Visual Representations of Refugees in German Media 2010 - 2020

Der Spiegel / June 16, 2020 / photo by Maximilian Kohler

A rather different aesthetic than the typical style of photojournalism portrayed in news reporting or creative photo projects being showcased by news organizations, this altered photograph was published by Der Spiegel on June 16, 2020 with the article "Griechenland setzt offenbar Flüchtlinge auf dem Meer aus" (Greece reportedly exposes refugees at sea). It is captioned "Abandoned: The Greek coast guard leaves refugees behind in the Aegean Sea" and is credited to Maximilian Kohler, a Media Computer Science student from Germany. 

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The article describes the attack of the Greek Coast Guard on a refugee boat from the perspective of one of the refugees on board, Amjad Naim. The manipulated photograph, which has taken an original image that we cannot verify as one from the actual event due to a complete lack of identifying features, and cartoonized the subjects, both the refugees in boats and coast guard standing on the bow of the ship. This cartoonization undermines the seriousness of the charges against the Greek coast guard and the solemnness of Naim's story shared in the article. Furthermore, the yellow splotch added in behind the boat is both distracting and in some ways insulting to the refugees, as it could be interpreted as a symbol of the bright future they have been prevented from obtaining due to the violent actions of the Greek Coast Guard. 

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Although perhaps well-intentioned as merely a way to reinvigorate the otherwise tired image of refugees on a boat at sea, through Kohler's manipulation of this photo and through Der Spiegel's decision to publish it with the article, they undermine the otherwise excellent journalism done in the article by reporting Naim's firsthand account of events. 

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