“Once Illegal, Forever Illegal” : how media narratives impact on migrants’ integration in Flanders

The article explores some experiences and perceptions of migrants and the local population regarding Belgian media representations. The reference literature and the data collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with local population, refugees and migrants in the Flanders region, have allowed to detect aspects of discrimination, socialization problems and episodes of hate speech. These aspects make it more difficult to understand the reality of the migration phenomenon, contributing to the reproduction of negative stereotypes and prejudices against migrants and, consequently, tend to influence also the process of integration of migrants and refugees in Belgian society.