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• 1 2018-04-17T16:04:14-04:00 War Guests, (Im)migrants, and Refugees 12 plain 2018-05-07T11:14:30-04:00

  Introduction

  During the selection phase of this archive, I noted the varying language used by Telegram staff in describing the people in their photographs. The terms that repeatedly appeared were "War Guest", "immigrant" or "migrant", and "refugee". What was interesting about the use of these specific terms was the patterns I found in the photo's subjects faces.

  War Guests

  In additional research, I was not able to come across a formal definition for "war guest", but in using the word, "guest," it can be inferred that those who were called War Guests were only staying in whatever location, temporarily. In recalling her memories of the Second World War, Ruth Barton Tassara explained that it was disrespectful to call the war guests "evacuees", despite that being what they were. She said in coming to Canada, it felt as though her and her sister, Anne, were going on a holiday, and the Canadian children she attended school with affectionately called Britain, "Mother Country." 

  (Im)migrants

  Immigrant, noun, a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

  Migrant, noun, a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions. 

  
  
  
  
  

  Refugees

  Refugee, noun, a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Oxford English Dictionary, s.v., "immigrant (n.)," accessed April 29, 2018.
  Oxford English Dictionary, s.v., "migrant (n.)," accessed April 29, 2018.
  Oxford English Dictionary, s.v., "refugee (n.)," accessed April 29, 2018.
  Tassara, Ruth Barton. "Britain at War: 'War Guests' in Canada." The Telegraph. February 18, 2009.