STEREOTYPING, VICTIMIZATION AND DEPOLITICIZATION IN THE REPRESENTATIONS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES

Müzeyyen Pandir

doi:10.16953/deusosbil.450797

Abstract

This paper studies the representational constructions of the image of Syrian refugee in newspaper photographs and discusses the processes in which the Syrian refugee is victimized, stereotyped and depoliticized through representation. It analyses Syrian refugee photographs published between 2011 and 2015 in five Turkish newspapers. Working within visual sociological and constructivist perspectives, and synthesizing content and visual analyses, the study first dwells upon the universal “ideal victim” profile mentioned in victimology studies, then reveals that the image of Syrian refugee is predominantly constructed as “victim” in the analyzed newspaper photographs. The study elaborates that refugees’ victimhood is represented through different themes of suffering, which appear around the themes of poverty, displacement, the need, and loss and pain. Then the victimization of the refugee is problematized and discussed under two main arguments. The first argument discusses that the prevalence of the victim discourse in Syrian refugee photographs is achieved through the technique of stereotyping, which reproduces the universal image of the refugee as weak and vulnerable, regardless of time and context. The second argument discusses that victimization works as a device for depoliticization, which imagines the refugee only as weak and powerless rather than a subject with political agency who produces action and results. The paper concludes that victimization and depoliticization produce a disparity between the lived experiences of the refugee (who has survived a war) and the representations of the refugee (who is a powerless war victim).

Highlights

In the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention refugee is defined as someone who is outside their country of nationality and is unable to return their country due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion
Strobl (2004) proposes a classification of victimization. Thinking of this classification along with the experiences of Syrian refugees, Syrian refugees can be classified as victim for they i) suffer from direct harm and damage caused by war and conflict and ii) suffer from the effects of conflict, displacement, loss of loved ones or loss of property even if they have not been the target of a direct offence
This study explores the visual representations of Syrian refugees, examines the emergence of a number of themes and meanings that have been prevalent in constructing the image of Syrian refugee as victim in press photography

Summary

Introduction

In the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention refugee is defined as someone who is outside their country of nationality and is unable to return their country due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Strobl (2004) proposes a classification of victimization Thinking of this classification along with the experiences of Syrian refugees, Syrian refugees can be classified as victim for they i) suffer from direct harm and damage caused by war and conflict (direct victimization) and ii) suffer from the effects of conflict, displacement, loss of loved ones or loss of property even if they have not been the target of a direct offence (indirect victimization). Such classifications of victimhood are sensible as well as they are social constructs. The status of victimhood is a social construct because public perceptions

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