The big headline on 9/5/05 at the top of the Metro section of my city's daily newspaper, the Kansas City Star, read: "KC Opens Heart to Refugees." The article proceeded to tell some heartwarming stories about how some Kansas City residents are trying to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
I sent an email to the newspaper's reader rep. to protest the Star's use of the word "refugee" to describe the Katrina survivors (you can see the text of the email below), copying the reporter and editor. The reader's rep. responded and basically refused to admit that they did anything wrong (below you can also see his email response and my response back to him).
I find it rather appalling that the newspaper cannot understand how inappropriate, inaccurate and offensive the use of the term "refugee" is in this situation. And I find their justification rather lame. The paper is trying to say that even though "refugee" is commonly used to describe people seeking refugee in another country, they claim that it is not the only usage of the word. But I've never seen the term used in any way other than to describe people who are seeking refuge in a country that is not their own. And even if that were not the case, I would think that the racial sensitivities with this story would prompt the Star's editors to avoid using the term. But I guess not. We've got a long way to go in this country.
* Here's my original email to the KC Star (dated 9/5/05):
Dear Derek Donovan:
The headline at the top of the Metropolitan section of today's Kansas City Star newspaper proclaims, "KC Opens Heart to Refugees." I am writing to strongly object to your newspaper's use of the word "refugee" to refer to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
As has been widely reported in the media, there is growing speculation and perception that the federal government's appallingly slow and inadequate response in providing assistance and aid to the hurricane survivors in New Orleans stems at least in part from the fact that the majority of survivors are poor and black. Your newspaper's use of the word "refugee" to describe the hurricane survivors exemplifies and contributes to a blatantly racist attitude towards these U.S. citizens.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services defines a "refugee" as "any person who is OUTSIDE any country of such person's nationality ... who is unable or unwilling to return to ... that country." (You can view the government's full definition of "refugee" at http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/refugee.htm).
Therefore the use of the word "refugee" to describe the survivors of Hurricane Katrina is clearly not accurate nor appropriate, since these survivors are all U.S. citizens who are seeking aid and assistance IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY FROM THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT. Your newspaper's use of the word "refugee" to describe the hurricane survivors perpetuates a racist attitude that because these survivors are poor and black they are somehow separate from the rest of our country and therefore not as deserving of the same assistance and aid as other U.S. citizens.
I urge the Kansas City Star to stop using the term "refugee" to refer to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. As you can see from my letter, a much more accurate and appropriate word to use is "survivor."
In the past week the Hurricane Katrina survivors have already had to endure more hardships and neglect than any U.S. citizen should ever have to endure. They don't need to be further stigmatized and marginalized by your newspaper.
Sincerely,
* Here's the email response from the KC Star's reader's rep. (dated 9/6/05):
I understand your point. While I respect your position, the word "refugee" does not necessarily mean the person is seeking refuge outside his or her own country, even though this is a common connotative usage. I will certainly note your thoughts in my weekly report to the publisher, vice presidents and the entire newsroom.
Best wishes,
Derek Donovan
Readers' Representative
The Kansas City Star
* Here's my response to the Star's email (dated 9/6/05):
Thank you for your response. However, I respectfully and strongly disagree with your contention. The word "refugee" is not only commonly used to refer to people who are seeking refuge outside their own country, but it is nearly always used in that way. In fact, I can never recall another time where I have seen the word "refugee" used to describe people seeking refuge within their own country. So I am curious why your newspaper decided to use this word in a way in which it is rarely if ever used. I would think that your newspaper would want to choose words that reflect their common usage among nearly all, if not all, of your readers.
A few additional definitions of "refugee" from several other reliable sources:
From the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Refugee: "A person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution"
From Encyclopedia Britannica:
Refugee: "Any uprooted, homeless, involuntary migrant who has crossed a frontier and no longer possesses the protection of his former government"
From Wikipedia:
Refugee: "A person seeking asylum in a foreign country in order to escape persecution"
I will certainly be watching your newspaper closely to see if you now consistently use the word refugee to describe other victims of future disasters in our country.
Regards,