Text – “An International Analysis of Governmental Media Campaigns to Deter Asylum Seekers” by Sarah Bishop

Videos – Australian Government Video, “No Way”; Stricter Asylum Regulations in Norway; Gil Kerlikowski discussing the “Know the Facts” campaign.

• All three videos intend to send the same message, to inform refuges that the expense and the danger to enter illegally into Australia, Norway or the United States is not worth it because you will be apprehended and deported. However they get this message across in different ways.
• The video from the Australian government is very straight forward and to the point with the General saying ” The message is simple, if you come to Australia illegally by boat there is no way you will ever make Australia home”. They are making it very clear they will not tolerate any refuges so desperate for safety to risk all they have just to come to Australia.
• The video from the Norwegian government is not as direct as the Australian video. They take a different approach by warning them of the dangers of making the travel and what the refuges are putting at risk. For example they display messages like ” Many have lost their lives or have been abused on the journey to Europe” and “Since 2014, over ten thousand people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean”.
• In the video from Gil Kerlikowski, Former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, he reveals that the US tactic is to have individuals who have already entered the US illegally to be deported and have them warn and stop those who are thinking of entering illegally as they did. This will motivate ICE and Border Control to treat immigrants horribly so when they are deported they will tell others what they experienced.

Grade: 3/5