The Assembly of Extremadura This Tuesday it hosted a debate day on the role of the media in the defense of refugees and on the crisis of the right to asylum.
Within the framework of World Refugee Daythose attending this initiative organized by the Extremadura Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aexicd)have agreed on the need for the media to address the plight of refugees in a broad and unrestricted way, while denouncing the failure of the Spanish Government to fulfill its reception commitment.
The event was attended by prominent journalists and members of humanitarian organizations. The director of International Cooperation and Humanitarian Action of the organization Save the Children Spain, David del Campohas denounced that the Spanish Government “breaks” its word of welcoming refugees, since of the 17,000 to which it committed and “signed” before the EU, it has only received eight percent.
For his part, the director of the TVE program ‘On Cover’, Jose Antonio Guardiola, has pointed out that Refugee Day should be celebrated 365 days a year, since the needs, rights and hardships of this group are not just for one day. From a journalistic perspective, Guardiola has said that the media have responsibility when it comes to how the so-called “refugee crisis” is conveyed to public opinion.
The journalist has also spoken about this same aspect Rosa Maria Calaf, who considers that the media have “an enormous responsibility” in the construction of the social model. “They should not fall into propaganda traps, stereotypes or prejudices,” he added. He has also stressed the “dangers” posed by headline journalism, that of “short, brief and emotional messages.”
In the opinion of the specialist in Communication and Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, Leila Nachawatithe media have “a key role in how we see the other, whether society is receptive or sees it as something distant.”