Letting Diasporic Voices Be Heard: Refugees and Migrants in European Media

Abstract

More than 68.5 million people were forced to move from their countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in 2018. Forced displacements are caused by poverty, war, and lack of safety. Since 2015, Europe has been experiencing a so-called refugee crisis that calls European values and policies into question. Beyond data, there are the experiences of those who are on the move. The number of people arriving on the continent has made integration a decisive topic. This research aims to discover the portrayal of refugees and migrants in media. This goal includes the challenge of making European media evaluate their work to improve the treatment given to complex subjects such as migration. This article is the result of research derived from the project Refugees Reporting in 2017, coordinated by the Europe Region of the World Association for Christian Communication and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.