Refugees and the re-emergence of orientalism

Refugees and the re-emergence of orientalism

Orientalism rather sounds like something completely archaic. Rooted in the olden imperialist days, when the world map was not yet complete and the cultures, sights, sounds and smells of the Middle and Far East were completely unfamiliar. Nowadays, living in multicultural societies with the obvious presences of several different communities, the popularity of their food and so on, orientalism seems completely out of context. No doubt racism still exists but orientalism would appear to be a thing of the past.

However, orientalism is simply morphing into new and more dangerous forms in the modern world. This is entirely obvious with the recent refugee crisis. Millions of people are risking their lives to approach Western countries and escape their war torn origins. In Europe, they are often unwanted and unwelcome. Many Europeans are unwilling to accept and shelter refugees, claiming that their cultures will not mix and that they are happy to send monetary aid to refugees without accepting them physically. A wealthy swiss village recently voted by a 52% majority against accepting 8 refugees and instead paid millions as a forfeit.

Such staunch refusal stems not simply from racism, but from FEAR. Like their colonial forefathers, modern day Europeans are fearful of the unknown. Islamophibic propaganda fuels the fear and discounts the historical elements which have led to the crisis. The false borders and violence imposed by the historical colonialist presence in the Middle East are the entrenched causes of today’s terrorism and violence, which not only impacts the West but more significantly, has left Middle Eastern people fleeing from their homes.

Due to the media’s influence, those of Middle Eastern origin have undergone major cultural flattening, reaching a climactic point where Middle Eastern equates to Muslim which equates to Terrorist in the eyes of the masses. The idea of orientalism may be old but its perpetuation is not. And thus history repeats and repeats itself in different formations.