The Maltese are more likely to help refugees from Ukraine rather than those from Syria or Somalia, according to new research that shed light on prejudicial perceptions.
The research revealed greater negative emotion associated with non-European refugees and asylum seekers, which then fuelled prejudice and led to a lack of willingness to help them.
“Ukrainians would be perceived more positively because that is the political discourse.
"They are also legally allowed to come to Europe as refugees whereas asylum seekers from other countries have very limited legal options, so they may choose to go to Europe through illegal routes and so are immediately seen as breaking the law,” said Sharon Xuereb, a staff tutor in psychology and counselling at the Open University.
The Open University, the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning, carried out the study called ‘Emotions, perceived threat, prejudice, and attitudes towards helping Ukrainian, Syrian and Somali asylum seekers’. It was been published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Xuereb conducted the study in both Malta and the UK. Malta was chosen apart from the UK, where the research team was based, because of the country’s large numbers of Mediterranean migrants.
Ukrainians would be perceived more positively because that is the political discourse
In total, there were 287 participants, of who 157 lived in Malta. Participants answered questions about perceived threat, prejudice, emotions and attitudes towards helping asylum seekers from Ukraine, Syria and Somalia.
The Geneva Convention defines a refugee as someone who is unable to be protected in their own country or fearful of not being offered such protection.
Asylum seekers are refugees whose request for sanctuary is still being processed.
Across the entire sample, more negativity was reported about Syrian and Somali asylum seekers than about Ukrainians, with more negative emotion, less positive emotion, more prejudice and lower attitudes towards helping being disclosed.
When compared to the UK, Maltese participants reported more negative emotions (11.92 Maltese average score out of 56 points compared to 10.50 for UK), perceived threat (13.57 Maltese average score out of 42 compared to the UK’s 11.85) and prejudice (19.24 Maltese average score out of 56 points compared to 15.48 in the UK).
This showed that European adults are less positive about asylum seekers who are not white and who are perceived as culturally more distant.
Not all asylum seekers are equal
A look at the Maltese scores showed that when it came to ‘negative emotions’, Maltese scored an average 10.09 out of 56 points towards Ukrainians that increased to 12.57 towards Syrians and 13.24 for Somalis. When it came to ‘perceived threat’ measured on a 42-point scale, the average score was of 12.44 for Ukrainians, 14.62 for Syrians and 13.75 for Somalis.
And when it came to the attitude towards helping out, Maltese averaged 53.48 out of 70 for Ukrainians that dropped to 52,89 for Syrians and 51.38 for Somalis.
Xuereb said in the study: “While Malta and the UK are both European countries of Christian heritage, similar to Ukraine, Malta is geographically and culturally closer to Syria than is the UK, despite the religious differences.”
The results show that not all asylum seekers are equal. White European asylum seekers are seen in a more positive or kinder light than darker-skinned ones from outside Europe.
“Even though Syria, with its Mediterranean culture, can be seen more similar to Malta, Maltese participants expressed more negative perceptions of Syrians than of Ukrainians.
"This is despite emotional scenes on the media in the last few years, such as images of Africans in boats in the Mediterranean Sea or the death of Syrian children as they tried to make it to Europe. This suggests that empathic responses towards asylum seekers may be present for a period of time but perhaps fatigue sets in and perceptions become less positive,” the report notes.
Considered in terms of ‘Social Identity Theory’ – built on the way we categorise ourselves and others as ‘groups’ of people – the results suggest that a white European identity and possibly an identity of Christian heritage become salient when Europeans consider asylum seekers. It is possible that the less familiar cultures, as well as the difference in religious heritage, are seen as more threatening.
Even though Syria, with its Mediterranean culture, can be seen more similar to Malta, Maltese participants expressed more negative perceptions of Syrians than of Ukrainians.Shifting perceptions
The study showed that perceived threat and negative emotions led to higher prejudice, which, in turn, led to lower attitudes towards helping, while positive emotions led to lower prejudice, which then led to higher attitudes towards helping.
If perceptions of threat are addressed, the current study indicates that prejudice should reduce and, consequently, attitudes towards helping become more positive.
Findings indicate that work needs to be done on two main fronts: support people challenge beliefs that asylum seekers are threatening and help people empathise with asylum seekers, so they can experience and acknowledge positive emotions towards them.
“In terms of practical implications, it is imperative that decision-makers reflect on how their use of discourse facilitates further exclusion of vulnerable individuals. On the other hand, citizens must be presumed to have some agency and ability to distinguish and interpret discourses around asylum seekers. Discussions of bias or racism, whether in the media or in schools, should cover the current experiences of people seeking refuge in order to nurture learning and change,” the report states.
Methodology
Participants from Malta and the UK were asked to focus on Ukrainian, Syrian or Somali refugees while completing a survey.
Data was collected between June and July 2022. The final sample comprised 287 participants: 130 participants lived in the UK and 157 lived in Malta.
Advertisements were posted on a number of British and Maltese social medial groups. Interested people could click on the link in the advert, which took them to the survey based on four scales.
People taking part in the study were asked how they felt about asylum seekers on a scale of 1 to 7 in terms of admiration, fondness, inspiration, pride, respect, anger, shame, contempt, disgust, frustration, hate, resent, unease, pity and sympathy.
Other similar scales were used for the perceived threat of Ukrainian refugees versus those from Somalia and Syria, along with prejudice and attitudes towards helping.
Participants were randomly assigned to a Ukrainian, Syrian or Somali refugee condition. With regard to the 287 completed questionnaires, 105 (36.6%) focused on Ukrainian asylum seekers, 92 (32.1%) on Syrians and 90 (31.4%) on Somali.