The Iraqi women in this study have made Australia their ‘home’ in the years following the Gulf War in 1991, and are the first generation to move to a small rural town in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis are based on 15 months of ethnographic research, between March 2003 and June 2004, with twenty-six Iraqi women, sixteen service providers and members of the communities of which they are a part. The focus of the study is on Iraqi women’s experiences of resettlement, their sense of emotional wellbeing and belonging. By and large, studies of refugee mental health attribute ‘refugee suffering’ to pre-migration experiences, rooted to the cultures of peoples’ home countries, principally through war, persecution and trauma, and how this legacy impacts upon women’s emotional wellbeing and ability to belong in resettlement. In many ways, it is convenient for host countries to ascribe refugee mental health problems to pre-migration experiences because the power dynamics of integration, the complex micro politics and the consequences of encounters with the Australian system are made indiscernible. The emergent discourse not only obscures the economic, historical and social conditions that lie at the heart of processes of displacement, but also ignores, silences and speaks on behalf of refugees. / This thesis demonstrates that Iraqi women’s articulations of their experiences of displacement and resettlement are anchored in and deeply affected by the material, legal and cultural circumstances of the local and national places they inhabit. Accordingly, their accounts of emotional suffering are in part framed within the experiences of war and persecution, both past and present, but they are also entangled and embedded in their contemporary realities resulting from multiple social barriers in resettlement, including cultural and religious racism, social invisibility, exclusion and being ‘othered’ in their daily lives, which impacts upon their wellbeing and sense of belonging in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis not only privileges Iraqi women’s own understandings of displacement and resettlement and the ways in which they frame the reality of their lives, but also implicates the Australian system and structural axes of inequality in their resettlement experiences, in an attempt to move beyond western epistemological explanations that define the form and content of refugee lives as well as their illness and wellbeing.

The Iraqi women in this study have made Australia their ‘home’ in the years following the Gulf War in 1991, and are the first generation to move to a small rural town in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis are based on 15 months of ethnographic research, between March 2003 and June 2004, with twenty-six Iraqi women, sixteen service providers and members of the communities of which they are a part. The focus of the study is on Iraqi women’s experiences of resettlement, their sense of emotional wellbeing and belonging. By and large, studies of refugee mental health attribute ‘refugee suffering’ to pre-migration experiences, rooted to the cultures of peoples’ home countries, principally through war, persecution and trauma, and how this legacy impacts upon women’s emotional wellbeing and ability to belong in resettlement. In many ways, it is convenient for host countries to ascribe refugee mental health problems to pre-migration experiences because the power dynamics of integration, the complex micro politics and the consequences of encounters with the Australian system are made indiscernible. The emergent discourse not only obscures the economic, historical and social conditions that lie at the heart of processes of displacement, but also ignores, silences and speaks on behalf of refugees. / This thesis demonstrates that Iraqi women’s articulations of their experiences of displacement and resettlement are anchored in and deeply affected by the material, legal and cultural circumstances of the local and national places they inhabit. Accordingly, their accounts of emotional suffering are in part framed within the experiences of war and persecution, both past and present, but they are also entangled and embedded in their contemporary realities resulting from multiple social barriers in resettlement, including cultural and religious racism, social invisibility, exclusion and being ‘othered’ in their daily lives, which impacts upon their wellbeing and sense of belonging in Australia. The experiences documented in this thesis not only privileges Iraqi women’s own understandings of displacement and resettlement and the ways in which they frame the reality of their lives, but also implicates the Australian system and structural axes of inequality in their resettlement experiences, in an attempt to move beyond western epistemological explanations that define the form and content of refugee lives as well as their illness and wellbeing.

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[ES] Esta tesis investiga la representación de los refugiados iraquíes en The Guardian y Deutsche Welle, empleando el Análisis Crítico del Discurso (ACD), el Análisis del Encuadre y el Análisis Multimodal. La investigación incluye el análisis lingüístico de titulares de noticias y el análisis multimodal de representaciones visuales. El primer análisis revela que The Guardian utiliza a menudo un discurso empático y político, especialmente hacia minorías étnicas como yazidíes y cristianos, mientras que la representación de Deutsche Welle está influida por los acontecimientos políticos en Alemania. Ambos medios enmarcan la crisis de los refugiados iraquíes como un problema social de Oriente Medio, destacando los desplazamientos forzosos y los ataques del ISIS. El análisis multimodal identifica cuatro temas en las representaciones visuales: individualización y distancia, que humanizan a los refugiados, y alteridad y objetivización, que los deshumanizan. El texto y las imágenes a veces se refuerzan mutuamente, pero también pueden presentar mensajes inconexos. Las imágenes visuales evocan respuestas emocionales más fuertes y proporcionan un contexto adicional más allá del análisis textual. La tesis concluye que la integración de los análisis de texto e imagen ofrece una comprensión más completa de las representaciones mediáticas, haciendo hincapié en la dimensión cohesiva de los textos multimodales a la hora de configurar el contexto y el significado. / [CA] Aquesta tesi investiga la representació dels refugiats iraquians en The Guardian i Deutsche Welle, emprant l'Anàlisi Crítica del Discurs (CDA), l'Anàlisi de l'Emmarcament i l'Anàlisi Multimodal. La recerca inclou una anàlisi lingüística dels titulars de notícies i una anàlisi multimodal de les representacions visuals. La primera anàlisi revela que The Guardian sovint utilitza un discurs empàtic i polític, especialment cap a les minories ètniques com els yazidites i cristians, mentre que la representació de Deutsche Welle està influenciada pels esdeveniments polítics a Alemanya. Ambdós mitjans emmarquen la crisi dels refugiats iraquians com un problema social de l'Orient Mitjà, destacant el desplaçament forçat i els atacs d'ISIS. L'anàlisi multimodal identifica quatre temes en les representacions visuals: individualització i distància, que humanitzen els refugiats, i alteritat i objectivació, que els deshumanitzen. Text i imatges a vegades es reforcen mútuament però també poden presentar missatges disjuntius. Les imatges visuals evoquen respostes emocionals més fortes i proporcionen context addicional més enllà de l'anàlisi textual. La tesi conclou que integrar l'anàlisi de text i imatge ofereix una comprensió més completa de les representacions mediàtiques, destacant la dimensió cohesionada dels textos multimodals en la configuració del context i significat. / [EN] This thesis investigates the depiction of Iraqi refugees in The Guardian and Deutsche Welle, employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Framing Analysis, and Multimodal Analysis. The research includes linguistic analysis of news headlines and multimodal analysis of visual representations. The first analysis reveals that The Guardian often uses empathetic and political discourse, especially towards ethnic minorities like Yazidis and Christians, while Deutsche Welle's portrayal is influenced by political events in Germany. Both outlets frame the Iraqi refugee crisis as a Middle Eastern social problem, highlighting forced displacement and attacks by ISIS. The multimodal analysis identifies four themes in visual portrayals: individualization and distance, which humanize refugees, and otherness and objectivization, which dehumanize them. Text and images sometimes reinforce each other but can also present disjointed messages. Visual images evoke stronger emotional responses and provide additional context beyond textual analysis. The thesis concludes that integrating text and image analyses offers a more comprehensive understanding of media representations, emphasizing the cohesive dimension of multimodal texts in shaping context and meaning. / Abed, AN. (2024). Framing Iraqi Refugees in The Guardian and Deutsche Welle: A Critical Discourse and Multimodal Analysis Study [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/207879