Visual Representations of Refugees in German Media 2010 - 2020
By: Cassidy Chreene Whittle, M.S. GMC - German
Advisors: Dr. Britta Kallin, Associate Professor of German, and
Dr. Richard Utz, Chair and Professor, Literature, Media, and Communication
Those who describe migration as an invasion want to denounce: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos in September this year
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / October 7, 2019 / photo by AP
Another example of a photo dominated by a large group of men appearing to be invading instead of migrating, this photo was published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on October 7, 2019, along with the article „75.000 Asylbewerber im Jahr sind gesellschaftlich verkraftbar“ (75,000 asylum seekers per year are socially manageable). To further emphasize the thought of migration as an invasion, the caption reads "Wer Migration als Invasion beschreibt, will diffamieren: Flüchtlinge auf der griechischen Insel Lesbos im September dieses Jahres" (Those who describe migration as an invasion want to denounce: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos in September this year) and the photo is credited to the AP.
The article published in the politics section of the newspaper reports on the unusual circumstances that die Grüne The Green Party) support the 25% refugee quota for Germany proposed by the Federal Minister of the Interior Seehofer (CSU). Surprisingly, criticism of the proposed policy is coming from their own party within the CDU/CSU, in which Thorsten Frei, the deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, warns against a permanent redistribution of migrants in the EU. Other members of the party are also quoted a not explicitly taking a side, but discouraging relying on quotas and the business model of tugboats as it creates a pull-effect.
While the discussion in the article surrounds boat refugees, ironically the image selected to accompany the article is not one of the refugees on a boat, but rather recently landed on the island of Lesbos in Greece, presumably by boat. The men pictured are predominantly dark-skinned and all carry multiple bags of luggage, again adding to the feelings of "invasion" the article is working to generate. One of the men in the center of the frame carries a bright blue tote bag with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) logo across the bag, another factor identifying him as a refugee. The photographer's position directly across from the group, looking slightly up towards the men, creates a sense of largeness among the men, adding to the threatening nature once again.