‘We Were Refugees Ourselves!’ Discursive Framing of the ‘Refugee Crisis’ in Croatia and Collective Memories of the 1990s War
‘We Were Refugees Ourselves!’ Discursive Framing of the ‘Refugee Crisis’ in Croatia and Collective Memories of the 1990s War

Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on the discursive framing of the ‘refugee crisis’ in Croatian online media in order to examine the extent to which discourses about refugees crossing borders in 2015/2016 were informed by Croatia’s recent history and collective memory of the 1990s war. The paper is particularly interested in the local population’s perception of and reactions to the arrival of refugees. The analysis shows that the so-called refugee crisis, which dominated the European and world media in 2015/2016, triggered memories and narratives of the Croatian population’s own experience of displacement and forced migration, due to its own - not so distant - experiences of war. These local discourses defy the usual pro- and anti-refugee discourses that were present in other societies in Europe where refugees were arriving, due to a different historical memory and experience.

• Details
• Contents