Asking potential migrants about a place they would call home
Europe has been a crossroads of human mobility since ancient times. From massive outflows in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, Europe is now a region of net immigration. Today’s immigration discussion is usually from the perspective of the host country. Opinion polls focus on the attitudes of Europeans towards migration. Rarely is it where the dream for a better life begins. The EU-funded MIRROR project reached out to people from outside the EU, including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Nigeria, to ask them how they perceive Europe as a destination for migration. Specifically, MIRROR developed an integrated platform, as well as a systematic methodology for the comprehensive intermedia analysis of the perception of Europe. Its goal was to detect discrepancies between image and reality, spot instances of media manipulation, and create awareness for the impact of misconceptions and the resulting threats.
Unrealistic expectations
Bringing together 14 interdisciplinary partners from 7 countries, MIRROR embarked on a journey to create a substantiated picture of the perception of Europe. The researchers interviewed migrants and refugees as well as experts from the field of migration to better understand decision-making in migration and the formation of perceptions. “As a result of the field work, we can say that unrealistic expectations have many impacts on migrants and refugees,” said project coordinator Claudia Niederee, who is a research group leader at the L3S Research Center in Hannover. “There is a discrepancy between the perceived situation and reality. This can lead to disengagement for many migrants,” she explained. “For instance, during the long waiting periods of the asylum application processes, many applicants perceive to be left on their own. In addition, feelings of uncertainty, lack of information, and ‘being trapped in the system’ are experienced which often become major psychological burdens.” Another aspect of misperception relates to the perception of the migration journey itself. “Those affected report so-called ‘stuckedness’ in the migration process - where neither the onward journey nor the journey back is possible,” explained Niederee. This could be expected. What came as a surprise, however, was the discovery that the migration process and migration decisions are extremely dynamic and depend on many factors like personal experiences made on the route.
The power of mobile devices
“Of high importance for policymakers is the deepened understanding of the role of mobile devices in the migration process and in the creation of migrants’ and refugees’ perceptions of Europe,” explained Niederee. “Results of the field clearly show that mobile devices are essential in the migration process, that (mis-)perceptions of Europe are often only formed en route and that there are actually gender differences like in migration-related information-seeking and EU perceptions.” Another lesson learned from the field is that migration communities are very important for the creation of perceptions and opinions. “So, in order to be able to reach them, communication should be targeted to this community level – the so-called ‘meso’ level – in addition to formal channels like TV, radio and newspapers,” added Niederee. In terms of actionable insight, MIRROR has created a toolkit providing methodologies, best practices and insights to assist stakeholders in academia, civil society, policymaking and border security. The MIRROR system, which includes the integrated platform, toolkit and a systematic methodology for the comprehensive inter-media analysis, was developed with a user-centred approach. For instance, the concept of situations was added to the system to enable the user to observe evolving situations. The final prototype was validated in an intensive piloting phase. “The feedback received during validation was very positive,” said Niederee. “This prototype will be kept alive for trying out as well as live demonstrations by commercial project partners with a view to pursue active exploitation of the system.”
Keywords
MIRROR, migration, refugees, immigration, mobility, perception
