of refugees, particularly Muslim refugees. I think that we have to think about where those preconceptions and fear comes from. I think part of the welcoming and part of the discourse of arrival and of refugees, can shape also those preconceptions,” says Professor Kothari.

“It seems to me that it’s problematic to talk about people coming in with a bounded homogeneous culture that is going to be threatening. What about the excitement and the opportunity of what people bring?”

Episode recorded: 9 February 2017 Up Close producer: Eric van Bemmel Audio engineer: Gavin Nebauer Banner image: Mstyslav Chernov/Wikimedia Commons

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This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.

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Uma Kothari

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