Whose problem is it anyway? The depiction of Syrian refugee influx in political cartoons

Abstract

Political cartoons demonstrate the Syrian refugee crisis and their influx into bordering and European countries from different perspectives by using both visual and verbal metaphors in a caricaturised way. For this reason, this research aims to reveal how political cartoons represent the perilous journey of Syrian refugees and their families visually and verbally. In this regard, twelve political cartoons were selected randomly from the international political cartoon website cagle.com between March 2011 and February 2016, referencing the Syrian refugee crisis, and have been analysed in accordance with metaphorical analysis. From this point of view, as the theoretical framework, this paper uses a semiotic approach that points out the relationship between signs and meanings. Representation of the Syrian refugee crisis, the political stances of the different countries, and their perceptions as reflected in political cartoons are the focus point of this research. Results show that countries remain generally indifferent to Syrian refugee movement. In fact, they do not see the issue as their own problem, and they only consider the threats to their security and socio-economic interests posed by the influx. Moreover, Syrian refugees are represented as lonely, vulnerable and unwanted.