Abstract
This paper seeks to report how Greek-Cypriots view migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Cyprus, compared with their views on the first migratory wave in the late 1940s, taking into account the influence of the media. More specifically, the paper investigates the lack of integration and local acceptance of asylum seekers and migrants in the host countries both in Europe and in Cyprus, giving special emphasis on the role of the media and the language used and how this affects the perception of civil society on refugees. The paper led us to the conclusion that this group of people faced in Cyprus, both previously in the 1940s as well as today, racism, exploitation, and marginalization from Greek-Cypriots due to the language used by the media and the lack of policies towards integration of refugees and asylum seekers.
Highlights
For many decades, persecution, armed conflict, and political violence have forced people to leave their homeland and seek help and protection in another country (UNHCR 2000, p. 1)
Greek-Cypriots due to the language used by the media and the lack of policies towards integration of refugees and asylum seekers
The aim of the current paper is to present how Greek-Cypriots view migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Cyprus, compared with their views on the first migratory wave in the late 1940s
Summary
Persecution, armed conflict, and political violence have forced people to leave their homeland and seek help and protection in another country (UNHCR 2000, p. 1). Persecution, armed conflict, and political violence have forced people to leave their homeland and seek help and protection in another country At the end of 2016, 65.6 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. The 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees provides a general definition of the term “refugee,” and it acknowledges those people who meet the characteristics of some refugee rights and clarifies that assistance to refugees is not just a question of international charity and political privilege (UNHCR 2000). A convention refugee is defined as “a person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail him- or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution” (UNHCR 2011, p. 5)
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