The Impact of Language on Refugees

“You’re not welcome”. Go home. Go back to where you came from.

This is what migrants fleeing from violence, climate disaster, and persecution hear from European leaders. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right French party, referred to migrants as “slaves”. Le Pen also compared the wave of migrants to a barbarian invasion. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron called migrants a “swarm”. Several prominent politicians made claims of migrants bringing parasites, epidemics, and diseases (many of which have vaccines) into Europe. The list is endless.  

In 2015, 1.3 million migrants applied for asylum in Europe, sparking the largest refugee crisis in modern history. This massive influx of migrants came to Europe seeking asylum after violence and conflict in their countries of origin led to displacement. Today, there are 80 million people who have been forcibly displaced—one percent of the world population. 

The crisis has caused division within the European Union, creating polarization between states that want to provide asylum for migrants, and those who refuse. Politicians and media sources have resorted to harmful language to stigmatize people on the move, turning human lives into pawns for political action. This language breeds a hostile, unwelcoming environment, and makes life as a migrant even more difficult. 

How Do We Define Migrants? 

There are a variety of labels used to define migrants. These definitions are often used interchangeably in media and politics, despite the crucial legal differences between the terms. Here are the main legal definitions from the United Nations:

1. Migrant: Any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence regardless of  (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is. However, this definition is an umbrella term created by the UN Migration Agency; there is no universally accepted legal definition for “migrant”.  

2. Irregular Migrant: A person who migrates “outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit, and receiving countries. This term can be used in place of “illegal” migrant.

3. Asylum Seeker: A person who seeks safety from persecution or serious harm in a country other than his or her own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status.

4. Refugee:  A person who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinions is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to go back.  You can read about the protections that refugees receive via non-refoulement in Grace’s climate refugees article. 

5. Internally Displaced Person (IDP): Persons forced or obliged to flee in order to avoid effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed any internationally recognized State border.

Why Language Matters to Refugees

It is imperative that we are intentional in the language that we use to define refugees because it impacts their humanity. There is a long history of harmful language that dehumanizes people entering Europe. In the late 1800s, a wave of anti-Semitism in Russia led to Pogroms that caused a mass exodus of Jewish people. The systematic persecution of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire—what now is recognized as the Armenian genocide—created a stateless population of almost 5 million people. The magnitude of the refugee crisis following World War II led to the creation of the laws and policies on refugees that the world follows today, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNHCR. As the world attempts to address a humanitarian crisis of this size, language of invasion continues to be used to vilify people crossing borders. The reinforcement of anti-refugee rhetoric pollutes the opportunity to create long-term solutions and offer safety to those in need.

The reinforcement of anti-refugee rhetoric pollutes the opportunity to create long-term solutions and offer safety to those in need.

Security concerns drive this language of invasion; references to ‘threats’ on Europe or ‘illegal’ migrants have been used with a specific intent to stigmatize migrants. The use of harmful language by populist European politicians has encouraged the mainstream dehumanization of migrants. This has helped to motivate a wave of xenophobic and racist leaders in Europe. These leaders cultivate a toxic environment that gives politicians justification for closing borders, building fences, and imposing legal barriers to asylum.

The lives of migrants and refugees are affected by the connotation of irregular entry.  By justifying the criminalization of migration, leaders in Europe have thrown migrants out to the wolves, or in some cases, to the sharks. If these prejudiced policies remain unchallenged, they will continue to impact the language that we use to understand human migration through alarmist, hate-based tactics.  

How To Take Action

On an individual level, we can all make changes to use language that is inclusive, thoughtful, and person-centered. Regardless of our situation, we are all human beings who should treat each other with a certain level of kindness and respect. Crossing a border and seeking out a better life does not make someone “illegal”. Call out your friends, your co-workers, and your family when they use harmful language.

Has your workplace or school offered anti-bias training? Training sessions alone may not solve the issue, but can be a step in the right direction.  Language plays an enormous role in unconscious bias—raising awareness about the language we use on an everyday basis will create a significant impact. 

Finally, you can write into newspapers, blogs, and other media sources when they use language that negatively affects migrants. Many online sources have a comment section for readers where you can leave an opinion.  

As individuals, we can take action that creates incremental change. It is up to all of us to work together and advocate for international organizations and European states to take accountability and provide a safe haven for those who are in need.