Refugee – a term that has been used to describe people forced out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina – is seen less in print as some have raised concerns that the term is offensive and does not properly characterize the status of displaced people.
Many of the nation’s top newspapers have instituted policies on the use of the word when referring to Katrina victims.
Managers from The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe and The Advocate told The Daily Reveille that their writers will not use the term refugee to describe people forced to leave New Orleans. Writers at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, The New York Times, The Tampa Tribune and The Associated Press will continue to use the term when appropriate.
The debate of semantics began days after the storm as public leaders voiced some opposition to the term. Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN that the term is “utterly distasteful,” and also said the term implies that the victims, many of whom are black, are second-class citizens.
But media outlets that told The Daily Reveille they would not use the term also said they did not think the term had any racial implications.
Tom Jackson, a columnist at The Tampa Tribune, was one of the first to use the term in connection to Hurricane Katrina in an Aug. 27 column days before the storm.
“I think it was a perfectly reasonable word that has been used to describe honorable people through history,” Tom Jackson said. “‘People leaving their homes and seeking refuge.’ That is what it says in my dictionary.”
The definition goes on to make examples of situations such as people fleeing in times of war or under political persecution, but the primary definition is someone who is fleeing, Tom Jackson said.
Webster’s New World Dictionary defines refugee as, “a person who flees from home or country to seek refuge elsewhere, as in a time of war or of political or religious persecution.”
But Andy King, a University professor of communication studies, said the term refugee carries the connotation of people displaced overseas. King said the term was replaced by ‘displaced people’ after World War II when millions were left homeless in Europe.
Don Podesta, assistant managing editor for copy desks at The Washington Post, said Post executive editors think the term denotes someone who has fled internationally for political reasons such as an oppressive regime or war.
“There are other words available that don’t carry that baggage with it,” Podesta said. “We’ve opted to use other words such as evacuee, displaced people or survivors.”
Catherine Mathis, vice president of cooperate communications at The New York Times, said she feels usage of the word by educated writers and speakers is appropriate, and it will continue to use the term.
Mathis said the examples included in the definition do not restrict the usage of the word.
“The phrase ‘as in’ appears in the definitions in Webster’s New World, our dictionary of first reference, and American Heritage, another excellent dictionary – a clear indication that the specific examples given are not the only correct one,” Mathis said.
Dick Rogers, reader representative at the San Francisco Chronicle, said the Chronicle decided that “evacuee” is a better word, but that there is no ban on using refugee in the paper.
“It is a fascinating subject because we all make assumptions about how the language is heard when we write a sentence,” Rogers said. “We assume people hear it the way we think it.”
Michael Larkin, deputy managing editor for news operations at The Boston Globe, said the decision not to use refugee in the paper was made because of concern expressed by residents of New Orleans.
“We are avoiding using the word partly because it has become clear among some of the victims down there that they don’t appreciate the usage of the word,” he said. “There are plenty of other words we can use.”
Paula Devlin, copy desk chief at The Times-Picayune and a New Orleans resident, said The Times-Picayune is mainly using evacuee but it has not stopped using refugee.
“If you look up refugee, it is someone who is not able to return home,” Devlin said. “That would certainly make us all refugees.”
Linda Lightfoot, executive editor of The Advocate, said The Advocate has stopped using “refugee” because “evacuee” is more accurate.
“It seemed that it was offensive to some people,” she said. “They had been through enough trouble, and we didn’t need to be doing anything purposely to make them more uncomfortable.”
The Associated Press said it will use “refugee” but when contacted by The Daily Reveille, said their explanation could be found in an AP wire story.
In the story, Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said The AP will continue to use the term when necessary as long as there are people uprooted from their homes, in order to exhibit the magnitude of this disaster.
Students have taken positions with both sides, as some express concern for being labeled a refugee and others said it portrays the intensity of the disaster.
Trey Nguyn, political science junior, is from New Orleans and transferred from Loyola after the storm.
“I don’t think it is very appropriate,” he said. “You think about war torn countries and different circumstances.”
Jason Augustin, marketing senior from the University of New Orleans, said he does not like being described as a “refugee.”
“It’s the incorrect word,” he said. “Anything besides the word “refugee” because we’re no foreigners.”
Derek Arbour, electrical engineering freshmen from Baton Rouge, said the word is appropriate in some situations.
“I think it’s more the context of the article,” he said. “It’s more the spirit of the article than the word.”
Glenys Castro, biology junior at LSU from New Orleans, said she did not like the term because those being revered to as refugees are citizens of the United States.
“I think it’s racist,” Castro said. “I think it’s because we’re black.”
Will Leblanc, international trade and finance senior from Baton Rouge, said he thinks the term is appropriate since the people are taking refuge.
“It may seem insensitive, but considering the severity of the time, we probably shouldn’t bicker about nomenclature,” Leblanc said.
Communication studies professor Andrew King said the term is not generally attached to people within their own country and that the debate is over the connotation being given to refugee.
“We seem to be coming more and more sensitive about word usage,” he said. “Instead of worrying about the people, we’re worrying about what they are called and how they should be classified. We’re all thinking about the language of advertising instead of the language of compassion.”
Contact Ginger Gibson at [email protected]