Europe still has strides to make in its handling of and reporting on the Syrian refugee crisis, according to two European journalists.
Humphrey fellows Marta Cerava and Darko Ivanovic, from Latvia and Montenegro, said during a lecture at the Cronkite School on Wednesday that extreme nativist and anti-refugee sentiment was widespread throughout Europe at the height of the crisis. The event was part of the school’s Global Conversations series.
Cerava, a managing editor and digital content planner, said leaders in her country have espoused harsh rhetoric toward refugees. Cerava said Latvia, with a population of about 2 million, had agreed to accept 531 refugees up to this point.
“Politicians have used this as a new way to polarize society against each other,” Cerava said.
Latvia’s population, aside from being made up of native Latvians, is composed of other Eastern European ethnic groups who are mostly Christian. Cerava said this demographic makeup contributes to hostile attitudes toward refugees in Latvia.
Right-wing politicians and the press also circulated falsified information about the refugees, Cerava said.
Latvia’s history shaped the current population’s attitudes toward the refugees, according to Cerava. Latvia was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and, during the course of the more than 40-year Soviet occupation, about one-third of the Latvian population was deported to Siberia. As a result, several hundred thousand Russians moved to the small Baltic state, altering the country’s ethnic makeup.
Ivanovic said his upbringing in Montenegro shaped his view of the refugees. At this time, Montenegro was in the middle of the Balkan ethnic conflicts of the 1990s. Growing up in that environment, Ivanovic was surrounded by immigrants and refugees.
“I had to wait in lines that were miles long to get a liter of milk and one loaf of bread,” Ivanovic said.
The number of refugees in Europe jumped from 2,019 in 2014 to 350,000 in 2015, Ivanovic said. Europe reacted by closing off rather than being open to the incoming refugees.
“Europe has a policy to close and shut its borders and not do a damn thing,” Ivanovic said.
Also speaking at the event was Humphrey fellow Criselda Marie Z. Caringal, a documentary producer from the Philippines. She presented clips from her documentary, which depicts the harsh and overcrowded conditions of the Filipino prison system. Her documentary focused specifically on the boxing and dancing activities in which inmates are encouraged to participate.
Before the event concluded, Ivanovic criticized the European media for its coverage of the refugee crisis.
Ivanovic showed tabloid headlines labeling the incoming refugees as a “horde”. He alleged the coverage was comparable to how zombies are presented in apocalypse-themed television shows and movies. He then showed clips comparing news coverage of the refugee crisis with clips from the film “World War Z” to demonstrate his point.
However, Ivanovic stressed that he knew from experience what happened in countries with large amounts of refugees and immigrants.
“Nothing happens to us,” Ivanovic said. “They’re our friends and neighbors.”
Contact the reporter at Daniel.Perle@asu.edu.
