Concept: Refugee

Definition: (noun) a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

Related Terms: exile, alien, migrant

Description: Two starkly opposing representations of refugees exist in the popular realm. There is the refugee who is forced to flee his or her homeland but brings great distinction and talent to the country that gives them shelter. They are often artists or scientists, philosophers or entrepreneurs. In the early twentieth century, European Jews forced to flee Hitler and the Nazis were the prototype of this kind of refugee. Others moved from war-torn areas to practice their art. They came to New York, London, or Paris and enjoyed successful careers there. “We refugees must become absorbed in this atmosphere, “ wrote the modernist painter Fernand Léger (1881-1955) of the American milieu where he had relocated, “[We] must hold fast in this luminous, electric intensity; [in America] life is burned up.” Through their paintings, sculpture, films and radio programs, these refugees found new ways to make sense of their experiences as well as to contribute and critique the culture of the host societies.

The more familiar image of the refugee, however, frequently flashed on television screens across the world is one of anonymity and abjection. The refugee as stateless and homeless, trekking long distances to escape war, famine, or natural disasters has become the paradigm of the young 21st century. In 2007, a fifteen-year old Sudanese boy from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya produced a drawing showing a long line of people walking barefoot and carrying their belongings on their heads, with some skeletal figures in the foreground. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees had sponsored art produced by refugees on the experience of being a refugee. Another quintessential image is of a tiny boat or raft crowded with people and surrounded by water. In 2015-16, many photographers have been documenting such journeys. A third kind of refugeeism is, according to the Palestinian-American writer and scholar Edward Said, less visible. This pertains to those who are internally displaced, having become refugees in their own homeland. Media makers have sought to give voice to these groups through song, performance, and film. The core question in all of the above is the degree to which images create enough of a knowledge base for conditions to change.

S.C. 2016

 

“We wanted to run, but we had to walk because we were tired and so hot and hungry. In my picture the people are wearing clothes, but of course we didn’t have any clothes. We saw people dying, it was always the young ones, the hungry ones and the old ones.”

— David Kumcieng, Kakuma Refugee Camp, 2007

Related entries

Video game: The Night Fisherman (2020)

November 7, 2023

The Night Fisherman (2020) by Far Few Giants is a narrative-driven adventure game. As a short, free game that may be played through in about… Read more

Video game: Papers, Please (2013)

November 3, 2023

Described as a “dystopian document thriller,” Papers, Please is a 2013 video game designed by Lucas Pope and published by 3090 across several platforms. Playing… Read more

Limbo (2020)

November 15, 2021

A gently emotional story about a group of asylum seekers awaiting for their results on a fictional remote Scottish island. Among them is Omar, a… Read more

For Sama (2019)

November 15, 2021

A self-shot, intimate and visceral documentary, BAFTA-award-winning For Sama is a journey through motherhood during the bombings of the Syrian Civil War. Waad al-Kateab’s first… Read more

Sky and Ground (2018)

November 15, 2021

Following the arduous journey of the Syrian-Kurdish Nabi family from Aleppo to Germany, this movie manages to vividly depict the struggles of one three-generation family… Read more

Myanmar’s Killing Fields (2018)

November 15, 2021

At the end of 2018, the report said, 1.1 million of the world’s refugees were from Myanmar, which saw a violent government crackdown on the… Read more

Exodus (2016) & Exodus: The Journey Continues (2017)

November 15, 2021

In Exodus, FRONTLINE told the epic, first-hand stories of refugees and migrants fleeing countries including Syria, Afghanistan and The Gambia, who made dangerous journeys across… Read more

On the Brink of Famine (2016)

November 15, 2021

Another 2.3 million refugees, according to the report, are from South Sudan — where a brutal civil war has sparked a man-made hunger crisis and… Read more

Children of Syria (2016)

November 15, 2021

Some 6.7 million people — more than a quarter of the global refugee population — have fled brutal violence in Syria, the report said. This… Read more

The Good Postman (2016)

November 15, 2021

Directed by  Tonislav Hristov, this film follows Ivan, the local postman in a quiet Bulgarian community on the Turkish border, as he decides to run… Read more

Stranger in paradise (2016)

November 15, 2021

Directed by Guido Hendrikx, Stranger in Paradise is a mixture of fiction and documentary that depicts an actor in a classroom of a detention center… Read more

4.1 Miles (2016)

November 15, 2021

  Directed by Daphne Matziaraki, 4.1 Miles is a story about a Hellenic coast guard captain on a small Greek island who suddenly becomes in… Read more

The Power of Cartoons in Global Education: An Interview with Christian Clark

July 27, 2020

Conducted by Sumita S. Chakravarty  A former cartoonist and two-time Emmy-award winning writer for the Children’s Television Workshop flagship show, Sesame Street, Christian Clark works… Read more

European citizens want information on migration – not higher walls

December 6, 2017

Despite being bombarded with headlines about the “migrant crisis” facing Europe, little is really known about how European citizens perceive and experience migration in their… Read more

US border agents checking Facebook profiles, lawyer says

December 6, 2017

Should what’s on your Facebook page be a factor in determining whether you’re allowed to re-enter the United States? That’s a question to ponder in… Read more

The Digital Footprint of Europe’s Refugees

December 6, 2017

Migrants leaving their homes for a new country often carry a smartphone to communicate with family that may have stayed behind and to help search for border… Read more

List of academic conferences on migration (2016-2017)

December 3, 2017

2016–17 “MIGRATION AND COMMUNICATION FLOWS: RETHINKING BORDERS, CONFLICT AND IDENTITY THROUGH THE DIGITAL” November 2-3 2017 – Bilbao, Spain “We are faced with a crisis… Read more

Mohsin Hamid’s migration tale in Booker shortlist

September 17, 2017

The Pakistani-born Mohsin Hamid’s fourth novel, “Exit West,” takes the current Middle Eastern migrant crisis and injects a wizardry, an allegorical urgency, that declares this… Read more

List of academic articles on migration (1981 to 2016)

December 3, 2016

2011-2016 Scott Blinder and William L. Allen. “Constructing Immigrants: Portrayals of Migrant Groups in British National Newspapers, 2010–2012.” International Migration Review. Spring 2016. Shepard, Mark. “Minor Urbanism: Everyday Entanglements… Read more

List of academic books on migration (1890s to 2012)

December 3, 2016

2011-12 CELIK, IPEK A. IN PERMANENT CRISIS: ETHNICITY IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN MEDIA AND CINEMA. ANN ARBOR: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS, 2015. MARTIN, Susan. A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS.… Read more

Comic: Myanmar’s Rohingya Refugees

August 2, 2016

Author/illustrator Erik Thurman is an award-nominated creator who specializes in long-form comics journalism and nonfiction comics about current events. On August 1st, 2016, the political… Read more

The Architecture of Displacement

July 14, 2016

More than 500 children live in the refugee camp at Calais, France, which is today a growing town at the mouth of the Chunnel. The… Read more

MSNBC Special: Damned for Trying

May 28, 2016

This project is by MSNBC in partnership with Magnum Photos The largest flow of modern African migration funnels through a single country — Libya. Coming… Read more

Hamsa (2016)

May 9, 2016

“Hamsa is a documentary and educational platform with an audacious goal: motivate viewers to alleviate the Syrian refugee crisis. The short documentary highlights one family’s… Read more

Syrian Refugee’s Viral Story Found Him a Home

May 9, 2016

“Mohsen’s story went viral after he was filmed being tripped up by a camerawoman as he fled police near the Hungarian border with Serbia last… Read more

A New Documentary Takes us Inside Australia’s Refugee Detainment Camps

May 9, 2016

“Over the last few years, the Australian government has been leaning hard into an anti-refugee plan known as “the Pacific Solution.” Created to stop the… Read more

What the Refugee Crisis tells us about Journalism

May 9, 2016

“Take any crisis that makes the headlines — the flow of refugees in the Middle East, Europe and the Horn of Africa; outbreaks of deadly or devastating viruses such… Read more

Refugee social media doesn’t always reflect reality

May 9, 2016

“The Guardian ran an interesting article about Gambian refugees, many of whom are disappointed to discover their lives aren’t much better in Europe than they were… Read more

The Value of Knitting for an Afghan Refugee

April 21, 2016

The short documentary Stitches is the story of a man who finds peace in knitting —after establishing a life in exile as an Afghan refugee… Read more

Francis Alÿs films children’s games in refugee camps in northern Iraq

April 7, 2016

“The artist Francis Alÿs is exploring the idea of a film about children playing in the refugee camps he visited in northern Iraq at the… Read more

The Deadly Journey From Libya’s Migrant Jails

March 31, 2016

From VICE News: “Desperate to escape conflict and poverty, thousands of migrants and refugees attempt the perilous journey to Europe each year, with many crossing… Read more

Caitlin Moran asks “What is a Refugee?”

March 31, 2016

Journalist and author Caitlin Moran recently took to her YouTube channel, Caitlin’s Moranifesto, to ask the questions “What is a Refugee?” and “Why should we be… Read more

Light on the Sea

March 28, 2016

Light on the Sea: One Woman’s Story from the Front Lines of the Refugee Crisis This documentary takes us to the front lines of the… Read more

Fashion Photographer Turns Refugee Crisis Into Offensive High-End Fashion Shoot

March 15, 2016

“Hungarian fashion photographer Norbert Baksa has come under fire for a refugee-themed fashion photo shoot he conceptualized and shot at the Hungarian border. “Der Migrant,”… Read more

Stories of Migration: Contemporary Artists Interpret Diaspora

March 7, 2016

The George Washington University Museum April 16–September 4, 2016 In this juried and invitational exhibition, forty-four artists share personal and universal stories of migration—from historic… Read more

Redesigning Refugee Camps

March 4, 2016

“’An Alternative Handbook for Refugee Camp Design’ responds to increases in both the number of refugees worldwide and the number of years refugees spend in… Read more

The ‘wearable dwelling’ – a coat for refugees that turns into a tent

March 4, 2016

“Design students have created a coat for refugees that can be reconfigured into a tent or a sleeping bag big enough to hold an adult… Read more

The Framing of Space in the European Refugee Crisis

March 4, 2016

“My sister has asked me what my perspective is on the death of thousands of refugees in Europe this summer. Herewith. There is obviously a… Read more

Syrian Refugees Recreate Destroyed Monuments to Always Remember Their Culturally Rich Architecture

March 4, 2016

“From a vantage point here in Za’atari, a group of Syrian artists have taken it upon themselves to recreate miniature models of the monuments that… Read more

Architects Create Homes Refugees Can Build Themselves

March 4, 2016

“Since 2011, over 4 million Syrians have left their homes to avoid the civil war, with roughly 629,000 going to Jordan. A hundred thousand live in… Read more

The Problem With Refugee Camps (Architecture, Design, Planning)

March 4, 2016

“For decades our television screens have been dominated by images of ragged people, hopelessly isolated within political limbo as destitute refugees.  Movies describe refugee camps… Read more

The (In)visible Architecture of Illegalised Refugees

March 4, 2016

“In the last few months groups of refugees have been campaigning to attract attention to their precarious position. Currently their applications for asylum in the Netherlands… Read more

How Refugee Camp Architecture Is Capturing the Power of Shade

March 4, 2016

“Refugee camps set up by governmental agencies, international organizations like the United Nations and the Red Cross, and NGOs provide a place for displaced people… Read more

This Low-Cost Refugee Camp Architecture Is Made From Sand

March 3, 2016

“At the sprawling, city-like Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, the average Syrian refugee is expected to stay as long as 17 years. And yet despite… Read more

Architectures of the Disaster

March 3, 2016

“45.2 million people are currently displaced by conflict and persecution,according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR). The number accords with the 1951 Convention… Read more

Beyond the Tent: Why Refugee Camps Need Architects (Now More than Ever)

March 3, 2016

“In 2013 alone some 1 million people have poured out of Syria to escape a civil conflict that has been raging for over two years.… Read more

The Lotus Flower (2016)

March 1, 2016

From the Director, Jamie Noel: “With special thanks to Maya Konforti and all of our other friends who contributed to this film. This week, a huge… Read more

Fire at Sea (2015)

February 29, 2016

“Fire at Sea, a harrowing documentary about Europe’s refugee crisis, has clinched the Golden Bear top prize from a jury led by Meryl Streep at… Read more

Syrian humanitarian aid in the technology age

February 28, 2016

“The conflict in Syria has left 6.5 million people internally displaced and created more than 2.2 million refugees. The bulk are living in the neighboring… Read more

Sin Maletas: Stories of Refugees from Exile

February 28, 2016

Sin Maletas is an ongoing multimedia journalistic project, started in 2016 by Mexican news outlet Lo Político, that seeks to create awareness of forced migration… Read more

What Does Poland Think of This Offensive Polish Magazine Cover About ‘Islam Raping Europe’?

February 28, 2016

“This week, the popular right-wing Polish magazine wSieci ran a cover that has offended a lot of people. Reason being: It features an image of… Read more

Refugee cat’s epic journey to find family

February 28, 2016

Kunkush the cat was a beloved member of a family who became refugees when they fled Iraq for the safety of Europe. Travelling through Greece,… Read more

Refugee Republic: Interactive Online Documentary

February 28, 2016

Set in the Domiz Syrian refugee camp in northern Iraq, Refugee Republic uses a mixture of illustration, photography, moving image, recorded sound and text to give… Read more

Selfies, Smartphones Bring Comfort To Migrants On Balkan Route

February 28, 2016

Maziad Aloush, a former school teacher fleeing the Syrian war, led his band of refugees through five countries—across the Mediterranean sea and through forests and… Read more

How refugees are using Google Maps, social media to cross borders

February 28, 2016

Europe’s refugee crisis is growing more complicated by the day. European Union interior ministers are set to meet for emergency talks on Monday, after Germany was… Read more

Using Facebook, Cameras, and Cash, Syrian Refugees Are Trying to Save Each Other

February 28, 2016

Mohamad drives with one hand, squinting at the afternoon sun as his phone rings for the fifth time in the past half an hour. The… Read more

The refugee crisis; the power of social media

February 28, 2016

They ran in the dark towards the Austria-Hungary border. Some had flashlights. Some scampered through the shadows. Some were registered under UN regulations, others were… Read more

Syrian Refugees: Canadians Relying On Social Media To Help Newcomers

February 28, 2016

HALIFAX — Val Macdonald says it only took a few minutes before a little red notification popped up on her Facebook page after posting about… Read more

U.S. screening refugees’ social media accounts

February 28, 2016

Homeland Security is now trying to screen the social media accounts of Iraqi and Syrian refugee applicants, an agency chief said, as evidence emerges that… Read more

‘Facebook refugees’ chart escape from Syria on cell phones

February 28, 2016

Refugees and migrants are scattered all across this island. They wash their clothes on the beach below the crumbling ramparts of a 1,400-year-old castle that… Read more

Norway launches anti-refugee advertising campaign

February 28, 2016

Norway’s immigration authorities have launched an advertising campaign in print and social media to deter refugees from seeking asylum in the country, following the controversial… Read more

Denmark advert in Lebanon newspapers warns off refugees

February 28, 2016

Denmark has placed advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers announcing tighter regulations and cuts in provisions for asylum seekers. The advertisement published on Monday said that… Read more

Ai Weiwei Reveals Berlin Installation via Instagram

February 15, 2016

From an article by Lauren Said-Moorhouse for CNN Style: “Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has covered a Berlin landmark with thousands of refugee life jackets for… Read more

Refugee Family Test

February 15, 2016

Refugee Action, an organization that “helps refugees who’ve survived some of the world’s worst regimes […] get the basic support they need to live again with… Read more

Banksy uses Steve Jobs to highlight Refugee Crisis

December 16, 2015

“Banksy has revealed a new artwork, sprayed on a wall in the Calais refugee camp called “the  Jungle,” intended to address negative attitudes towards the… Read more

Mass Migration Guided by Social Media

November 30, 2015

From The Irish Times: “Through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, hundreds of thousands of migrants making for western Europe now rely on smartphones and… Read more

Humans of New York Refugee Stories

November 30, 2015

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees pour into Europe in search of a safe haven from the ongoing civil war, Humans of New York… Read more

Migration in the UK and Politics (Infographic)

November 23, 2015

From the creator, Eduard Buturuga-Pascu: “Just before 2014 started, the media, encouraged by the PM started to spread disinformation about Romanians and Bulgarians immigrants, suggesting… Read more

Europe’s Migrant Crisis (Infographic)

November 23, 2015

Roald Seeliger presents a moving and unconventional infographic describing Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis. Read more

This is Why People Migrate

October 20, 2015

Immigrants, migrants and refugees are often in the news — but why do people get up and leave their homes in the first place? AJ+… Read more

The New Americans (2004)

October 20, 2015

The New Americans is a seven-hour American documentary that was originally broadcast on American television over three nights on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in late… Read more

The Journey

October 20, 2015

Syrian refugee Hashem Alsouki risks his life crossing the Mediterranean, his sights set on Sweden – and freedom for his family.  In the darkness far… Read more

The Global Struggle to Respond to the Worst Refugee Crisis in Generations

October 20, 2015

Eleven million people were uprooted by violence last year, most propelled by conflict in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and Afghanistan. Conflict and extreme poverty have also… Read more

The Migrant Files

October 19, 2015

A database on the more than 28,000 migrants who died on their way to Europe since 2000. Winner of the Datajournalism Awards. Navigate through 2858… Read more

The Forgotten Lives of Refugees

October 19, 2015

Christopher Dickey talks to António Guterres, the United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees, about the world’s desperate, dispirited, and displaced. If there is one faint… Read more

Istanbul Bookstore Caters To Syrian Refugees In Need Of A Good Read

October 18, 2015

After four years of war, Syrians are everywhere in Istanbul — on street corners, squatting in abandoned buildings. But a new venture run by Syrian… Read more

First Days Story Project

October 18, 2015

At American Experience, we believe that stories have the power to inform, inspire, empower, and even heal. We also believe that history is personal and… Read more

Lampedusa Review

October 18, 2015

a brave excursion into the dark waters of mass migration  Anders Lustgarten’s drama boldly contrasts the lives of a fisherman retrieving the bodies of refugees… Read more

Australia Shutting a Door on Asylum

September 20, 2015

 In July of 2013, 100 asylum seekers burned their shelters down in an Australian refugee processing center on Nauru Island.  The incident drew attention to… Read more

Can Kenya Convince Somali Refugees To Head Home?

September 20, 2015

Advertising in connection with migration and refugees is not the first thing that comes to mind, but the connection goes back to the beginnings of… Read more

Aggressive Anti-Immigrant Messaging for Refugees Headed to Christmas Island

September 20, 2015

There is a wide-ranging effort by Australia to discourage refugees from going to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. On the shores of Indonesia, billboard… Read more

Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)

February 13, 2015

Lost Boys of Sudan (2003) Lost Boys of Sudan follows two teenage Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America offering a gripping… Read more

Well Founded Fear (2000)

February 13, 2015

Well Founded Fear (2000) This 2000 documentary is an unprecedented inside look at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), award-winning filmmakers Shari Robertson and Michael… Read more