The Heroes and the Helpless: Conflicting Media Images of Refugees From Burma

Abstract

After a protest against Burma's military government exploded into bloody violence on August 8, 1988, some political dissidents applied for refugee status through the United Nations. Since 1990, nearly 6,000 members of Myanmar's ethnic groups settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The project's overarching question asks: How have photojournalists covered the lives of the Burmese? An archive of photographs published from 1992 through 2012 by Fort Wayne's The Journal Gazette was used for this qualitative analysis. Three major themes emerged: refugees as “freedom fighters,” Aung San Suu Kyi as “superhero,” and Burmese as helpless victims lacking agency. With mounting tensions concerning refugees arriving into Europe, this examination is important because media images may play a role in welcoming and integrating refugees into new communities.

Acknowledgments

My appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Shi Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communications, Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville, and to the reviewers for their careful reading and thoughtful suggestions to improve this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily A. Ehmer

Emily A. Ehmer, PhD, is an assistant professor at Texas State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she teaches strategic communication and mass media and society courses. She studies media texts and images related to migration and strategic communication by organizations concerned with refugee and migrant issues. Her work has been published in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism and Critical Studies in Media Communication. E-mail: [email protected]