Representation of Refugees in the Western News as Victims and a Threat

A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This paper investigated the representation of refugees in Western news with reference to the Guardian newspaper that covers global humanitarian crises. Adopting critical discourse analysis, the discursive practices used in this paper are analysed with the concept of security and securitization of migrants in the context of a global pandemic as the main analysis framework. It examined the representation of Libyan refugees in a Guardian newspaper article, which created a major controversy in the media after its publication. Based on this newspaper article, the study highlights that evolving immigration policies have changed the refugee discourse, including the individuals’ health situation and travel restrictions. Also, the lockdown during the global COVID pandemic added to the discrimination and inequalities that the refugees face. Some linguistic tools selected for the analysis help in understanding whether this representation has contributed to the victimization or the alienation of the refugees in Libya in the event of the outbreak.