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1. Orwell’s 1984 opens with Winston Smith writing in his diary about a film he’s seen. “One very good one of a ship full of refugees being bombed somewhere in the Med. Audience much amused”.
Responding to #Farage’s “shocking invasion” tweet, someone suggested sinking the dinghy.
Responding to #Farage’s “shocking invasion” tweet, someone suggested sinking the dinghy.
2. Earlier this year I wrote about why the language we use to talk about refugees matters.
If left unchallenged, right-wing populists will increasingly frame the conversation & the language we use through fear-mongering & the weaponisation of prejudice. https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/10/europe-in-2020-not-orwell-s-1984-the-language-we-use-to-talk-about-refugees-matter-view
If left unchallenged, right-wing populists will increasingly frame the conversation & the language we use through fear-mongering & the weaponisation of prejudice. https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/10/europe-in-2020-not-orwell-s-1984-the-language-we-use-to-talk-about-refugees-matter-view
3. The language of invasion - of being "overrun" or besieged with "swarms" or "floods" of aliens - is nothing new.
It is also not just the domain of the tabloid newspapers.
In March, @nytimes captioned an excellent piece saying police used rubber bullets "to repel the hordes".
It is also not just the domain of the tabloid newspapers.
In March, @nytimes captioned an excellent piece saying police used rubber bullets "to repel the hordes".
4. This dangerous language has become increasingly mainstream.
It trips off the tongues of populist political leaders who stoke xenophobia, fear & nationalism to gain & retain power, erecting fences & walls as the physical embodiments of their prejudice.
It trips off the tongues of populist political leaders who stoke xenophobia, fear & nationalism to gain & retain power, erecting fences & walls as the physical embodiments of their prejudice.
5. Words can stigmatize refugees, migrants & others - (look what Trump is trying to do with #antifa) giving legitimacy to a discourse of racism, hatred & xenophobia.
If we do not act, we will be destroyed, not by migrants, but by the fear of migrants. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/03/why-the-language-we-use-to-talk-about-refugees-matters/
If we do not act, we will be destroyed, not by migrants, but by the fear of migrants. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/03/why-the-language-we-use-to-talk-about-refugees-matters/
6. Seventy years after the publication of 1984, many aspects of Orwell’s vision – from omnipresent mass surveillance to the creeping influence of Newspeak – have become commonplace.
We must act decisively to ensure that our treatment of refugees doesn't become equally dystopian.
We must act decisively to ensure that our treatment of refugees doesn't become equally dystopian.
7. And so it continues! Tomorrow’s @DailyMailUK front page.
Priti Patel: Send in navy to tackle migrant crisis
“A furious @pritipatel backed sending the Royal Navy into the Channel after a record number of migrants reached Britain.” (250 arrived in UK yesterday).
Priti Patel: Send in navy to tackle migrant crisis
“A furious @pritipatel backed sending the Royal Navy into the Channel after a record number of migrants reached Britain.” (250 arrived in UK yesterday).
8. “If you’re surprised by the rise of the right, you weren’t paying attention” @garyyounge
“Populist nationalists leads the way on intn'l political cooperation” @Elif_Safak
"We built a psychological warfare tool" to hollow out democracies @chrisinsilico https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1125022414860095490
“Populist nationalists leads the way on intn'l political cooperation” @Elif_Safak
"We built a psychological warfare tool" to hollow out democracies @chrisinsilico https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1125022414860095490
9. This video by @wkamaubell explains how the neo-Nazis who grab the headlines are just the tip of an iceberg.
But the iceberg is even bigger.
It has a well-funded intn’l disinformation machine, & has infiltrated institutions & even some of our govts.
But the iceberg is even bigger.
It has a well-funded intn’l disinformation machine, & has infiltrated institutions & even some of our govts.
10/. “We’re now at the very beginning stages of a very brutal & bloody conflict.” Steven Bannon, 2014
For the populists, the enemy in this conflict are migrants/refugees from the Middle East, Africa & Asia
This footage of Greek Coast Guard is from March
For the populists, the enemy in this conflict are migrants/refugees from the Middle East, Africa & Asia
This footage of Greek Coast Guard is from March
