The threat of the other

Mutual suspicion and prejudice often exacerbate conflicts. Suspicions about others may be triggered by different religions, ethnicities or languages or simply by different ways of life, traditions or customs. In such situations, the media often tend to emphasize the differences and portray the other side as foreign and threatening, and in any case as fundamentally different. In this way they stir up feelings of fear and resistance. One example is the Rohingya, who fled their homeland in Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh. Large sections of the Bangladeshi host society feel threatened by them, since in some places they make up the majority of the population and sometimes compete for jobs. At the same time, many look down on these refugees. Fears over losing work or even losing the homeland as one knew it are often overlaid and reinforced by prejudice and false mutual perceptions. The German journalist Verena Hölzl has frequently visited the border area between Bangladesh and Myanmar and reports on the conflicts between the two sides. The work being done by a local radio station to underscore what the two populations also have in common is described described by Andrea Marshall, program director at DW Akademie.

Antje Bauer has been working as a reporter and editor for German, French and Italian media, specializing mainly on Mediterranean countries and the Middle East.