James McLean

ENG 1020
Professor Cooper
15 September 2015
Project 1-A: Hungarian Border Mayhem
In the CNN article, Refugee crisis: Chaos as Hungary blocks migrants at Serbian
border the authors, Holly Yan and Tim Hume, describe the crisis that is occurring at
the Hungarian and Serbian Border. The article attempts to enact change at the
Hungarian and Serbian border by informing the reader with logic and using tales of
woe and imagery. The authors use a series of photos and videos which humanizes the
migrants; while vilifying Hungary for taking a stance on the influx of refugees.
After reading the title of the article, the reader is immediately met with a series
of videos; a few of which are titled: Young Syrians use Facebook to Aid Journey,
Refugees Facing Increasingly Harsh Conditions, and Our Heart is Really Broken.
Even the titles are meant to lead the reader to connect with the migrants and their
plight. When we see titles like Young Syrians use Facebook to Aid Journey we can
deduce that many of these migrants are teens or people in their twentys because people
in those age groups are most likely to use Facebook. Teens or parents may visualize
themselves or their children in the migrants situation which causes the reader the
directly connect with the migrants. One can surmise that the authors want readers to
watch these videos and feel sorry for the migrants before reading the article; thereby

creating a biased opinion towards Hungary. Most people are more emotionally
impacted with videos because they can see the hurt, pain, and the terrible situations in
which other people are in.
The first video in this sequence, New Border Controls in Effect in Hungary, is
an interview between a journalist and Zoltan Kovacs, Hungarys Government
Spokesperson. About one minute into the interview, the reporter describes many of the
refugees as families [and] women with children who are simply trying to find safety
and a better life.. This statement attempts to evoke pity for the migrants and appeal to
the readers pathos. When most people think of women and children, especially ones
who are in distress, they show more sympathy toward them because they think of them
as innocent, and are able to put themselves in the shoes of the migrants. Right after
describing the migrants, the interviewer says, to Zoltan Kovacs, Why does your
government find it necessary to criminalize what these migrant and refugees are
doing starting today they could be jailed if the cross the border unauthorized. What
exactly does that achieve? This line of questioning by the journalist is intended to make
Hungary look like they lack empathy for the refugees. The reader is meant to feel sorry
for the migrants and feel a strong resentment towards Hungary after seeing this
interview.
After the videos, the reader finally gets to the text where in the second paragraph
the authors diction emphasizes the lack of options the migrants have. The article states
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that the temporary border was a railway carriage fortified with razor-wire making
it sound impenetrable to the migrants on the Serbian side of the border. Then in the
same sentence the article states that the border [sealed] shut a route that tens of
thousands of refugees have used to escape bombings and terrorism in their homelands.
Which further drives home the point that the Syrian migrants have very little options
get jailed for illegally crossing the border, go back to their homes where there are
bombings and terrorism, or wait until the boundary is removed. By this point in the
article, the reader should already feel a personal connection with the migrants, so
realizing their limited options other than crossing Hungarys border makes them
sympathize with the migrants even more and be bitter towards Hungarys decision to
close the border. There is a quote from Zoltan Kovacs, which is completely surrounded
by videos and text that either humanizes the migrants or makes Hungary look like a
villain: "We call this as a temporary fence. Obviously it is ... a must decision (rather)
than a nice decision," which lets the reader know that Hungary knows that their
decision negatively effects the Syrians at the border. Right beside Kovacs statement-which is rather short-- there is a video called Refugees tell their stories of fleeing
poverty and war.
In the video, we are first shown several people sharing their stories of their
exodus with dour music playing in the background accompanying visuals of people
escaping in plastic rafts with women and children, and people running toward their
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next destination in a cattle herd like manner. Music is very powerful to most peoples
emotions, so adding it along with the migrants testimonies and poor circumstances
makes the video much more somber and impactful. Halfway through the video, it
displays families resting in crowded outside areas which tugs at the heart strings of the
viewer. At the end of the video, there is a young woman who declares We are humans,
we have feelings. The authors want to appeal to the readers emotions and sympathy
by having a young woman speak for the rest migrants because people are likely to pity a
young female. Notice how it seems too coincidental that such a video appears directly
next to Kovacs statement about the temporary border being ... a must decision (rather)
than a nice decision,". The video placement draws attention to the authors motive for
writing the article. They are not only stating facts, but they are attempting to make the
reader feel remorseful for the migrants. The implantation of Kovacs statement may also
be an attempt to show the reader they they are trying not to be biasedappealing to the
readers ethos. The video attempts to humanize the migrants to the viewer which
appeals to pathos and ethos by actually showing the migrants along with letting the
reader hear and see their stories.
Following Kovacs statement, Amnesty International described "Hungary's
actions as "ugly" and "draconian.". Having this statement directly below Kovacs further
discredits Hungarys decision because it shows the reader that other countries do not
agree with Hungarys decision; therefore, the reader should also disagree. The article
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proceeds to show the picture of "a migrant child in Serbia [who] gazes through the gate
to Hungary.". The reader is supposed to be absolutely devastated at the fact that a small
child is not able to reach salvation on the other side of the border. Following the
picture, is a quote from Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe showing the
reader the negative effects of Hungarys decision to close the border.
The article later explains why Hungary has closed their border. After hearing
Hungarys side of the story; however, the article says The closing of the border left
throngs of refugees, carrying everything they had on their backs which brings the
reader back to the fact that there are thousands of people who depended on that border
to be open. This choice to add Hungarys motivations to close the border after having
the reader connect to the peoplevia photos, videos, and statements from other people
is intentional and vital in order to get the viewer on the side of the refugees. The
article continues with even more somber stories about the migrants without giving
much attention to Hungarys reasons for closing the border. The reader is meant to leave
the article feeling bad for the migrants and anger toward Hungary.
The two authors of this article appear to have a prejudice opinion against
Hungary. This is proven by how the videos and text are formatted within the article and
which details are shared. Note that the reader is meant to gain sympathy for the
migrants before even reading the article; leading the reader to acquire a bias. The videos
that are selected were created to appeal to the emotions of the viewer. We get no image
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or video that is in favor or Hungarys actions within the article which leads us to believe
that the authors wish for the reader to be on the side on the migrants.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/15/world/europe-migrant-crisis/index.html
Title: Refugee crisis: Chaos as Hungary blocks most migrants at Serbian border
Holly Yan-Profile-Image