Syrian refugees empty water from their raft as they approach the Greek island of Lesbos

Thomson Reuters

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-of-the-syrian-refugee-crisis-is-coming-for-europe-2016-2 

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The Syrian refugees pictured above have nearly finished the treacherous journey from Syria to Lesbos, which, for most, is not a final destination or home. The Journey documentary reveals one variation of the 3,000 kilometer journey to the EU: beginning in Syria, they trek through Turkey to the coast, where they cross the ocean to Lesbos. From the islands, they go to the Greek port of Thessaloniki, and from there, they must travel through the mainland of Greece to Macedonia, then to Serbia and eventually Hungary. Throughout this journey, they are forbidden from public transportation, hunted by border police, and otherwise cast as enemies of a foreign state. The title of the article following this photograph is as follows: “The worst of the Syrian refugee crisis is coming for Europe.” How does the rhetoric of refugees as “invaders” of Europe and the west impact our treatment of them upon arrival? People in conflict are looked upon with sympathy in their home countries, while asylum seekers and newly arriving refugees are looked upon with disdain. To this end, few news stories connect that they are the same people from ‘there’ to ‘here.’ What effect does distance have on the degree of sympathy refugees are portrayed within the media?  

 

Theme: rhetoric of invasion and skewed perspective of the word “crisis” 

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