143 Statements T F First four words 0 David Cameron’s comments about refugees were well-received. Other politicians were quick 1 Migrants try to persuade lorry drivers to take them through the Channel Tunnel. 2 Cameron’s use of negative language was interesting because this seldom happens. 3 African businesspeople working abroad are treated differently to Europeans working abroad. 4 The term ‘boat people’ is an accurate description of fleeing asylum seekers. 5 The way migrants are described can decide if they are allowed to remain in a country or not. 6 Negative words describing migrants are often used to frighten people. 7 Media coverage created a wave of sympathy for Cecil the lion because he was likened to a human being. thousands of people drown trying to make a crossing. How people are labelled can have serious consequences. Whether people should be called ‘economic migrants’ or ‘asylum seekers’ matters a great deal in the country they arrive in, where it could affect their legal status as they try to stay in the country. It also matters in the countries where these people originally come from. Eritrea, for example, has frequently denied that the thousands of people leaving the country are leaving because of political pressure, instead insisting that they have headed abroad in search of higher wages. There are worries that even ‘migrant’, perhaps the broadest and most neutral term we have, could become politicised. One controversial British writer and public figure likened migrants to ‘cockroaches’ in a column published in a newspaper. Words such as ‘swarm’ or ‘invasion’ can also have serious negative consequences when used in connection to refugees. James Hathaway, director of the Program in Refugee and Asylum at the University of Michigan Law School, says that these words are “clearly meant to instill fear.” Can a change in language really change the way we think about migrants and refugees? It’s hard to deny that the way we interpret different words can be subtle and subjective. However, we can see examples of how humanising victims with words can cause a positive global reaction – even in the animal kingdom. Some years ago, all around the world people showed sadness and anger at the death of Zimbabwe’s Cecil the lion, who was shot by an American dentist on a hunting trip. The way Cecil’s death was reported with news headlines such as “Painful last hours of lion king” or “RIP Cecil the Lion” created a wave of criticism. If we can humanise an animal with well-chosen words, surely there’s a way of humanising humans. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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