kwere kwere / journeys into strangeness

A multimedia exhibition on the history of migration and identity in South Africa

Curator: Rory Bester

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1.

As part of a panel discussion on migration and media at KIT Tropenmuseum, I presented an overview of the exhibition and addressed various issues relating to the role of the media in reporting on issues of migration. In the presentation I emphasised the extent to which the media and cultural industries’ presentation of issues relating to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants significantly shapes public opinion about these groups. The media have a huge responsibility to provide factual coverage that does not perpetuate myths, encourage generalizations or spread misinformation about refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

2.

This presentation was followed by a panel discussion that included Dutch and South African journalists. The panel discussion raised much vigorous debate, particularly with regard to the role of journalists in “taking sides” when reporting on issues relating to migrants and migration. In much of the discussion there seemed to be uncertainty about the effect of stereotyping migrants in the media and the absence of migrant voices in media reporting.

On Monday, 31 March 2003, NiZA organised a media workshop entitled “Imaging the Other” at Arti et Amicitiae. Workshop participants included Dutch and South African journalists. I did a presentation on the exhibition, which was followed by an opportunity for the participants to view the Kwere Kwere exhibition. This was followed by presentations on the media’s coverage of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa and the Netherlands. These presentations generated much debate amongst the journalists and provided an important opportunity to explore the journalists’ different and similar experiences of reporting on migrants and migration in our two countries.

The Dutch and South African journalists were paired off to provide the South African journalists opportunities to write about migration and multiculturalism in the Netherlands from a South African perspective. Articles written by these journalists appeared in Dutch and South African newspapers.