To Publish or Not to Publish?

In Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa, growing political crises are causing refugees to seek asylum in various countries across the world (Raghavan & Tharoor, 2015). Refugees are commonly escaping to Europe via inflatable boats, many of which are unsuccessful in their travels (Raghavan & Tharoor, 2015). During their journey, the Kurdi’s of Syria, along with nine other refugees’ inflatable boat sank. As a result, Abdullah Kurdi’s wife and two children, aged five-years-old and three-years-old drowned in the water (Raghavan & Tharoor, 2015). Soon after, three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s deceased body was discovered on the shore of a Turkish beach where a photographer captured an image and published it in the media (Raghavan & Tharoor, 2015). To various editors like Nilufer Demir, the photo was a powerful representation of the conflicts that refugees face daily (Raghavan & Tharoor, 2015). Although I agree with the message Demir was trying to convey, I disagree with publishing the image.

Gilligan’s ethic of care signifies the concept that the more vulnerable a person is, the more care you ought to give. In this situation, the Kurdi family was the most vulnerable group of individuals involved and as an editor, I feel that it is important to work with Gilligan’s concept in mind. It is an editor’s responsibility to decide what to publish from the subject’s perspective and by taking into consideration how their content may affect them. As Abdullah Kurdi was the most vulnerable individual in this situation (mourning the loss his family), I argue that publishing the image of Aylan goes against Gilligan’s ethic of care.

In my opinion, choosing to publish an image of a toddler’s deceased body demonstrates a lack of care for Aylan, his family, as well as the other individuals involved. I recognize that choosing to not publish the image may be benefitial for the Kurdi’s privacy, but I also recognize that it may be harmful to other refugees. According to Durham (2018), publishing illustrations such as Aylan Kurdi’s body may motivate progressive political activism.

Although stories like the Kurdi family’s need to be heard, I feel that it could have been done without the image of Aylan’s deceased body. In this case, I believe that it was unfair for Abdullah Kurdi and his family to sacrifice their privacy for the publication of an image.

References

Durham, M. G. (2018). Resignifying Alan Kurdi: News photographs, memes, and the ethics of embodied vulnerability, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 35(3), 240–258, DOI:10.1080/15295036.2017.1408958

Raghavan, S. & Tharoor, I. (2015). The saga of the Syrian family whose 3-year-old turned up dead on a Turkish beach. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-saga-of-the-syrian-family-whose-3-year-old-turned-up-dead-on-a-turkish-beach/2015/09/03/4a82ed56-5251-11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html