8 years ago
6
Why Al Jazeera stopped using the word migrant (and you should too)
In a post on *Al Jazeera*'s website on Thursday, the news organisation said that it would no longer use the word 'migrant' to refer to people trying to cross the Mediterranean.
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I'm SO glad to see this come up. Bravo to Al Jazeera on this one.
The use of the word "migrant" has been bugging me for a while. It implies that the people trying to cross the Mediterranean are some kind of freeloaders who just want a better life. They're fucking refugees, people. Too bad if it doesn't fit in your government's anti-immigration narrative.
It's hard for people to see it that way though when they feel it threatens their own security. Side-by-side comparisons make that look ridiculous, but people that have never had their moneys threatened in any real way are spoonfed that this will mean no jobs for them, and their daughters being raped and sons not working ever. It's super frustrating, especially since I personally know some refugees - trust me, if they had another option they would gladly take it. I was talking to a guy who escaped war ~15 years ago. He's still trying to get residency - just being allowed to live here, after all that time. In the meantime he's got a brother in the US, a sister in the UK, and other family elsewhere. It's nuts.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't personally know refugees, but I have a lot of immigrant friends, and there is such an immense contrast between the perception of immigrants and what their reality is like... People in Canada (where I'm from) are convinced immigrants come to their country because it's the best place in the world to live, and so are people trying to profit from someone else's success. The harsh reality is that being an immigrant is a fantastically hard endeavor... And it's really difficult for a lot of reasons.
Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Migrant seems a term for those who travel of their own choice; seeking refuge by fleeing war, rape, murder, and other atrocities is not the same thing.
I have a better idea. How about we just stop feigning outrage over fucking words. Are we all 5 years old?
Migrant: definition; a person who goes from one place to another especially to find work.
Please tell me how that is offensive.
You speak as if words don't have power.
As the article explains it, the outrage is that the meaning of the word migrant has changed to communicate a thing that is sub-human. So, they're arguing that we should use the terms people, families, and refugees instead.
However, as someone that grew up in Miami, the term refugee can also become derogatory. Just ask the Cubans that were called "refs" throughout the 80s and 90s.