Differently different - The unequal treatment of refugees and the role of the media

In March 2022, Mohamed Amjahid posted, among other things, the following lines on his Instagram account: „While people are fleeing in Ukraine, commentators across Europe are getting hung up on the comparison with 2015, when refugees came to Europe via the Mediterranean. The NZZ put it simply: „They’re real refugees this time“, using „real“ to suggest that the people fleeing war and misery in 2015 were taking a walk north out of boredom. In the FAZ, a writer argued that „most of the refugees who came to the EU via Turkey at the time were, strictly speaking, migrants“. In other words, they weren’t in danger, we don’t want them here, unlike our brothers and sisters from Ukraine.“

Since then, freelance journalist and book author Mohamed Amjahid has repeatedly exposed the different treatment of refugees from Ukraine and other countries in Germany and Europe, as well as at the EU’s external borders, and has called for the right to equal treatment of refugees.

What is the current difference in the treatment of refugees from Ukraine and other countries in Germany and Europe and at the EU’s external borders? How does this unequal treatment arise? What role does media coverage and its partly racist framing play in the wake of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and the subsequent flight movements? What responsibility does the media bear in crisis situations like these? What can we do for the equal treatment of refugees? We would like to discuss these and other questions with you and Mohamed Amjahid.

We look forward to your participation. We ask for binding registration by 23.11.2022.