www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall "Refugee" racist?

Rev. Jackson (originally of Chicago) while bemoaning the slow, or lack of, Federal response to the Katrina natural disaster during his visit of the areas affected, labelled as "racist" the media and all others who are bent on using the term "refugees" for the people displaced from the gulf States, underscoring that majority of those "refugees" are black.

Normally, any person without a visible agenda would or should understand that a "refugee" as one who flees to seek protection or shelter from danger or hardship, or to find a haven or sanctuary, or to ask another person or entity for help, relief, or escape, regardless of race or color!

Perhaps the term has acquired a "political" undertone and "refugee" has now evolved to mean solely, or most of the time, a person fleeing from "oppression" or "persecution."

Some media outlets have "heeded" Jackson's admonition and have switched to calling the Katrina "refugees" as "evacuees," which is also a term applicable to the situation. Others don't give a damn about the nuances Rev. Jackson wanted observed and continue to use "refugees" or to interchange it with "evacuees."

American politics at its shining moment!

Amado

Dear Amado,

Unfortunately, this is not America itself at its shining moment!

Alex

For the record, this is a debate that's going on in newsrooms all around the country.

Here's one article on the issue:

http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/050905_prince/

At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where I'm a columnist, Webster's New World Dictionary, the dictionary that my newspaper cites on matters of style, describes a refugee as one "who flees from home or country to seek refuge elsewhere, as in a time of war or of political or religious persecution."

Generally, it's not used in the context of natural disasters, and in international conventions it specifically means an individual crossing an international border to escape violence or persecution.

--tim

Dear Tim,

They say that this is the highest displacement of Americans since the Civil War.

If a Southerner, during that terrible war, crossed over to the North to escape - would that person have been described as a refugee?

Alex

Sorry, sir, I don't have any insights into the mid-19th Century usage of the word.

--tim

Dear Tim,

That's O.K., sir!

Are you busy doing articles on Hurricane Katrina too?

Alex

Since you asked, I have been writing about the media coverage of the storm, including this column today:
http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/sep05/353712.asp

Of course, I'm also writing about things like the death of Bob Denver:
http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/sep05/353715.asp

--tim

Dear Alex:

You asked Tim:

Probably a person seeking political "asylum" or be called "traitor!"

If that person went further North and crossed the border, he could have been called a "double traitor!"

amado

Dear Amado,

Well, I won't say "wrong again" because I don't keep a record of your past wrongs . . .

But Jefferson Davis (buried in New Orleans, hope he's still there) once came to Canada, which is also a "Confederacy" and said, "I feel more at home here than across the border . . ."

Of course, all our apple trees are sweet and not sour, so we would have none on which to hang him in the first place ("We're gonna hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple-tree. . .")

Alex

Dear Tim,

Excellent, sir!

New Orleans could have used Gilligan's skill in getting out of that storm in one piece!

Alex

Jefferson Davis is buried in Richmond, VA., so he continues to rest peacefully.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761579207/Jefferson_Davis.html

--tim

Dear Alex:

Ooops, there goes another one! :p

However, this is forgivable because you might be essentially right.

Jefferson Davis did die in New Orleans as confirmed by the linked article provided by Tim and he was buried there temporarily and then his remains translated to the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia.

Here's an excerpt describing the event:

Source: http://www.civilwarhome.com/jdavisbio.htm

Actually, he is buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

Amado

People displaced from their Southern homes during the CW are properly referred to as refugees(ask me how I know!
Michele

I'm almost totally certain that the term "refugee" is incorrect to describe the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans because of the following reason.

"Refugee" only technically refers to one who has had to cross an national border in order to evacuate. Those who do not have to cross such a border are called "displaced persons."

Logos Teen

Actually, as anybody with connections to the post-World War II era will know, "displaced persons" were the refugees who were in "DP" camps located throughout Europe after the war.

In my old Chicago neighborhood, circa 1960s and 1970s, DP was a slur directed at anybody who sounded (or, more importantly) dressed like a refugee from the Old Country.

Although not for that reason, it's an awkward term that doesn't really work for the evacuees from New Orleans, who are, quite simply, evacuees.

Here's a good sampling of definitions of "displaced persons":

http://www.answers.com/topic/displaced-person


--tim