Hur bilden av Alan Kurdi framställdes i svensk nyhetsrapportering under september 2015

Abstract

As a consequence of the Arab Spring, 2015 became a turbulent year marked by a record number of people fleeing to Europe, the largest movement of displaced people since the Second World War. Media reports about those forced to leave their homes in search of safer and better lives often followed a recurring pattern in which refugees were portrayed as anonymous groups, reduced to statistics, or even dehumanized. This study examines 24 Swedish newspaper articles published in September 2015, all covering Alan Kurdi and his tragic death with the aim of exploring how narratives about him were constructed and how these narratives relate to earlier portrayals of people fleeing conflict and displacement. Using a qualitative narrative analysis, informed by frame analysis and through thematic analysis, the material was examined through the lens of theories of humanization and dehumanization. This study also considers how media portrayals of migrants and refugees can influence political discourse and public perceptions. In relation to previous studies on the representation and portrayal of refugees, it quickly became clear that Alan Kurdi represented an exception to this pattern. He and his family were portrayed as individuals with their own thoughts, feelings, fears and personal histories. Empathy and identification were evident throughout the articles. Alan came to symbolize the refugee crisis and became a representation of the Syrian people forced to flee. Another recurring pattern in the material was how his story and death were used politically by journalists and commentators to argue for change in migration politics. His death was framed as a possible turning point as a call for more human migration policies in both Sweden and the European Union, with hopes that Alan’s case would become the last tragic death in the Mediterranean Sea. The portrayal of Alan in these articles therefore marked a clear break from the broader media pattern in which people fleeing are often described in generalized and dehumanizing ways.