Fleeing as an Activity of Waiting: Visual Representations of the World's Refugee Situation on Medecins Sans Frontière Sweden's Website

Abstract

This article explores how the world's refugee situation is constructed discursively in photographs on the website of Medecins Sans Frontière (MSF) Sweden in order to discern what discourses humanitarian aid communication draws upon to frame the world's refugee situation as being worthy of support. The main conclusion is that the refugee situation is portrayed as an activity of waiting, where forcibly displaced people are restrained from continuing on with their lives. By highlighting personal experiences, the phenomenon of flight is humanised: Refugees are constructed in need of support, and MSF is constructed as actionable and trustworthy. The website's visitors, are invited to become a part of and to engage in the life of the refugees and the work performed by the organisation. Due to a combination of different styles of appealing the overall image of the refugee situation draws on discourses of morality, solidarity, ethnical and gender equality.