Al Jazeera Journalism Review

outside image
Migrants on board the NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in the central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022 [Juan Medina/Reuters]

Why does Arab media fail so badly at covering refugee issues?

Arabic media discourse on refugees and migrants frequently aligns too closely with the Western narrative, often spreading fear of migrants while emphasising the burdens of asylum

 

The discussion about asylum and migration resurfaces with every new tragedy that claims the lives of dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of people during perilous journeys to cross borders by land or sea.

The media often struggles to “label” the victims of these countless incidents - are they refugees or migrants? Is this a case of illegal or irregular migration?

In my opinion, the debate needs to be reframed, delving deeper into the subject and placing individual movements within a broader context to understand the contradictions which surface within this issue.

The media should focus on providing better information to help comprehend the dimensions of this issue beyond treating each asylum crisis as an isolated event unrelated to other crises.

The importance of terminology concerning global human movement and migration cannot be understated. Through it, one can observe much that remains undiscussed.

When individuals move from affluent Northern countries to live in other countries, they are referred to as "expats" even if they spend the rest of their lives in the destination country.

This term is associated with comfortable, safe and prosperous living conditions, and they often enjoy privileges exceeding those of the native population, especially in terms of employment opportunities and salaries.

Simply mastering the language of the host country can make these expats famous on social media, celebrated for their ability to speak a new language.

On the other hand, when individuals from impoverished Southern countries move to affluent Northern countries, they become "immigrants".

This type of migration is fraught with risk, and people frequently lose their lives during the journey. Those who survive face a bureaucratic ordeal, being reduced to mere paperwork rather than being treated as individuals with human feelings.

Their experience is reduced to the struggle to obtain official documents and limited to their circumstances, opportunities, or social status, often restricted in ways the native population is not.

Only a few fortunate ones manage to transcend these limitations, but such cases are rare.

These stories then become headline news and inspirational videos on social media under the title "success stories".

For the people living in these countries, such stories are part of their daily routine and hardly represent a guaranteed path to success or achievement.

Despite the strong connection between asylum and migration issues and the Arab region, whether as a major pathway for migrants or as countries with their citizens seeking migration for various reasons, the nature of media discourse on this matter mirrors that of the West.

The media extensively propagates these contradictions without accountability or reflection. It begs the question of what makes the coverage so drastically different between these two groups, and how did we get to this point? Should the media persist in perpetuating these divisions dictated by the current global system?

Even though asylum and migration issues are closely tied to the Arab region, whether as a major pathway for migrants or as countries with their citizens seeking migration due to wars, persecution or economic reasons, the media discourse on this matter aligns with the Western narrative.

Arab media is absent from the discussion, neither exercising oversight over the roles played by agencies from within the Arab world, nor criticising the exclusion of Arab countries from global dialogues on asylum and migration

 

It either promotes hate speech or spreads fear of migrants based on race, religion or ethnicity, alongside emphasising the burdens of asylum. The danger of this discourse lies not only in endangering refugees and migrants but also in perpetually failing to find real solutions since it never addresses the root of the problem.

Recently, Europe reached a new agreement concerning asylum and migration to European Union countries. These countries, closely associated with causing the reasons for migration due to their colonial pasts, avoid serious discussions about asylum with countries in the South, including Arab nations.

They prefer to impose security solutions and turn Arab states, using their military apparatus, into "migration police", a role Europe does not want to undertake for fear of losing its “humanitarian” image.

Thus, Arab security forces relentlessly pursue migrants on borders and even in the middle of the sea, exposing them to various dangers in exchange for financial rewards from European countries. 

This is part of agreements aimed at sustaining compliant dictatorships on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. These dictatorships prioritise their own self-interest over the humanitarian concerns of their own citizens, let alone those of migrants.

The lives lost at sea become nothing but "surplus humans", as described by the Polish thinker Zygmunt Bauman, whom the modern world disposes of in various ways to ensure comfort for Northern citizens.

Arab media is absent from this discussion, neither exercising serious oversight over the appalling roles played by groups and agencies from within the Arab world, nor criticising the exclusion of Arab countries from global dialogues on asylum and migration.

Instead, the media treats this issue as if it only concerns Europe and focuses on humorous aspects rather than addressing the impact on Arab societies as a whole.

More recently, the Lebanese media immersed itself in the so-called "Chocolamu" crisis, purportedly combating racism and defending refugee rights.

In this incident a journalist, Nidal Al Ahmadieh, appeared on TV talking about how “uncivilised” refugees were as “they don’t even know what Chocolamu (a fashionable chocolate milkshake in some Lebanese restaurants) is”.

Her statement unleashed a social media campaign against her for her racist remarks.

Unfortunately, this sort of media attention does not serve any meaningful purpose and only places the issue of asylum and migration within a cultural and regional context, turning it into a subject of mockery.

Meanwhile, the media disregards the loss of 500 lives at sea as insignificant due to the limited airtime available.

As a result, Arab media fails to engage in meaningful discussions about asylum and migration.

It does not exercise serious oversight over the sinister roles played by various actors within the Arab world or criticise the exclusion of Arab countries from global dialogues on this issue.

Instead, it reproduces a discourse that marginalises and diminishes the importance of human lives lost at sea, treating them as "surplus humans" not worth significant airtime or attention.

Ahmad Abu Hamad is a Journalist at Al Jazeera Media Institute

Translated from the original Arabic by Yousef Awadh

 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera Journalism Review’s editorial stance

 

More Articles

How Latin American media echoes Israeli discourse in reporting Gaza news

Heavily influenced by US and Israeli diplomatic efforts, Latin American media predominantly aligns with and amplifies the Israeli perspective. This divergence between political actions and media representation highlights the complex dynamics shaping Latin American coverage of the Gaza conflict.

Rita Freire Published on: 23 Nov, 2023
Critique of German media's handling of Gaza Conflict: Biased reporting and controversial journalistic stances

The German media's coverage of the Gaza conflict has been criticized for being biased, presenting a distorted view of the conflict, focusing only on the Israeli perspective, and downplaying the suffering of Palestinians. This biased reporting undermines the media's role as an objective source of information and fails to provide a balanced view of the conflict.

AJR Contributor Published on: 16 Nov, 2023
Colonial legacy of surveillance: hidden world of surveillance technology in the African continent

African nations’ expenditure on surveillance technology from China, Europe and the US is a direct threat to the media, democracy and freedom of speech, and an enduring legacy of colonial surveillance practices.

Derick M
Derick Matsengarwodzi Published on: 14 Nov, 2023
How the New York Times fuelled a crackdown on journalists in India

Vague reporting and a piece ‘laden with innuendo’ by the New York Times gave Indian authorities the excuse they needed to crack down on news website Newsclick

Meer Faisal
Meer Faisal Published on: 31 Oct, 2023
Journalists feel the pain, but the story of Gaza must be told  

People don’t always want to hear the historical context behind horrifying events, resorting even to censorship, but the media must be free to provide it

Aidan
Aidan White Published on: 30 Oct, 2023
Queen Rania is absolutely right - Western media’s double standards on Gaza

Why does international media use loaded and dehumanising language about the Palestinians when reporting on the Israeli bombardment of 2.2 million people in Gaza?

Abeer Ayyoub
Abeer Ayyoub Published on: 27 Oct, 2023
'War propaganda' - Brazil’s media has abandoned journalistic standards over Gaza

Brazil’s mainstream media, in its unwavering support for Israel, is out of step with public and social media responses to the bombardment of Gaza

Bruno
Bruno Lima Rocha Beaklini Published on: 25 Oct, 2023
‘Emotional truth’ is not a cover for fabricating stories

Comedians who engage with the news should not be free to ignore the rules of ethical journalism

Akanksha
Akanksha Singh Published on: 16 Oct, 2023
Get this straight, Western media: Palestinians aren’t sub-human

Dehumanisation of Palestinians is as central to Israel’s war strategy as the deadly missiles it wields

Mitrovica
Andrew Mitrovica Published on: 10 Oct, 2023
Victims of the Mediterranean: ‘Migrants’ or ‘Refugees’?

The term ‘migrant’ insufficient to describe victims of the horror unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea; it dehumanises these people and is a failure of journalism

A picture of the author, Mohammad Ahdad.
Mohammad Ahdad Published on: 2 Oct, 2023
Why is a Western news organisation funding propaganda in India?

ANI, the world’s largest source of Indian news, receives funding from Thomson-Reuters, despite widespread condemnation for its misinformation about Muslims

MM
Morley Musick Published on: 18 Sep, 2023
How do we determine 'newsworthiness' in the digital age?

The relentless flow of news in the digital age has re-shaped the parameters by which we decide what is 'news' and what is not

Muhammad Khamaiseh Published on: 11 Sep, 2023
‘Focus on the story, not the storyteller’ - the dilemma of a diaspora journalist

When reporting on their homelands, diaspora journalists walk a fine line between emotional connection and objective storytelling

Anam Hussain
Anam Hussain Published on: 4 Sep, 2023
What does Zimbabwe’s new ‘Patriot Bill’ mean for journalists?  

As Zimbabwe heads into elections this week, a new law dubbed the ‘Patriot Bill’ will further criminalise journalism

Derick M
Derick Matsengarwodzi Published on: 21 Aug, 2023
Verify everything: What I learned from covering the Qatar World Cup 

Last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar was not the flop so many in the Western media predicted it would be. It taught me one thing - verify everything!

Noe
Noe Zavaleta Published on: 8 Aug, 2023
How do we determine ‘newsworthiness’?

Digital media and the algorithms used by platforms to determine the news they send out to their audiences have fundamentally changed the face of news planning

MS
Mohammed Shazly Published on: 24 Jul, 2023
What Zimbabwe’s news rooms must learn from global media closures

A flourishing media needs more than just capital and a few good ideas - it needs innovation  

Derick M
Derick Matsengarwodzi Published on: 13 Jul, 2023
Journalists beware! The silly season is upon us

With parliaments on recess and all the movers and shakers off on their holidays, journalists can find themselves scrabbling about for any old news to report. But be careful what you resort to

Ilya
Ilya U Topper Published on: 3 Jul, 2023
Guatemalan media needs to talk about the consequences of corruption

The media in Guatemala has a responsibility to demonstrate how corruption affects people’s human rights

Jorge
Jorge Sagastume Published on: 26 Jun, 2023
Donald Lu is dangerously wrong - India does not have a ‘free press’

The US must stop whitewashing Prime Minister Modi’s crackdown on Indian journalists

Safa
Safa Ahmed Published on: 20 Jun, 2023
Sudan shows us why Africans must tell their own conflict stories

Africa lacks freedom of expression because its stories are told by others

Philip Obaji Jr
Philip Obaji Jr Published on: 1 Jun, 2023
What happened when I asked ChatGPT to write my article

It got quite a lot right, and quite a lot very, very wrong

Anam Hussain
Anam Hussain Published on: 22 May, 2023
Shireen Abu Akleh’s forgotten murder

Over the past year, many in the media profession in the US have deliberately chosen to forget the assassination of their colleague

Mitrovica
Andrew Mitrovica Published on: 11 May, 2023
The correspondent's job: Ask people, don't tell them

Should foreign correspondents and their media organisations ever take a stand on another country’s political divisions?

Ilya
Ilya U Topper Published on: 8 May, 2023