Over a Thousand Migrants Safely Arrive in Italy, Wednesday

Rationale: 

            The original article (http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/11/23/over-a-thousand-african-migrants-arrive-in-italy-wednesday/) is a Breitbart article, about one thousand migrants arriving in Italy, and mentions it in context with the migrant crisis and how the more conservative/right-leaning parties sought to solve the crisis. Recently Breitbart has become rather famous (to be more precise, it’s more like infamous) for being part of the ‘alt-right’ media selection, especially since Steve Bannon was, and still is, heavily involved in it, in an executive role. The original article employs the use of bias by omission to a certain degree – the right-leaning political point of view on the issue is given far more text, and uses quotes from right-leaning politicians, whilst not having any quote from the other sides – not even the side that is actually governing the country nor the UN. Furthermore, a lot of the language carries bias, for example the ‘migrant’ word rather than ‘refugee’, despite Libya being in a state of civil war, lessening potential sympathy the audience has for these people. The specification of ‘African’ in the headline is used to create an ‘us vs. them’ atmosphere, by putting distance between them and the readers of this article, and may even connotate imagery of ‘invasion’ in the audience – and appeal to their sense of patriotism as a result. The image selected also factors in – despite the mention of women being on board these ships (i.e. the woman who gave birth), the image included with the article only contains men, which may also work to cause the audience to be less sympathetic to them.

The parody of the article I wrote is a sort of reversal of the political positions that the parties actually take. I took the quotes that the Northern League politicians actually said, and used them in a context that suggests they are pro-migration. Throughout the entire article this is the case, portraying them as a pro-migrant party, fighting to have better conditions and more for migrants coming from Libya – using irony to a large extent. Instead of changing the word migrant to refugee, I chose to keep it, as if the political party was not only pro-refugee hosting, but also pro-migration, deepening the irony.           

Article:

 Disaster was narrowly averted when the Italian Coast Guard decided to kindly bring over – and save – over one thousand travellers to Italy. The migrants had set out from the coast of Libya in 10 rubber boats and one small wooden vessel, but were luckily picked up by the Coast Guard and brought to Italy before they had gone far into the Strait of Sicily. A small miracle also happened on board, when a woman gave birth. The arrival of migrants has fallen due to a deal made with the Libyan government, after public opinion in Italy shifted. Despite efforts by government figures, and political opposition to curb migrants traveling to Italy, these 1000 migrants were brave enough to carry on, and the intricate logistic apparatus Italy and the EU have set up, in order to avoid tragedy in the sea, saved them from possible disaster.

Matteo Salvini, of the notoriously humanitarian and pro-migrant Northern League party tweeted that he would bring legal charges against the Italian government, for “abetting illegal immigration” by offering a free shuttle service from Libya to the Italian peninsula. While this statement may at first appear anti-immigration, it is important to note that the Northern League part is outspoken in its support for migrants, and alluding to opening up the travel route to competition – which would allow the migrants to theoretically get better deals or conditions on their journeys.   

Senator Roberto Calderoli, also of the Northern League party, went into detail about Italian policy over this route in particular, asking a rhetorical question: “Why did vessels from our Coast Guard, Frontex, of EUNAVFOR Med and the usual NGOs conduct operations off the coast of Libya and then take immigrants to Italian ports rather than to Tunisia or Malta?”. He then answered his own question with a statement reflective of Northern League policy, “Simply because we want immigrants to come here”.

The current Italian government, which the Northern League is in opposition to, has taken measures to try and curb migration, despite criticism from the United Nations, by making a deal with the Libyan government – as mentioned earlier, however, Libya is in a state of civil war, meaning that their capacity to implement policy – such as keeping people in the country is rather limited and even in some cases unsafe. Calderoli’s words, “…we want immigrants to come here” are a reminder that not all Italians agree with the crackdown on migrants, and shows the political party’s strong support of migrants and migrant rights.

Assignment: 

You will be identifying a news article or opinion column that contains bias towards a social or political issue and as a result displays a specific ideology. You will be rewriting the article demonstrating the use of bias techniques from a different ideology to form either a parody or pastiche.