So what can we observe?
Even this quick look at the three examples shows how different the representation of Venezuelan migrants in digital grassroots projects can look, even though they all pursue similar goals of showing the ‘positive face’ of Venezuelan migrants in Peru.
Such a goal quickly leads storytellers to the deservingness discourse and the selection of success stories as typical plots. You can observe this in all three cases analysed. However, this is especially true for the more professional and institutionalised Diaspora Venezolana and Rostros Venezolanos media projects. Both projects are run by Venezuelan journalists in exile who have a story of success of their own. They focus mostly on stories from Venezuelans who are well integrated into Peruvian society, for example, successful small entrepreneurs or people with socially higher recognized professions. At the same time, the Peruvian vlogger Liliana rather shows different people in their day-to-day life and talks with them about their current situation, which provides a feeling that she is ‘closer to the people’. Significantly, in none of the projects you will find stories of refugees who cannot find work and are dependent on alms, or have any trouble with Peruvian authorities.
Regardless of the question of who is actually viewing the described content (Venezuelan diaspora, compatriots in Venezuela, Peruvians or others), all three projects aim to address a broader audience and therefore, like the big media, have an influence and the associated responsibility as information gatekeepers.
Inevitably the following question arises: Can such a selective representation be justified by the set goal of wanting to create a ‘positive counter-discourse’ – or does it rather reflect aporophobic traits of the diaspora itself, the desire to differentiate from certain groups of compatriots?
It becomes clear that studying and understanding digital migrant media initiatives requires a closer look. Just the fact that a media project is run by representatives of the diaspora is not automatically a guarantee for a broad and differentiated coverage of migration issues.
Related literature
Georgiu, Myria (2018): Does the subaltern speak? Migrant voices in digital Europe. The International Journal of Media and Culture. Vol. 16(1) 45-57.
Leurs, Koen; Agirreazkuenaga, Irati; Smets, Kevin; Mevsimler, Melis (2020): The politics and poetics of migrant narratives. European Journal of Cultural Studies 2020, Vol. 23(5) 679–697.
Tags: Interviews
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