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Term Paper – Migrants at Sea

Introduction

In our society, we are consumed and surrounded by images that make up our everyday

life but are pushed out of our minds due to our everyday activities. Most of these images make

up six different perspectives, which are personal, historical, technical, ethical, cultural and

critical. These six perspectives make up most of the images that are present in our lives and even

if they seem to be invisible at a first glance, the subtle and unspoken language are ever present

and are in everything that we do. An image I will be discussing was taken of Syrian refugees

fleeing in an overcrowded inflatable boat that is drifting in the Aegean Sea between Turkey and

Greece after it broke down off the Greek Island of Kos. This photo won international praise and

was critically acclaimed for the simplistic and beautiful depiction of refugees during a long,

difficult crisis that still persists today in Syria and the impact it had on the international

community.

Personal Perspective

Upon looking at this picture at first glance, your eyes can’t help but to be drawn to the

bright and borderline fluorescent color of the sun. It’s a lot more orange and red then what we

typically see in Southern California. The picture was taken to show the beauty in situations that

are not the most ideal. With being entranced by the sun, it’s hard for us to even glance at

anything else in the picture due to the bright color. In the sea directly below, shows an

overflowing boat of Syrian refugees seeking asylum from their home country. With what those

people experienced weighing in, the overall mood of the photograph shifts to be somewhat of a
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beautiful chaos. This photograph sparks a newfound appreciation for how we live our everyday

life: a life without much conflict and war not forcing us to flee the country on flimsy boats in

unfamiliar waters to us. This image was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News

Photography Prize, which is not surprising since this image and the collection of images that it’s

a part of elicit a response. This photograph in particular, shows a calmness than the collection of

images that all depict various sides of the Syrian crisis. This photograph in particular speaks the

most to how things are progressing at this point for them. The sun gives the impression to the

viewer that it’s the dawn and start of a new day without the troubles of yesterday. These refugees

may be leaving their home, but they are embarking on a life changing journey which forced them

to sacrifice much of their entire livelihood to go to a different place with more opportunities for a

better life and a safer future. It’s hard to imagine that so many people from this crisis are still

displaced from their home country.

Historical Perspective

The crisis in Syria was an accumulation of too much intervention from other countries,

which started an anti-government demonstration in March 2011 (Mercy Corps, 2013). The

demonstrations were first considered to be peaceful protests but quickly escalated after the

government’s violent crackdown, which led to armed opposition groups fighting them back. A

month later, army defectors organized the Free Syrian Army and many civilian Syrians took up

arms to join the opposition (Mercy Corps, 2013). The fight then grew to involve and divide

fighters from the secular side and religious side, and ethnic groups continue to complicate the

politics. Mercy Corps has described the Syrian conflict to be the worst humanitarian crisis of our

time since the families that chose to stay in their country are being killed and those that chose to
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leave found asylum in neighboring countries. It’s reported that the war has killed hundreds of

thousands of people in a span of seven years, with most of the major crowded cities in Syria

destroyed and human rights violations (Mercy Corps, 2013). According to Mercy Corps, the

U.N. estimates that 6.1 million Syrians have been internally misplace with 22 million Syrian that

still currently reside or escaped across the borders are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,

which pressured the outside nations to pledge their resources and help which only made it worse.

Although most of the Syrian refugees are fleeing to its neighboring countries, those countries

(Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq) are finding themselves unable to care for the refugee

population as well as their own population since those countries deal with their own internal

struggles (HRW, 2016). In 2015, many Europe nations opened their borders to those that seeking

asylum; however, since having these refugees living in these European nations has proven to be

an arduous task since they have experience acts of terror on their people and those that visit. The

situation, to my understanding and knowledge, isn’t as bad anymore and are making the effort to

head back to Syria. Those refugees, however, are not leaving the nation sin which they sought

asylum and are instead taking advantage of the resources provided by the nation that housed

them.

Technical Perspective

Through the technical perspective, from looking at it from first glance, you can tell that

there isn’t any typeface or animation at all in the picture since it depicts such a powerful event

that is happening for all the people involved (McAlexander, 2018). But upon further inspection

of the photograph, you can almost see the ocean’s currents moving the boat to its destination.

The mind puts things into motion so that way we are able to internalize it better and understand
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how things are. The positioning of the boat to be almost directly under the rising sun give an

aesthetically pleasing look which keeps you entranced with the photograph. The minimalistic

nature of the boat in relation to the sun speaks volumes in finding the beauty in even the small

things. The way the photograph was taken seems to be very flippant in a sense that the

photographer just happened to have his camera the right angle for a stunning picture. The

photograph appears to have at least some editing, mostly the sun and the elements surrounding it.

There is a possibility that the sun does indeed look like that, without editing, due to pollution and

considering the fact that it’s day break, which brings forth some doubt. The little light that was

being shown slightly on the boat to give them a backlighted effect brought more detail and made

the refugees in the overcrowded boat look even more defined.

Ethical Perspective

Yannis Behrakis, from ​Thomas Reuters​ and chief photographer for Greece and Cyprus,

took this photograph to “show the world what was going on, and the world cared.” (Behrakis,

2016). With ​Migrants at Sea,​ it shows a positive outlook on what those refugees would look like

when they reach a safer country for them to thrive. With other photographs that were taken

during this crisis, it showed the devastation and carnage of the war; however, this photograph in

particular showed that everything is going to be alright for them with showing the calmness of

the ocean and brightness of the sun. This picture doesn’t demonstrate any hedonistic qualities, it

however does brings forth a sense of gratitude and thankfulness that we live in a place that is

somewhat safe. This photograph does possess a veil of ignorance that brings perspective to the

fact that not everyone in the world lives as great of privilege as those of Americans. There is a

mindset in America that we can’t seem to grasp that this can happen to anyone no matter their
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socioeconomic standing. In the series of photographs that were a part of the ​Migrants at Sea​,

depict various images that depict all the different types of emotions they chose to convey with

their photographs. Some of these images “showed families rushing ashore, flailing away in the

water, or collapsing on the beach.” (Behrakis 2016). The way that this image depicts the

overcrowded boat is somewhat beautiful and calm from our point of view, but from the point of

view of those on the boat, shows a much greater struggle that we are unable to process.

Cultural Perspective

The symbolism of the strong colors of the sun mirrored with the calm and mute color

scheme of the ocean give off a theme of the hard times coming to a close and the good times

coming to an open. The boat is in the middle ground of the picture which makes the viewer draw

their eyes to the background of the sun. The boat isn’t as defined at first nor is it the main focus.

It seems to blend into the muted surroundings. The more time you spend looking at this

photograph the more time is put forth with thinking of how the migrants are feeling with how

their life is at this point. It elicits thoughts of whether they’re excited to start something new,

relieved that they escaped or sadness that they had to leave everything behind in order to

guarantee their safety. It’s hard for us to even distinguish how they are feeling due to how the

photograph was taken, we can only assume the best. The metaphor of the sun in relation to the

crisis that they fled show a new beginning and bring forth an emotion of a new life that they

were unable to grasp and get a hold of in their home country due to the war that has divided

them. The sun being in the picture gives off the impression that the audience is aware of the new

horizon for those on the boat, but the refugees only focusing on what’s ahead of them. It gives
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the reader some perspective into how we act with knowing that they can’t see something they

can’t.

Critical Perspective

The culture surrounding this picture shows a sense of helplessness and frustration since

most of us when we saw this image can’t think of ways to help. Donations have helped those that

are unable to be out on the battlegrounds. Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organization, is fully

operating with donations and volunteers in bringing aide and volunteers to help alleviate some

the war-torn stress from those that are being directly affected by the Syrian Crisis. This image

provides a sense of calmness to the fact that those refugees are going towards a better place

without much conflict. It also provides a sense of thankfulness for the both the viewer and

somewhat of the subjects that were featured. The viewer can be grateful and hopeful for the fact

that those refugees won’t be in a tough situation similar to the one they fled any time soon. The

viewer has no way of knowing whether the Syrian refugee subjects are hopeful or sad. It could

all be taken into the viewers own interpretation on how they are feeling. Some of the semiotic

signs in this image are minimal and understated, but the nonverbal cues of who these people are

and what they wen through and will continue to go through speak volumes. The message of the

medium was to not be exploitive, but to inform the general public on the atrocities of war and the

steps that are necessary to live a safe life and a bright future. The ​Migrants at Sea​ photograph

gives a view of struggle and hope as illustrated by the placement of both the sun and the boat.

The meaning this photograph is trying to create and elicit a response to help those suffering and
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to bring forth a change to help those that are in need or at least donate to a cause that is worthy of

it.

Conclusion

Although the Syrian Crisis is seen as one of the worst efforts by the international

community and humanitarians alike, it’s still bad but not as bad as it once was. Many

humanitarian organizations and non-profits have stepped up even more to provide aide and

support to the families that still reside there. This photograph showed a new light and gave

perspective to the world into the harsh reality of how these refugees are fleeing.

References

Human Rights Watch. (2016, May 20). UN: Press Turkey to Open Border. ​HRW.​ Retrieved from

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/20/un-press-turkey-open-border

Lester, P. M. (2014) ​Visual Communication: Images with Messages.​ Boston, MA: Wadsworth

Mercy Corps. (2013). ​What you need to know about the Syria crisis.​ [online] Available at:

https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-y

ou-need-know-about-syria-crisis

McAlexander, M. (2018). ​Chapter 6: Visual Analysis​ [PowerPoint slides]​.​ Retrieved from

https://moodle-2017-2018.fullerton.edu/course/view.php?id=57023#section-10

McGurty, F. & Trotta, D. (2016). AP, Reuters, New York Times among 2016 Pulitze Prize

winners. ​Reuters.​ Retrieved from

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pulitzer-prizes-idUSKCN0XF2J4
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