Friday, 30 November 2018

Calling this exodus a 'migrant caravan' obscures the heart of the matter | Mark Isaacs

We need a new term that acknowledges the dire circumstances that have caused Central Americans to leave their homes

When I first heard of the “migrant caravan” I thought it was a grossly inadequate way to describe this mass movement of people. The more I have learned about the movement, the more convinced I am of its inappropriateness as a definition. Thus far, I have been using it for social media purposes but I want to break down the terminology.

The term “migrant” is a misnomer. It gives the impression that these people have similar situations to us. It implies they can apply for a visa, get a job and relocate their families the legal way just like an Australian might migrate to the United Kingdom for work. It is misleading to use the term migrants for a group of people who are fleeing criminal violence, authoritarian governments, corrupt security forces, economic failure and extreme poverty. It is misleading to imply that these people have the same opportunities to migrate as people from Australia, the US or other wealthy nations.

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