Positive and Negative Connotations

Positive Connotations:

In many countries there are a lot of humanitarian aids that look out for and support the refugees; there are even humanitarians that come to venture to other hotspot countries in order to lend their help. In relation to this, there are multiple NGOs that offer solace to refugees, helping with their refugee application, helping build skills in technology, craftsmanship, and language development. 

Additionally, there is a relationship between a positive perspective on refugees and the economic and social benefits of refugees. Refugees, if given the opportunity, are able to stimulate the economy, enriching communities, creating more cultural diversity and awareness.

There are many world leaders that support refugees and the urgency for new policies to be made in their favor. Take the Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the Turkish minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu who urge that inaction and ignorance from other governments is not an option (Martinez, 2018). There are many that recognize the benefit that they can have on their economy and well as their cultural values as a whole, seeing them as a person and not a burden.  Overall, there are varying perspectives on refugees and opinions differ based on country and even down to the individuals within a country. It is important to understand the different viewpoints, because it is these attitudes that change the policies that are made and accepted. Regionally speaking, "North America tends to hold more positive views towards immigration than Europeans, and East Europeans tend to be more negative than West Europeans. Furthermore, the public in some countries is consensually rather hostile toward immigration (i.e., Czech Republic, Hungary), while other countries are internally quite divided (e.g., The Netherlands, Norway), or consensually rather supportive (Canada, New Zealand)" (Verkuyten, 2021). Additionally, there is a difference in opinion based on the label of migrant or refugee. There is more support for refugees as they are involuntarily migrating; whereas, migrants are looked at more negatively for their voluntary decision to migrate.

Negative Connotations:

In lue of the influx of refugees, there has been growing anti-immigration voting in various countries. Sweden, for example, has an anti-immigration party that originally received 5.7% of votes in the 2010 election; however, as of 2018, that percentage has grown to 17.5% and continues to grow (Korol and Bevelander, 2023). A popular narrative supporting negative connotations is that those who are entering into these countries are unlike the natives; therefore, people believe it will be difficult for them to incorporate themselves and see them as a threat to their economy and to their group's cultural values, traditions, and ideologies. If a community sees a refugee as a potential threat, then they will have more prejudicial attitudes and display more negative behaviors.  

Quotes:

• Czech President Milos Zeman speaks about fears about Muslim refugees, believing that they will attempt to implement Sharia law, "We’ll be deprived of women’s beauty, because they’ll be covered from head to toe … unfaithful women will be stoned and thieves will have their hands cut off...” (Chadwick, 2015)
• Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front party refers to refugees as slaves and the influx of refugees as a "barbarian invasion" (Chadwick, 2015).
• Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the Law and Justice party in Poland, claims that refugees are just hosts for all sorts of different diseases (cholera, dysentery, etc.) and would be dangerous if they then entered Europe (Chadwick, 2015).
• Bjorn Hocke, head of the Alternative for Germany minimizes the reasons refugees have for migration claiming “Let’s not forget, the Syrian who comes to us has still his Syria...The Afghan who comes to us has still his Afghanistan...But if we lose our Germany, then we have no more home!” (Chadwick, 2015).

These are all political and influential figures across Europe, and hearing someone in this position of power speak in such ways influences the opinions of those listening.

Positive Connotations:

In many countries there are a lot of humanitarian aids that look out for and support the refugees; there are even humanitarians that come to venture to other hotspot countries in order to lend their help. In relation to this, there are multiple NGOs that offer solace to refugees, helping with their refugee application, helping build skills in technology, craftsmanship, and language development. 

Additionally, there is a relationship between a positive perspective on refugees and the economic and social benefits of refugees. Refugees, if given the opportunity, are able to stimulate the economy, enriching communities, creating more cultural diversity and awareness.

There are many world leaders that support refugees and the urgency for new policies to be made in their favor. Take the Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the Turkish minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu who urge that inaction and ignorance from other governments is not an option (Martinez, 2018). There are many that recognize the benefit that they can have on their economy and well as their cultural values as a whole, seeing them as a person and not a burden.