Remembering arrivals of refugees by boat in a Canadian context

Abstract

On 12 July 1987, 174 people traveled from Rotterdam to Charlesville, Nova Scotia, on the Amelie in search of asylum. In Canadian national newspapers, their arrival was immediately turned into a crisis of securitization, which is common practice for such events. Conversely, local reports portrayed this event as a critical moment when regional Canadian identity was performed through commonly understood and commonly practiced all-inclusive hospitality. This article will look at how collective memories were produced and circulated on various levels in press reports, with a focus on the way local memories and local press reports supported international views of ideal Canadian humanitarianism and hospitality.

Memories as a discursive strategy: Exploring representations of laïcité and Frenchness in Le Monde

“…Collective memories in general are far from objective recollections of the past. They are contingent, constructed, and utilized to construct a sense of togetherness and belonging (Mannik, 2013). Erll (2011) highlights memories as “subjective, highly selective reconstructions, dependent on the situation in which they are recalled” (p. 8).…”

“…When exploring cultural realities, the construction and normalization of similarities and differences are especially important. This approach is relevant in the case of collective memories that construct communities through the ostensibly shared articulation of similarities and differences (Mannik, 2013; Tenenboim-Weinblatt and Baden, 2016).…”

Communicative memory of irregular migration: The re-circulation of news images on YouTube

“…Humanitarian gaze that is so prevalent in the remembering of border tragedies conceals European responsibility in the violence of bordering, and instead represents Europeans as the ones alleviating suffering. In addition, militarization of localities in border areas is concealed from communicative memory (see also Mannik, 2014: 84). While this humanitarian gaze is prevalent in the videos, some produsers complicate this reading by mixing images of the wired fence that in these videos represent a more violent border management.…”

Writing Individual Journalist's Memories into Collective Memory

“…Published expressions of feelings of empathy may have softened the Canadian public's angry responses, and on a broader level, may have emphasized the need for additional humanitarian aid for all refugees migrating by boat. Instead, a focus on the criminal activity of international smugglers and mysterious refugees who also might be terrorists resulted in angry, racist letters to editors and calls to politicians (Mannik 2013).…”