'Reject Rohingya and send them back!’: digital discourses of nationalism and xenophobia in the time of pandemic

Mohamad Jamil, Siti Nurnadilla (2023) 'Reject Rohingya and send them back!’: digital discourses of nationalism and xenophobia in the time of pandemic. In: Discourse in the Digital Age: Social Media, Power and Society. Routledge Critical Studies in Discourse . Routledge, New York, pp. 118-142. ISBN 9781032292724

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Abstract

The difficulties brought by the implementation of the cordon sanitaire to contain the spread of COVID-19, paired with longstanding local grievances, have led to an explosion of xenophobic sentiments towards refugees in Malaysia. The prospect of more refugee boats arriving after hundreds were turned away only worsened the situation. This chapter delves into the complex role played by fear and digital affordances as arenas for public debate during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this chapter focuses on linguistic manifestations of othering in the civil discourse against the Rohingya refugees, which seem to fall neatly into a Us versus Them framework of nationalism. By means of a discourse-historical approach, it examines comments on the online petitions against the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia on change.org in 2020. This chapter argues that the fight against xenophobia, in any shape or form, must first involve the understanding of how the necessary narratives of belongingness and solidarity of Malaysians turned into hate and hostility against Rohingya refugees.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Uncontrolled Keywords:	refugees, xenophobia, hate speech, discourse-historical approach, social media critical discourse studies, petition, covid-19
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics > P87 Communication. Mass media
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature
Depositing User:	Dr Siti Nurnadilla Mohamad Jamil
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2023 10:37
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2024 17:25
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/108321

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