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[eportfoliorebeka]

Create your own version of page 103 in Undocumented. You might draw a particular space of containment (e.g. the shape of a country?) or you might photograph yourself in an actual contained space. Be creative with demonstrating the way bodies can be creative within constrictive built environments.

Above link should lead to Youtube video. It is an ‘unlisted’ video so please let me know if the link does not work for you, although it should!

[eportfoliorebeka]

(Required) “One Thing I Have Learned”

My biggest takeaway from this course is that there are layers to every geopolitical issue we see in the news, not just a single point of view on them. During the first module of this course, Dr. Glanville mentioned in her audio lecture how her decision of who she votes for in Canada, has an effect on how people experience reality in other areas of the globe. At the time, this made only partial sense to me, but I was intrigued to learn more about that idea. It began to make sense when we discussed the critical refugee studies. In Nguyen and Fung’s article, when discussing the current displacement of people, they include how “those people wouldn’t have left hadn’t it been for regional conflicts of which the US has a hand in.” Reading this made it click for me. I fully realized that most of the time, conflicts that happen in the countries of are caused by political interests, being controlled by money and often more powerful countries influence these occurrences. This point was clarified to me further in the course as we read Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do. In Bui’s story, she shifts refugee narratives in many ways as she looks to solve the problems she is currently facing. In doing so, she traces her family history back through many years of time and the tribulations her family heritage has faced. She reveals how they have been affected by colonialism and related conflict for generations. Further on in the course, we discussed migrant detention in Canada. Being from Vancouver, this aspect of the course was really introspective for me. Learning about the unjust ways migrant detainees are treated and punished for doing nothing to harm anyone else is vile. It gave me a visceral feeling of it being immoral for Canada to portray itself as a multicultural, inviting country, when in reality Canada treats migrant detainees with no courtesy.

Before this course, I had never situated my political alignments on a global scale. I have learned that every choice I make of who I support, who I vote for and the media I consume, has layers to it, and may affect the livelihood of someone else in the world. It will now be my duty to share the insights I have learned and the stories such as Sea Prayer, Undocumented and The Best We Could Do, with the people I become in touch with. And I am happy to do so.

I illustrated this image to represent all of the layers of learning and unlearning I have done through this course, a self portrait in a sense. These ‘layers’ are symbolized by the many hands. From the recurring theme of “giving a face to the faceless” in discussions, and inspired by the media we’ve seen throughout this course where visuals of people do not include faces, neither does this drawing. This symbolizes standing in solidarity with my forced migrant counterparts who are often not portrayed as complex human beings in mainstream media. For me, it is also a way to express my distaste for the eurocentricity and dehumanization of refugees, migrants, and displaced people in the media, if they don’t have a “face” or “voice” in the media, neither will I.

[eportfoliorebeka]

Choose one text or piece of media from this term and produce a lexicon specific to its representation of refugee cultures. The lexicon will provide definitions for a list of 8-10 keywords. Definitions must go beyond dictionary definition

Alchemy

A process of transformation or change, seeming mystic or unbelievable. A branch of natural philosophy. According to Merriam Webster’s definition of alchemy, it was also the practise of those who aimed to turn base metals into gold, which would have been the discovery of a universal cure for diseases

Related topic(s): Alchemical Humanitarianism.

When the word alchemy is applied in alchemical humanitarianism, it may seem confusing. However, it signifies a transformation process from one to another (from one method of practising humanitarianism to another.) It also signifies the objective of finding a universal solution to something and since alchemical humanitarianism looks at the causes of humanitarian conflicts, it too aims to find a proactive solution rather than responding reactively. 

Alchemical Humanitarianism

A sect of humanitarianism dedicated to helping those in immediate suffering and also looks at causes of issues. Alchemical humanitarianism involves a paradigm shift from the other form of humanitarianism (see: emergency humanitarianism) as it takes providing aid a step further. Instead of giving out food/items/money to those who need it, alchemical humanitarianism sees to it that those suffering will have the capabilities to continue having their needs met for a sustained period of time. For example, alchemical humanitarianism would address if undernourished people are able to grow food and if people needing health care can access medical attention. Rather than just providing help once in a dire situation, alchemical humanitarianism is multidisciplinary.

Apolitical

Absence of political affiliation. An apolitical stance may look like a person or institution having an unbiased opinion towards political matters.

There is common debate in regard to the apolitical stance, in which it is argued that everything is political and it is impossible to be completely neutral in political stance.

Border

A distinct boundary separating two (or more) areas of something. 

Borders are commonly used to describe the geographical separation between one country and another. Borders may also describe a political separation between two (or more) locations. The term border is not specific to different countries, a border can also separate communities, cities or other regions that are within a country.

Borders are usually barriers, keeping people from entering into another country without permission from the state.

Displaced

Past tense

Something or someone that has been forced to move out of its original or preferred location. 

Whether the subject be an object or person, once it has been labeled as displaced, this wording signifies that it once had a proper location to exist in and no longer does. 

Humanitarianism 

Belief or action dedicated to preserving human well being. Humanitarianism entails valuing the lives of all humans, that we are all equal and have inviolable rights. Humanitarianism includes informal institutions, laws and rhetoric that impel others to help protect the world’s most at-risk groups. It is also referred to as the attempt to alleviate the suffering of distant strangers (Barnett, 2014.) At first, the idea of humanitarianism was created to help soldiers. Since then, humanitarianism has broadened who it includes in its definition, as it now cares for anyone needing help alleviating immediate and long-term conditions of suffering (Barnet, 2014.)

Formally, there are two different categories of humanitarianism. 

Related topic(s): emergency humanitarianism and alchemical humanitarianism. 

Emergency Humanitarianism

A form of humanitarianism (see humanitarianism) focused on alleviating immediate peril. Emergency humanitarianism remains neutral in political matters, in hopes of not involving in harming or benefiting one side of a connected party that has a political outcome of the emergency (Barnett, 2014.) 

By centering its work on helping those who need to be kept alive, emergency humanitarianism can be critiqued for being limited as it does not work at alleviating the root cause of a catastrophe.

Refugee

Someone who has been forced to leave their current place of living. Often refugees must leave to flee persecution or violence, new considerations of refugees include those who must leave due to environmental disasters. 

Often times when creating a sympathetic image of a refugee, their experiences can be reduced to a single story or emotion (Punathambekar, 2017.) This feeds into stereotypical tropes about refugees.

Synonyms include: displaced person, asylum seeker, forced migrant, etc.

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the full capacity  for a body of people to govern/direct itself. Most countries are sovereign countries, as they have their own government, own laws and lead themselves, as opposed to countries being led by a governing body from elsewhere. State sovereignty makes it difficult for forces from outside of one country to intervene in a crisis within the borders of another. 

In international law, Sovereignty is considered to be power being exercised by a state (Barnett, 2014.)

UNHCR

An abbreviation for ‘United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.’ This sect of the UN (United Nations) was created in the 1950s, in response to the amount of displaced people resulting from World War II. The UNHCR’s main goal is to guarantee the ability to seek asylum and ensure safety can be found in a different state. The UNHCR wants to find sustainable solutions for refugee claimants. 

At the inception of UNHCR, it was only concerned with people who had to cross an international border, people facing violence and did work in rural regions. However it has since evolved to broaden its reach, caring for those facing internal displacement, those displaced by environmental disasters and includes doing work in urban settings.

[eportfoliorebeka]

Use 250-300 words to reflect on the ethics of journalism in regards to the Alan Kurdi photo.

In September 2015, the body of Aylan Kurdi, a three year old Syrian boy washed up on the shore of Greece, becoming the symbol of the refugee crisis. A journalist took Aylan’s photo and once shared, immediately went viral. The photo has become a contentious topic in relation to the ethics of journalism. One of the biggest critiques of the mass of the virality of this image is if it is fair to spread the image of the deceased Aylan. 

The journalist who took Aylan’s photo Nilufer Demir, worked for DHA, a press agency in Turkey. Her boss decided to distribute the photos, uncensored, leaving the decision to the editors in charge of other media whether to blur Aylan’s face or not. Normally, journalism ethics necessitate having permission before releasing photos of someone to the public but in Aylan’s case, DHA only included a footnote saying “It was too late for us to ask this innocent child for permission”(Sea of Pictures, 2016.) One of the biggest critiques of the virality of this image is if it is fair to spread the image of the deceased Aylan. 

The virality of Aylan’s photo began within the first two hours, a chain reaction of relevant people and journalists sharing it. Suddenly, Aylan Kurdi became a symbol of the refugee condition, as his photo was shared and reproduced internationally. 

Seeing this image had a visceral emotional affect for most people viewing this image. For some, seeing it pushed them to incite change and for others, it evoked empathy for their overseas human counterparts. Another aspect of the moral dilemma of the photo, is if it is ethical to make people feel upset about it, or maybe would it be unethical not to make people feel bad about it? It is difficult to determine the reason why a photo is used, but there is ethical contention surrounding using this photo for rhetorical purposes and to purposefully play to the ethos of the viewers. 

Another dissension of the reproduction of the photo is the toll endured by Aylan’s father, Abdullah Kurdi. The picture of his son became an abstraction, belonging to everyone. In a sense, Abdullah “became victim of the symbol” (Sea of Pictures, 2016,) as he has lost his son while an image of him is public matter. 

The shareability of the photo had many reasons, from the shock value to wanting to humanize the plight of Syrian refugees. But was it fair to use Aylan to “hock the world, because shocking things are happening”(Sea of Pictures, 2016)?

[eportfoliorebeka]

Use 250-300 words to explain what the 360 perspective in Sea Prayer does to shift common refugee narratives.

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini, is a short story in the form of a succinct letter from father to son. This story is powerful, symbolic and introspective, it shifts common tropes of the refugee narrative. 

Sea Prayer begins its narration with the anonymous father telling his son, Marwan, about life in Syria before any crises began. As the father describes how life in Syria was before Marwan’s time, the audience sees how he was once able to love his country as those in the west love theirs. From an early point of the story, we can already see a shift in refugee narratives. Typically, accounts of the refugee experience never include someone’s story from peaceful years in the country prior to political violence and how serene it once was. Refugee narratives never begin with a focus on peacefulness. Often, we are bombarded by large numbers to incite emotion from audiences. Sea prayer begins with lovely watercolor drawings of the countryside, depicting peaceful times yearned for by the father.

Due to stereotyping, xenophobia and generalization, refugees are often portrayed in the media as being problematic. Another common trope in refugee portrayal involves “giving a voice to the voiceless a face to the faceless.”  Hosseini’s story goes beyond such damaging tropes, the refugees are not shown as troublesome or as people needed us, but as families, parents and children who love one another like we love each other. 

In several ways, Sea Prayer centers the story around the lives of the characters, instead of situating their lives in geopolitical matters. We don't actually see the family’s journey on the boat, never knowing if they reached the land they wished to. This shits refugee narratives, as we normally just hear news stories of the aftermath of those who had to flee their country. As we learn how Marwan and his friends have turned bomb craters into swimming pools, it highlights the universal childlike nature to any situation into an opportunity for fun and games. This belies the depraved politics that disrupt the lives of refugees.

Marwan’s story is one of resilience instead of disaster stricken. All of these aspects and more, make Sea Prayer a unique story on the refugee narrative.

[eportfoliorebeka]

Based on the required and optional readings in Module 1, come up with a visual metaphor for the international refugee regime (eg. a tree). Map the international refugee regime using that image and a combination of symbols and text. Include somewhere in the map a representation of the role of media and refugee cultures.

The idea of this one is that all of the little bodies are parts of the bigger body.

[eportfoliorebeka]

Imitate the style of The Best We Could Do to compose three panels about a time in your life when you experienced one of these three themes: you felt someone expected you to perform gratitude; your interpretation of your own life was doubted or challenged by another person.

[eportfoliorebeka]

Rewrite the lyrics of “We Are the World” to make it fit with a critical refugee studies perspective. Double points if you record a performance of it! 

There comes a time 

To realize our shortfall

That weve viewed all their stories as one

Most of them are outlying

The one dimensional… outlook

That they are alllllll

Carrying on

Broken and sad everyday

passive recipients of western generosity

Lets show them love, know theyre not all from tragedy

Lets debut, that we fully want them to succeed

   We’re all the world

We’re all the children

We view refugees as just needing our giving

And what's really aching

Is we need to re-conceptualize

The way in which we portray, the refugees

Oh, let's show support

But also be aware

This isn't the fault of just nobody

Keep in mind colonial processes 

War and displacement effects too

That could really help from me and you

   We’re all the world

We’re all the children

We view refugees as just needing our giving

And what's really aching

Is we need to re-conceptualize

The way in which we portray, the refugees

Its true displaced people don't just say “rescue me”

[eportfoliorebeka]

Imagine you want to tell someone's story in a video, but they can't be identified due to their precarious status. You want them to be visible, but not hypervisible. Use 250-300 words to propose a visual and textual approach to video that takes these concerns into account.

To tell someone’s story in a way that would secure their anonymity, I would suggest working with the individual to create a project together. For a visual approach, I would want to start out by talking to them about their story to the extent that they are comfortable sharing. After I would work together to find what kind of video would represent them best i.e.; stop-motion, animation, documentary style. I would want the individual to help me decide a colour palette for the video, because colours in media can influence the tone of the video and this affect how the story is perceived by viewers. If the individual wanted the video to have a somber theme, we would look at grey/ brown/ muted colour palettes, if they wanted the video to feel inspiring we would look at light/ yellow/ blue/ bright colour palettes. After this, I would ask the individual if they would like to help me choose any symbolism for the video, as symbolism will aid in contextualizing and reflecting the complexity of the story.

For a textual approach to the video, I would begin with creating a mind map with the individual to find out how to portray their story through words. This would allow me to find out what kinds of terms they would prefer to be referenced to, as in do they prefer the term refugee/asylum seeker/displaced person, because different language choices may be loaded with varying connotations. The individual would be able to choose the text font, text color, bold ness and text size, so they are in control of where emphatic qualities of the text lay. 

Either through video or textual, I would want to have the individual at the center stage of how the story is told so they are in control of their own narrative. 

[eportfoliorebeka]

Use 250-300 words to describe how the narrative and visual forms of Border Story enact Critical/Cultural Refugee Studies.

In many circumstances wherein someone wants to capture the attention of others, they will present a shocking fact or statistic to do so. In the context of talking about refugees/ refugee studies, we often see large numbers in statements such as “6 million people have been displaced this year” to entice people to ensue action. The problem with this method is it can make people focus too much on the present state of things and forget about the history that lead up to the issue and even also forget about the future state of that issue. In Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do she traces political forces and other global conflicts that have affected her lineage, all the way back to the B.C. era. By doing this, Thi Bui is enacting critical refugee studies. 

Critical refugee studies views refugees as an area for social and political critiques instead of an issue that just needs an answer or fix. By tracing Thi Bui and her family’s current situation backwards throughout history, she illustrates generational impacts of various events. What is often left out in common refugee rhetoric is how unjust occurrences towards a social group in the past, is affecting them in the present. The way Bui went deeper than just the present, we can see that colonial processes and political conflicts from previous years had accumulated tensions and how the Vietnamese population was already carrying political trauma.  

Thi Bui’s entire approach is interdisciplinary as she intersects the present with past and trauma with art, offering a narrative that doesn't frame a refugee is unidimensional or problematic. She simultaneously enacts critical refugee studies and cultural refugee studies in her graphic novel