Feb. 4, 2019
Less than human? Speaker explores dehumanizing portrayals of refugees
Syrian refugees protest at the platform of Budapest Keleti railway station.
Wikimedia Commons photo by Mstyslav Chernov, licensed under Creative Commons
We鈥檝e all seen the images and videos. Masses of people fleeing their homes, desperately trying to get anywhere to begin new lives. The crisis-framed coverage can make refugees seem like they鈥檙e perhaps not the same as us. Making it easy to forget that these are real people 鈥 soccer moms, lawyers, teachers and accountants 鈥 that somehow they鈥檙e less human.
鈥淚 would say that the implications of this are that we don't have to be too concerned about refugees if they're not really human like us,鈥 reflects Dr. Victoria Esses, PhD. 鈥淪o if there were even a little bit less human, we don't have to worry about them because the principles of justice that we would apply to humans, might not quite apply to them.鈥
Dr. Esses, PhD, will present evidence-based findings on the impact of media portrayals of refugees.
On Friday, Feb. 13 at 不良研究所's Metropolitan Centre, 333 4th Ave. S.W., Esses, co-chair and principal investigator of Canada鈥檚 will present her evidence-based research examining the fallout that dehumanizing portrayals of refugees can create. 鈥淧eople talk about the role of the media dehumanizing," says Esses. "We actually test whether that occurs, rather than just making a claim. We have evidence of the impact."
The fallout of making refugees appear somewhat "less human" is that it fuels xenophobic feelings which can create ripe conditions for situations like the president of the United States shutting down government and to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border.
Aya Mhana, an accomplished Syrian-Canadian singer-songwriter will perform at the event.
Aya Mhana
"Immigration policies and the treatment of immigrants and refugees are contentious issues that involve uncertainty and unease,鈥 explains Esses. "The media may take advantage of this uncertainty to create a crisis mentality in which immigrants and refugees are portrayed as 'enemies at the gate' who are attempting to invade Western nations.鈥
Esses, who is also a social psychologist, professor and director of the Centre for Research on Migration and Ethnic Relations at the University of Western Ontario, appears as part of the Faculty of Social Work's Positive Disruption Series. The public presentation is also being hosted by the University of 不良研究所鈥檚 interdisciplinary which seeks to improve the lives of newcomers while advancing knowledge and intercultural practices.
The evening will feature a performance by , an accomplished singer-songwriter from Suwayda. Mhana was a teacher in Suwayda who used to appear regularly at large festivals in Suwayda and Damascus.