Media Hegemony: The Portrayal of Rohingya Refugees in the Canadian Print Media

The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar's Rakhine state, gained global attention in 2017 due to the Myanmar military's genocide. This study focuses on how the Canadian media portrays the Rohingya minority after their displacement from Myanmar and resettlement in Canada. The primary objective is to analyze how different news outlets depict the Rohingya community, with a secondary goal of contrasting media narratives with the actual experiences of Rohingya migrants in Canada. My research emphasizes prioritizing refugee perspectives both theoretically and methodologically, aiming to engage these voices in dialogue with prevalent stereotypes and misrepresentations. My goal is to understand how our perceptions of these migrants are produced and how they influence refugee settlement. Based on their age, gender, and family background, the fieldwork with the Rohingya people revealed differences of opinion amongst the community about their portrayal in the media. Further, the data shows how different the resettlement journey is for each of these people in a foreign land. The media analysis demonstrated that the Rohingya were often portrayed as helpless victims, rarely discussed Rohingya history, and prioritized refugee camp stories with a significant absence of the Rohingya women's voices in the news. Ultimately the study displays the implication and significance of bringing refugee narratives into the mainstream media as people still fail to understand the crisis on a deeper level.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Chowdhury, Tanjima

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Peric, Sabrina

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Yessenova, Saulesh
• Apentiik, Rowland

• Media
• Canada
• Rohingya

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/46660

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/119064