To summarize, it must be said that there are repatriation programs both in the international community and in Syria itself. However, they still cannot be fully implemented due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure, full security and decent living conditions. The need for an early return of refugees to their homeland has been repeatedly emphasized in the discourses of both the countries hosting the refugees and Syria itself. Turkey is taking all possible steps for successful repatriation, which are sometimes contrary to international humanitarian law, as it forces refugees to return as part of their programme.

2.3 Repatriates' representation in media

There are little researches concerning the repatriates' representation in media, especially, in Arab media, although there are a lot of talks about the refugee crisis. Speaking of the scientific works dealing with repatriates and refugees, they could be divided into several groups; each of them would be considered and analyzed. It should be noted that as all the repatriates are the former refugees, hence, the refugees' representation is also important for analysis. Moreover, these groups are socially vulnerable and often become the object of social inequality and abuse of power. Thus, the patterns of refugees' representation could be adopted in relation to repatriates. Therefore, both repatriates and refugees are considered in a coherent manner.

The first group consists of works dedicated to the representation of the Syrian refugees in non-arab countries (mostly, in the European countries and North America). In general refugees are negatively represented in mass media. Examining comparative literature on the framing of immigration, it is clear that specific lenses, especially those pertaining to security and terrorism, dominate print and television news, as American researchers have discovered. Stephanie A. Fryberg et al., “How the Media Frames the Immigration Debate: The Critical Role of Location and Politics.,” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP) 12, no. 1 (2012): 96-112.The same situation, when the refugees are mostly represented as a potential threat, is in Canada Vappu Tyyskä et al., `The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Canadian Media', no. 2017 (n.d.): 37., Germany Deutsche Welle, `Germany's Reporting on Asylum-Seekers Exposes “Latent Racism”', DW.COM, accessed 16 May 2019, https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-reporting-on-asylum-seekers-exposes-latent-racism/a-44243411., Australia, UK and other countries Lutgard Lams, `Discursive Constructions of the Summer 2015 Refugee Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of French, Dutch, Belgian Francophone and British Centre-of-Right Press Narratives', Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, no. 7(1) (2018): 103-27. which have experienced a migration crisis. Some researchers emphasized the stereotypical and collectivist way of representing refugees in the media. Anca G. Radu, `2018 British Media Representations of Refugees', Jonkoping University, no. 1 (2018): 3. The refugee crisis and repatriation issues became a headliner topic in Western media because of the mass concern about it. Europe supports the repatriation programme due to economic and social factors Gloria Chemutai, `Print Media Coverage of Refugee Crisis in Kenya: A Case of Daily Nation and Standard Newspapers' Coverage of the Dabaab Refugee Repatriation', 2017, 12, https://journalism.uonbi.ac.ke/sites/default/files/chss/journalism/journalism/Revised%20-%20Gloria%20Chemutaiaaa.pdf..

However, certain dynamics are mentioned in refugees' representation. German scientist identified five “waves” Petra Hemmelmann and Susanne Wegner, `Refugees in the Media Discourse', n.d., 5.. R. Wallance shows how the depiction of refugees changed trough time in Canadian media. She identified many factors starting with the internal election process and ending with the photo of 3 years Syrian boy who died in the sea Rebecca Wallace, “Contextualizing the Crisis: The Framing of Syrian Refugees in Canadian Print Media,” Canadian Journal of Political Science 51, no. 2 (2018): 230.. The same conclusion was made in the research conducted by B. Vollmer and S. Karakayali Bastian Vollmer and Serhat Karakayali, `The Volatility of the Discourse on Refugees in Germany', Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies 16, no. 1-2 (2017): 118-39..

Another aspect pointed out by the researchers of Western media is gender dimension of the representation. They argue that there is a huge disproportion in representation of male and female refugees. Newspapers and social media portrayed this group as almost only male. Besides, these men were referred as terrorists or rapists Jill Walker Rettberg and Radhika Gajjala, `Terrorists or Cowards: Negative Portrayals of Male Syrian Refugees in Social Media', Feminist Media Studies 16, no. 1 (2 January 2016): 178-81. while the female experience was not even mentioned. This statement is more about wave and movement of “#RefugeesNOTwelcome” in 2015.

The same results of researches could be seen in the works of Arabic and Turkish scientists. Turkey and Arab countries (such as Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, etc.) according to the UNHCR hosted the biggest amount of refugees, thus, they are highly interested in the successful implementation of a repatriation plan. The change in perception from “innocent and demanding guests” to “disobedient threats in peaceful neighbourhoods” is also present. Filiz and Mine Karaku, `Perceptions and Newspaper Coverage of Syrian Refugees in Turkey', Migration Letters 12, no. 3 (29 August 2015): 246. Ömer Emre Yücel (Turkey) found out that there is a correlation between the critics of refugees and the amount of sources used by the author Ömer Yücel and Alara Dogankaya, `Representation of the Syrian Refugees in Turkish Media', 20 April 2017.. Some authors noticed the shift from the negative representation to more humanitarian one, in the case especially in the “neutral” or “anti-governmental” newspapers. Ulas Sunata and Esra Yýldýz, “Representation of Syrian Refugees in the Turkish Media,” Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies 7 (March 1, 2018): 129. For pro-governmental media it is more typical to victimize a refugee addressing him/her as a friend who needs protection and aid Elçin Esmer, “Discursive Representations of Syrian Migrants in Turkish Mass Media and Social Media and the Effects of These Media Discources on Syrian Migrants,” September 20, 2018, 327781120.. R. Abid focuses on metaphors in the representation of Syrian refugees in Lebanese, Egyptian and Jordan newspapers. She and her associates conducted a comparative media analysis of hosting and non-hosting countries. It was identified that the water metaphors are predominantly used to describe the amount of refugees in both categories of countries. Raith Zeher Abid, Shakila Abdul Manan, and Zuhair Abdul Amir Abdul Rahman, “`A Flood of Syrians Has Slowed to a Trickle': The Use of Metaphors in the Representation of Syrian Refugees in the Online Media News Reports of Host and Non-Host Countries,” Discourse & Communication 11, no. 2 (2017): 136.

It is important that in Arab media a new discussion has emerged unlike in the non-arab ones - the need for repatriation because of the countries' inability to resettle all the refugees Maharat foundation, ÇáÊÛØíÉ ÇáÅÚáÇãíÉ áÞÖÇíÇ ÇááÇÌÆíä (Media Coverage of the Refugee Issues), 2016, 36, http://maharatfoundation.org/media/-final.pdf..

The third group of analyzed literature is dedicated to the representation of repatriates. Unfortunately there is no sufficient amount of scientific works about the representation of the Syrian repatriates. Mostly researchers and journalists focus on the existing repatriation programmes or economic challenges these repatriates are facing during their adaptation and reintegration, for example lack of security, lack of employment, instability within the country etc. The gap concerning the psychological reintegration of Syrian repatriates is observed in the literature as well as in the official media discourse.

A researcher from the Leiden University Betül Beyza Öztürk studied the refugees returned from Turkey to Syria for holidays as a “microcosm” of the whole repatriation process. He mainly focuses on their behavior and their motivation for coming back home rather than their perception in their hometowns. The most crucial argument which B. Öztürk has formulated is the possible expectation of the repatriates that they will be treated in the state of origin like “first-class citizens”. They expect all the goods and social services will be provided by the state however, it is not the case for Syrian people as his study has shown. The main purpose of returning is the emotional attachment and taking care of the family left in Syria Betül Beyza Öztürk, `Testing the Water: Refugee Returns to Syria', in Thesis Seminar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development (Seminar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development, Leiden, 2018), 23-24, https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/63964/Ozturk%2C%20Betul-s2074982-MA%20Thesis%20POWE-2018.pdf?sequence=1., but the percentage willing to go back to the country of origin remains small. This statement is correlated with results of a survey conducted by UNHCR studying the Syrians' intentions to return. Only 5.9% of Syrians plan to return to their home during next 12 months (as for March 2019). UNHCR, `Fifth Regional Survey on Syrian Refugees' Perceptions and Intentions on Return to Syria'.

Although the lack of scientific works in the case of Syrian repatriates' representation there are a considerable amount of researches where the representation of the refugees of different nationalities is analyzed. As an example could be used one of the most “sensitive” problems in the Middle East - the Palestinian crisis, especially the “right to return” of Palestinians. Speaking about the repatriation perception in the official political discourse it could be described as “over-victimization” of the repatriates or future repatriates in order to achieve political goals.

However, such a policy has not been fundamental throughout the existence of the Palestinian problem. Until the late 1990s, the official discourse of the political leadership of Israel was "avoidance". Only in 1990s Israeli officials started to consider the right of return of Palestinian refugees, acknowledge the Palestinian tragedy and Israel's share of historical responsibility Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, “From Taboo to the Negotiable: The Israeli New Historians and the Changing Representation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem,” Perspectives on Politics 5, no. 02 (June 2007).. It has led to “over-victimization” syndrome which, as an Israeli researcher H. Sandberg argues, prevents a refugee to improve his/her life Haim Sandberg, `The Politics of “over-Victimization” - Palestinian Proprietary Claims in the Service of Political Goals', Israel Affairs 19, no. 3 (July 2013): 500, https://doi.org/10.1080/13537121.2013.799868.. In addition, the romanticized image of a repatriate, who fights Israel in this way Louis Staples, `“Stop Romanticising That Viral Image of a Palestinian Protester - It's Not a Poetic Moment”', The Independent, 26 October 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/palestine-israel-gaza-protest-photo-conflict-middle-east-flag-blockade-a8602416.html., is very common in Arab and Palestinian newspapers.

Concerning the language used for identification of the refugees and repatriates S. Batrawi and A. Uzelac by searching for the word “refugee” in Syrian News Agency SANA identified that from 2011 till June 2018 there were only 8 results for this word in English and 4 in Arabic and, moreover, the term appeared only in interviews with the Syrian leader or in speeches of foreigners Batrawi and Uzelac, `Four Ways in Which the Syrian Regime Controls Refugee Return', 3.. It could be an example of the inconsistency in policy towards the repatriation problem.

Almost all the researchers emphasize that the type of representation in media correlates with the political situation within a country. For example, the humanitarian and refugee-oriented media policy was typical for election process in Canada because of the right-in-time publication of the young victim of the crisis. Wallace, `Contextualizing the Crisis', 219.

Hence, the literature review dedicated to the repatriates' and refugees' representation in media provided some conclusions which could be useful for the research. First, there were several “waves” of representation in the western media. The focus shifted from collectivistic and negative one to more individualistic and humanitarian, often were used pictures of child casualties. In official newspapers the refugees are represented as ones who need help and protection, sometimes the problems connected with the conditions of repatriation are avoided due to political reasons Demidova, `The Images of Repatriates in State Media of Syria (2011-2019)'..

3. Analysis of state-owned newspapers (Tishreen and al-Baath)

Before analyzing newspapers, it should be pointed out that in Arabic language there is no such words as “repatriate” or “repatriation”. “Those who return to their homeland” and “return to the homeland” are commonly used for definition of these terms.

Tishreen is a Syrian state-owned daily newspaper published in Damascus by the Ministry of Information. It is one of the main news sources in the country. As it was mentioned the newspapers including Tishreen started publishing their articles after achieving the “permanent stability” in the region, e.g. after 2016 (Tishreen - after 2017). Hence, period the news covered stretches from 07.02.2017 till 31.12.2019.

Published by ruling party al-Baath, Al-Baath newspaper is one of the most popular state-owned newspapers in Syria. It is also published in the countries where the al-Baath party has strong presence - in Lebanon and in Palestine. That is why it is important to research the texts; they are created not only for the citizens of Syria, but also for the inhabitants of other states.

Unlike the Tishreen newspaper, al-Baath started to publish the articles concerning the repatriation process in February 2014 when the Syrian prime minister stated that provinces Daraa, Homs and Damascus are getting ready for hosting refugees “ÇáÍáÞí: æÍÏÇÊ ÓßäíÉ ÈÊÞäíÉ «ÇáÊÔííÏ ÇáÓÑíÚ» áÊæØíä ÇáãåÌÑíä - ÇáÈÚË ãíÏíÇ,” accessed May 28, 2019, http://albaathmedia.sy/2014/02/13/.

The main difference noticed between these two newspapers is the scope of the news coverage. Al-Baath has covered a wider range of Syrian provinces and hosting countries while Tishreen's coverage is limited by mentioning the processes in those provinces mostly destroyed by the war. Another point is that the only two hosting countries mentioned are Lebanon and Jordan which actively participate in the liberation of Syria from terrorism and in the repatriation programmes. Another noticed difference concerns the type of publication. While the articles in Tishreen newspaper are mainly short news, the newspaper al-Baath contains mostly full-fledged reports that are much larger in volume and comprise interviews and the opinion of the article's author.

The first thing to be analyzed is topic of the news which is predominantly reflected in headlines and/or, in more details, in leads. The right definition of the topic could lead to a better understanding of global meaning, so called “semantic macrostructures” Dijk, `The Role of the Press in the Reproduction of Racism', 22..

Topics in the news express any subject of public concern, in our case - the case of state-owned newspapers - the concern of political elites. All the studied topics covering the repatriates' issues can be defined as positive news about happy and safe return of refugees to their homes. It became possible due to favorable conditions provided by the official Syrian government. Such a positive self-representation helps official elites create a positive image of a country that was damaged during the civil war, or to improve it.

This large overarching topic includes three topics related to it. The first major topic is the successful refugees' return as a consequence of liberation of territories carried out by the Syrian army, i.e. these territories become habitable and can receive refugees. These stories are about some provinces, cities and villages, about sacrifices and heroism of Syrian soldiers (“raising the flag is a sign of the stability and safety that the Syrian Arab Army has returned to the city of Daraa thanks to its sacrifice” `ÇÓÊãÑÇÑ ÚæÏÉ ÇáãåÌÑíä ÚÈÑ ãÚÈÑ äÕíÈ ÇáÍÏæÏí: ÇáÑÌæÚ áÍÖä ÇáæØä ÃÔÈå ÈÚæÏÉ ÇáÑæÍ Åáì ÇáÌÓÏ (The continued return of the displaced persons through the Nassib border crossing point: Returning to the embrace of the homeland is like returning the soul to the body)', (Tishreen Newspaper)ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä, accessed 5 April 2020, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=397031.), who liberated the land from terrorism. These examples are from the leads - the most memorable and important part of the article:

Tishreen: “Today a new group of refugees has returned from the refugee camps in Jordan through the Naseeb Jaber border crossing point to their cities, towns and villages that the Syrian Arab Army had freed from terrorism” “ÇÓÊãÑÇÑ ÚæÏÉ ÇáãåÌÑíä ÚÈÑ ãÚÈÑ äÕíÈ ÇáÍÏæÏí: ÇáÑÌæÚ áÍÖä ÇáæØä ÃÔÈå ÈÚæÏÉ ÇáÑæÍ Åáì ÇáÌÓÏ,” ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä (blog), accessed April 5, 2020, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=397031..

Al-Baath: “A delegation of Syrian refugee tribes in Jordan expressed their pride in the victories the Syrian Arab Army had made against terrorism, indicating their will to return to the homeland in the near future, while 150 families fled because of terrorism have returned to their homes…” `ÏÝÚÉ ËÇáËÉ ãä ÇáãåÌøÑíä ÊÚæÏ Åáì ÇáÞÕíÑ ÇáÚÔÇÆÑ ÇáÓæÑíÉ ÇáãåÌÑÉ Ýí ÇáÃÑÏä: äÊØáÚ ááÚæÏÉ Åáì ÇáæØä(A third group of refugees returns to Qusayr, the displaced Syrian tribes in Jordan: We look forward to returning home)', (Newspaper al-Baath)ÌÑíÏÉ ÇáÈÚË, 3 October 2019, http://newspaper.albaathmedia.sy/2019/10/03/ÏÝÚÉ-ËÇáËÉ-ãä-ÇáãåÌøÑíä-ÊÚæÏ-Åáì-ÇáÞÕí/.

In addition, along with the mention of the heroic efforts of the Syrian military, the stability and security of the liberated region are emphasized. Thus, it may allow the repatriation process as well as economic recovery of the country. It leads to the second topic discussed in the articles, namely the economic issues connected to the refugees' return: work done to restore the facilities, improve food and energy supply, etc. These stories basically show the absence of economic and social problems in the places where the Syrians return. Often this takes the form of exaggerating achievements, for example, a stove to bake bread has appeared in the city Harasta `ÏæãÇ ÊÓÊÚÏ áØí ÕÝÍÉ ÇáÅÑåÇÈ.. ÇáÚáã ÇáæØäí íÑÝÚ Ýí Úíä ÊÑãÇ æÌæÈÑ.. æÃåÇáí ÍÑÓÊÇ íÈÏÄæä ÑÍáÉ ÇáÚæÏÉ (Always preparing to turn the page of terrorism ... The national flag is raised in Ain Tarma and Jobar .. The people of Harasta begin the journey to return)', (Al-Baath newspaper) ÌÑíÏÉ ÇáÈÚË, 1 April 2018, http://newspaper.albaathmedia.sy/2018/04/02/ÏæãÇ-ÊÓÊÚÏ-áØí-ÕÝÍÉ-ÇáÅÑåÇÈ-ÇáÚáã-ÇáæØ/., which symbolizes the availability of the necessary food. At the same time, attention is not focused on the lack of necessary living conditions, since the government is interested in providing an ennobled picture of what is happening, among other things, to attract more returnees.

Thirdly, one of the most frequent topics associated with repatriates are the relations with other countries where the refugees are coming from or the countries or other international actors which decisions could have a significant impact on the refugee situation, such as Turkey, the USA, Russia, United Nations, etc. In the articles there are constant repeated mentions of joint programmes with neighbouring countries and the names of border crossings. Some of the countries, which do not cooperate with the Syrian government in Damascus, are represented in a negative way, such as US or Turkey; some countries or organizations, on the contrary, are shown as allies. For example:

Tishreen: “Hundreds of refugees returned to their homes from Lebanon” “ãÆÇÊ ÇáãåÌÑíä íÚæÏæä ãä áÈäÇä Åáì ÃÑÖ ÇáæØä,” ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä (blog), accessed April 5, 2020, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=377409.

Al-Baath: “the two bodies called on the United Nations to put pressure on the United States to end the tragedy of the Syrians refugees in Al-Rukban camp, return them to their homes liberated from terrorism and withdraw their occupation forces from the Al-Tanf area”. `ÞÇÏÉ “ÈÑíßÓ” íÄßÏæä ÇáÊÒÇãåã ÈÓíÇÏÉ ÓæÑíÉ ææÍÏÊåÇ æÓáÇãÉ ÃÑÇÖíåÇ ÏãÔÞ æãæÓßæ: ÇáæáÇíÇÊ ÇáãÊÍÏÉ ÊäåÈ æÊÓÑÞ ÇáËÑæÇÊ ÇáæØäíÉ ÇáÓæÑíÉ (“BRICS” leaders affirm their commitment to the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria Damascus and Moscow: the United States plunder and steal Syrian national wealth)', (Al-Baath newspaper)ÌÑíÏÉ ÇáÈÚË, 14 November 2019, http://newspaper.albaathmedia.sy/2019/11/15/ÞÇÏÉ-ÈÑíßÓ-íÄßÏæä-ÇáÊÒÇãåã-ÈÓíÇÏÉ-Óæ/.

All of these three topics can be found in one all-encompassing article. This may indicate the use of the image of refugees as a reflection of the current achievements of the Syrian government, whether in the military, economic, social or political spheres. The overall message is that refugees are returning home thanks to efforts made by all the authorities and officials in order to secure the favorable conditions for further repatriation. It could be a tool to legitimize the existing powers, e.g. symbolic elites.

It should be noted that the global meanings can be also characterized by the topics which are absent Dijk, `The Role of the Press in the Reproduction of Racism', 24.. The number of repatriates, places they return to, parties which help them return are well portrayed, but the problems connected with this process are seldom depicted. The lack of basic living conditions, absence of work, security, medical services, the destroyed cities and villages cannot be described in these articles.

Other actors which are not represented in the press (especially in Tishreen) are terrorists. The land is liberated from terrorism without any specification. In Syria there are dozens of terrorist groups You can find the list on the website of Russian International Affairs Council https://russiancouncil.ru/syria-extremism , some of them are not considered as terrorists by international community while the government in Damascus classifies them as extremists. The ideological polarization Teun A. van Dijk, “What Is Political Discourse Analysis?” Belgian Journal of Linguistics 11 (December 31, 1997). is observed while the actions of Syrian officials are represented as good, their enemies - terrorists - do only bad things. Their acts are seen only with negative connotation and are over-generalized, no detail description is provided.

Moreover, the problems of reintegration are not the case in the articles; the writers are focused on what the authorities could provide for the repatriates rather than on the difficulties of resettlement. The main emphasis is put on the achievements of the Syrian army and its allies to clear the region from terrorism. It helps the government to build its image as “the protector of the people” and to justify the cost of this “war with terror”. It also serves as an encouragement for those who still live outside the country and hesitate to come back, since the state policy is to bring more people back to Syria for economic purposes. Besides, the repetition of the successes of the official government could enhance its prestige which has been damaged during the civil war. In that case the persuasion and manipulation which is crucial for CDA according to T. van Dijk is taking place. T. A. van Dijk, “Discourse, Context and Cognition,” Discourse Studies 8, no. 1 (February 1, 2006): 160.

The second step by performing CDA is to analyze the local meanings, such as the meaning of words (or lexical), the structures of propositions, and coherence and other relations between propositions Dijk, `Multidisciplinary CDA: A Plea for Diversity', 103.. In the most cases, and Syrian state-owned newspapers are not an exception, we can witness the strategy of “positive self-presentation and negative other presentation”, in which our good things and their bad things are emphasized, and our bad things and their good things are de-emphasized Ibid., 25.. This statement was illustrated above.

On the level of lexical analysis the choice of words is referred to the commonly shared values and personal feelings among Arabs: family, hospitality, safety, attachment to home, strive for a better safe life. In every article it is written that families are returning back to their houses. Constant repetition of the emotionally charged words such as “liberation from terrorism”, “relief”, “happiness”, and “safety” is observed:

Tishreen: “A number of returnees expressed their happiness to return to their homes” `ÚæÏÉ 500 ÚÇÆáÉ Åáì ãäÇÒáåÇ Ýí ãäØÞÉ ãäÈÌ (500 families return to their homes in the Manbij area)', ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä(Tishreen newspaper), 16 September 2017, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=111056.

“The refugees thanked the Syrian Army for their sacrifices made to eliminate the terrorists' presence in the region `ÇáãåÌÑæä ÇáÚÇÆÏæä ãä áÈäÇä: ÇáÚíÏ ÎÇÑÌ ÓæÑíÉ ãÑñø æáÇ ãÚäì áå(Refugees return from Lebanon: the holiday outside Syria is bitter and meaningless)', Tishreen newspaper, 23 August 2018, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=207447.”

The repetition is a rhetorical device which should be researched ideologically. Rhetorical devices per se are used for persuasive purposes. Van Dijk argues: “The persuasive dimension of rhetoric may have specific function of drawing special attention to specific meaning and hence to enhance the possibility that these are being constructed as important parts of intended event model” Teun A. van Dijk, Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach, Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, 2008), 192.. It means that the power holders were using the repetition to focus the attention of readers on the above mentioned positive characteristics which should be associated with the repatriation process.

Moreover, in the case the repetition happened throughout all the articles rather than within a specific piece of news, e.g. the intertextuality of texts is a feature of the Tishreen newspaper regarding the repatriation process. It even could be called intertextual chain, as Fairclough determined it in his work “Media discourse”. Certain elements of one text are incorporated in other ones. Martin and Wodak, Re/Reading the Past. Critical and Functional Perspectives on Time and Value, 74. The idea of the governmental forces taking care of repatriates in many different ways is the one which Damascus tries to persuade the audience to stay in power using the state-owned media.

If we focus on the representation itself by using van Leeuwen's model analysis, which was described in Chapter 2, we can identify five out of ten categories suitable for analysis.

The first category relevant for the research is the naming of the repatriates in the articles. In the Tishreen newspaper the refugees have no specific names, the journalists are referring to them only as to group of people by calling them “refugees”, “displaced persons” or “repatriates”. A number of people (in 2 of 20 articles examined in Tishreen newspaper) were interviewed by the authorities and journalists and they were called by their names and the region they came from. The choice made by the interviewers “can serve many different psychological, social or political purposes on the side of the speaker or writers”. Analysing Newspapers. An Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis, 50. In our case an ordinary generalized type of the social actor helps the readers to understand what areas are safe now and where they can come back to.

In that regard another category should be noted to describe the nomination more specific - it is functionalization and identification. Functionalization refers to activities, occupations and roles of social actors Amer, `Critical Discourse Analysis of War Reporting in the International Press', 5. while identification - to the prominent features like the inhabitant of a specific area in Syria or gender van Leeuwen, `The Representation of Social Actors', 56..

It can be stated that there is a shifting in representation of the refugees in the newspapers in a gender aspect. While in the beginning there was no specific indication of gender and the authors of the articles used plural forms, later more information appeared about women and children crossing the border.

“The children also expressed joy and how they missed their home and school”. `500 ãä ÃåÇáí ÈíÊ Ìä ÚÇÏæÇ ãä áÈäÇä Åáì ãäÇÒáåã', ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä (blog), 19 April 2018, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=150426.

“After years spended outside their homes and country, many IDPs (internally displaced persons) returned to their villages, including 94 IDPs from Zabadani, mostly women”. `ÇáãåÌÑæä ÇáÚÇÆÏæä ãä áÈäÇä'.

Al-Baath: “According to the reports from Daraa, dozens of displaced Syrians, including women and children, returned today from refugee camps in Jordan “The Return of a New Batch of Displaced from Refugee Camps in Jordan - Al - Baath Media,” accessed May 28, 2019, http://albaathmedia.sy/2019/02/06/.”.

The shift in the disproportion of gender representation could be caused by the fact that many men refused to return due to the state policy regarding the military service. Another explanation could be the fear among those who already live in the newly liberated villages of possible terrorists pretending of being refugees.

In the Tishreen newspaper the former refugees are referred as to a group of people without individualistic characteristics. Unlike the tendency in Western media to individualization in Tishreen it is the opposite: the collectivization, or assimilation, is more applicable. For collectivization is typical to use quantifiable nouns (as it was seen in the headlines above) and not referring to the people as individuals Radu, `2018 British Media Representations of Refugees', 12.. In that case a group of people serves as a function, as a tool to emphasize the other aspect - the “safety” of the liberated zones. The social actors are treated like statistics figures.

“Today the new group of people has returned to their villages and cities in the countryside of Aleppo…” `ÚæÏÉ ÚÔÑÇÊ ÇáÚÇÆáÇÊ ÚÈÑ ããÑ ÃÈæ ÇáÖåæÑ ãä ãäÇØÞ ÇäÊÔÇÑ ÇáÅÑåÇÈííä ÈÑíÝ ÅÏáÈ (Dozens of families return through the Abu Dahour Corridor from the terrorist areas in Idlib countryside)', ÕÍíÝÉ ÊÔÑíä (Tishreen newspaper), 25 September 2018, http://tishreen.news.sy/?p=222047.

In the example above the literal translation from Arabic word “group” is “push”. So, the metaphors are also present concerning the refugees' representation. As it is argued in that case the metaphor emphasizes the collectivization of the repatriates. However, unlike the rest part of the text, the metaphors used to describe refugees are not widely used.

The next analyzed category of the represented social actors is the modality, active or passive role allocated to the social actor. In the most cases the refugees are active performers of their activity - returning back home. The active voice enhances the confidence of the audience in the speaker because the actor is named and understood by the listener. It persuades the people of the free will of the returnees. But, when it comes to the services provided to the refugees or the future life waiting for them, the active social actors become passive. As T. van Leeuwen claims, in most cases the immigrants are active only in one case - the act of immigration itself van Leeuwen, `The Representation of Social Actors', 45.. Other things are provided for them.

The last chosen category is exclusion/inclusion. It has two subcategories: “radical” which means total/complete suppression, i.e., there is no trace or reference to the social actors, and their actions/activities anywhere in the text. The second one is “partial” exclusion which means backgrounding of social actors. Social actors are mentioned not immediately in the activity but somewhere in the text Amer, `Critical Discourse Analysis of War Reporting in the International Press', 5..

By using the categories of van Leeuwen's analysis it became obvious that the representation of repatriates contrasts with the representation of the officials mentioned in the texts. The latter are functionalized in regard to their activity, for example, “police chef of Homs”, “the governor” etc. They are also active actors: “he claimed”, “he said”, “he assured” and, moreover, individualized by giving them names and specific features.

This contrast could be caused by “we” and “they” dichotomy where “we” are the representatives of the army and “they” - the repatriates. That is why the distance between a reader and refugees is constructed by using collectivization and exclusion of the specific features. It reveals the attitude of the government towards “they” - those who fled and cannot be considered as fully citizen anymore. It helps to gain more sympathy for the power-holders and not to returnees. It serves for the purpose of justification of the governmental actions in Syria and enhancing prestige.

To conclude, the representation of refugees in the Syrian state-owned newspapers is largely influenced by the authorities. It performs a function of static figures for the main idea implied by the journalists - the role of the Syrian government and the Syrian army in liberation the country from terrorists and providing the services for returnees. This effect is made by using words and structures such as numbers, different naming of the group (“group”, “bunch”, “family”), quantifiable numbers for collectivization of the refugees. It draws the readers' attention from them to the achievements of the Syrian government. Such representation builds up the ideology which constructs the new reality beneficial for the authorities.

4. Analysis of opposition newspapers

4.1 Analysis of Enab Baladi

Enab Baladi is considered as an independent Syrian newspaper which came to existence during the first years of revolution. In 2011 a group of citizen journalists and activists from a Daraya town in Damascus suburbs decided to launch their own media organization, and the new weekly newspaper has become part of it. As it is stated on the official website, the Enab Baladi's mission is “to serve a role in educating Syrian citizens through in-depth public interest reporting, including investigative journalism and news reports to elevate important social topics at the local level `About Us', Enab Baladi, accessed 13 April 2020, https://english.enabbaladi.net/about-us/..

Enab Baladi currently prints around 7000 copies a week and distributes it in Northern part of Syria (Aleppo, Latakia and Idlib) and among Syrian refugees. The distribution in other parts of Syria is impossible due to restrictions imposed by the government on the creators of this newspaper. The newspaper is printed in Turkey and then shipped to Syria.

The work of Enab Baladi's is internationally recognized and several news outlets (such as BBC) rely on it as on one of the trusted sources for information about Syria Delhi Press Magazines, The Caravan: December 2018 (Delhi Press Magazines, 2018), 9.. The newspaper publishes a lot of articles concerning women situation at war. The staff won two international awards: U.S. State Department Women of Courage Award and Anna Politkovskaya Award The Anna Politkovskaya Award was established in 2006 to remember and honor the Russian campaigning journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The award is presented annually by the international human rights organisation, RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War) and honours women human rights defenders from around the world, who work in war and conflict zones, often at great personal risk. ^, `About Us'..

After examining 20 headlines it should be stated that they are dominated by two types of stories concerning repatriates and refugees - problems they faced on their way home, both voluntarily returning and forced one, and political processes devoted to repatriation problems in countries and organizations that are actively involved in resolving this issue. All of the studied articles emphasize the uncertainty among Syrians about their return or their unwillingness to do so despite the efforts of the countries they are staying in. There was no story where a refugee expresses his/her free will to repatriate.

The most common emotion, which occurs or is described in the headlines, is inability to control one's fate. There is no country, according to Enab Baladi, which fully accepts the refugees See more “Syria Disintegrating: Where do refugees return?” by Enab Baladi https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2019/09/syria-disintegrating-where-do-refugees-return/. The refugees in the headlines are represented as those who play passive role; their only active position is to be a refugee and to consider herself/himself as a refugee. Only in three out of twenty headlines refugees play an active role, and in only one they are not represented as a group. As Enab Baladi is an independent newspaper, covering, among others, the stories about human rights' violations, it represents the refugees as victims, who are threatened by, in most cases, the “Syrian regime” and hosting countries (predominantly Turkey and Lebanon). All the topics have negative connotation, because all refugees in one way or another face serious challenges which they are incapable to resolve by themselves.

Analysis of rhetorical figures on the “local level” of news discourse has shown that the headlines and leads are the most likely place to find metaphors (around 20% of the articles contain metaphors in headlines or leads), which help to catch reader's attention and serve the persuasion aim Dijk, Racism and the Press.. The most metaphors are used when describing the forced repatriation process, such as “deportation ghost haunting Syrians” `From Istanbul to Idlib: Deportation Ghost Haunting Syrians', Enab Baladi, 1 August 2019, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2019/08/from-istanbul-to-idlib-deportation-ghost-haunting-syrians/. or “Syrian refugees' return from Lebanon wrapped in mystery `Syrian Refugees' Return from Lebanon Wrapped in Mystery', Enab Baladi, 23 December 2018, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/12/syrian-refugees-return-from-lebanon-wrapped-in-mystery/.”. Some of the headlines also contain allusions to the words in state-owned newspapers, most of these allusions are written in Arabic. The content of such articles usually contradicts or criticizes the information in governmental newspapers.

The first meaning strategy worth to mention is victimization of refugees and repatriates, making them objects of any kind of violence, practically unable to stand up for themselves. It is written in one of the articles: “the women are reflecting on the hardships they went through on their journey of displacement, pointing out the reasons that prevent them from returning to Syria” `“Half Of Syria” Campaign: Reminder Of Internally Displaced and Refugee Syrians', Enab Baladi, 10 August 2019, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2019/08/half-of-syria-campaign-reminder-of-internally-displaced-and-refugee-syrians/. or by telling the heartbreaking story: “A security official in the Syrian regime entered the family house and killed the father, his son and the father's nephew” `Syrian Refugees' Return from Lebanon Wrapped in Mystery'..

This can also lead to prejudice towards the refugees or repatriates as those who are not fully capable of understanding the content of some documents, such as in an example: “Many Syrian refugees were coerced or misled when signing these forms” `Exclusive Enab Baladi: Syrian Refugee Recounts the Story of His Forced Repatriation from Turkey', Enab Baladi, 28 November 2019, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2019/11/exclusive-enab-baladi-syrian-refugee-recounts-the-story-of-his-forced-repatriation-from-turkey/.. “These forms” are so-called “voluntary return” documents. However, in many investigations or reports the journalists of Enab Baladi turn to various kinds of specialists for help, so that they explain how to fill out certain documents or what documents are needed to obtain a visa in Turkey, for example.

Sometimes Enab Baladi represents the refugees as victims in order to criticize the Syrian government, which is always called “Syrian regime”, in order to be consistent with newspaper's official politics - to reveal all crimes of Damascus. This point of view is also reflected in the journalist's perspective. One example: “Even though Rammah is sure that the Syrian regime will continue its military operations and advancements after announcing the ceasefire agreement in the western Aleppo countryside, he insist on staying in Atarib city driven by his emotions rather than logic” `Unease and Hesitation among IDPs to Return Home after Russian-Turkish Ceasefire Deal', Enab Baladi, 14 March 2020, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2020/03/unease-and-hesitation-among-idps-to-return-home-after-russian-turkish-ceasefire-deal/.. On the one hand, the author sympathize the Syrian man, it seems that they are like friends (the journalist call Rammah by his name), that is why, the journalist disagree with the decision to stay in Atarib. On the other hand, the Syrian forces are negatively represented as those who can easily violate the ceasefire agreement.

One of the key instruments in critical discourse analysis is the analysis of implicitness, which can lead to better understanding of beliefs, knowledge, mental models of journalists, his/her ideology Dijk, Racism and the Press, 181.. In Enab Baladi articles about refugees do not contain many examples of any kind of implicitness concerning mentioned vulnerable groups. “Amer, a 22-year-old student from Aleppo, is studying at the University of Lebanon. He came to Beirut in early 2015 to study, as the conditions in Syria made it impossible to continue his studies there…” `Discouraging Refugees from Staying - How Lebanon Is Forcing Syrians to Leave', Enab Baladi, 18 April 2017, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2017/04/discouraging-refugees-staying-lebanon-forcing-syrians-leave/. Why the word “study” in different variations was used so many times in a row? By constant repetition the journalist emphasizes the unfairness of the accusations of the Lebanese security forces against him; allegedly, Amar poses some kind of danger, although he just came to study. It again corresponds with the official position of Enab Baladi towards any kind of human rights violation by the countries cooperation with the Syrian government.

We can find a similar example from the article, telling the story about the refugees' deportation from Turkey: “The young Amjad Tabiliah is one of those who were deported from the city of Istanbul to northern Syria, as he confirmed in a video posted on Facebook, telling the story of his deportation although he has the temporary protection document” `From Istanbul to Idlib'.. Here there is no sympathy toward the deported refugee. The journalist has not interviewed him and relied only on a video from social media. Phrase “telling the story” suggests belief-suspension of the journalists. In that case the government forces were not mentioned, and were replaced by passive form. It may be an indicator of a biased position of this independent newspaper towards Turkish authorities, which are not as highly criticized as the Syrian officials.

One of the most powerful rhetorical instruments is contrast, especially between good “us” and bad “them” Dijk, Racism and the Press, 197.. “Us” could refer to all who are included in in-group, which in our case comprises of refugees, journalist of Enab Baladi, human right activists and other figures sympathizing the refugees' issues. The group “them” consists of all officials even those who conduct repatriation programs: “Moscow has recently noticed the presence of nearly six million Syrians outside the geographical boundaries that Russia has tighten its military and political grip on all pillars, It announced a majorly `humanitarian' plan to repatriate 5.6 million refugees to Syria under the Russian vision of stabilizing the situation in Syria” `The Syrian Refugees Issue under Russia's Auspices'.. In this sentence the negative attitude toward Russian officials contradicts with its repatriation plan, the only one active at the moment, which is also heavily criticized. The good deeds of Russian officials are being questioned, since before that Russia did not care about the return of refugees to their homeland and since it is in the “them” category. This contrast creates an illusion of rivalry between “us” and “them”, which totally corresponds to Enab Baladi's position to discredit the Syrian government and its allies.

The use of T. van Leeuwen's model could help categorize the social actors in the chosen newspaper. For the first category - inclusion/exclusion - some of the themes were selected, where such process can be observed. It should be noted that there is a limited amount of the themes because of the specific of the refugee's issue.

The themes which were included into the headlines of the articles are: fleeing the country, voluntary repatriation process, forced repatriation process (deportation), encountering the problems in hosting countries, economic reconstruction of Syria, human rights' violation, and speeches of Russian, Syrian, Lebanese officials as well as the speeches of Turkey-affiliated opposition leaders.

The themes for exclusion are: any kind of negotiation about repatriation process, future of Syria, and interviews with Syrians about human rights violations. So, it could be concluded that in most cases the refugees are excluded from decision-making processes which directly influence their lives. The same situation is with other social actors mentioned in the articles - officials, journalists, activists, lawyers, etc., who should be responsible for the repatriation process. All their actions and functions are represented in a descriptive manner, no details or illustrations about their actual work are provided:

“Amer [a refugee forced to deport] spoke to Enab Baladi about the `hardships' of getting a residence permit in Lebanon and the `abuse by authorities' towards these cases, as if they were following a policy of unjustified and `systematic disregard' in order to make immigrants leave” `Discouraging Refugees from Staying - How Lebanon Is Forcing Syrians to Leave'..

As it has been already mentioned above, the refugees and repatriates have in most cases passivated role, e.g. refugees serve as objects or only occur on the receiving end of the activity. Sometimes the agents performing the activity are implicit, as in example “this is the first time that so many Syrian refugees have been deported…” `Exclusive Enab Baladi'., or they could be named, such as “the Turkish authorities had offered them [refugees in Turkey] a choice between a jail sentence <…> or a forcible return to Syria”. Ibid. Thus, as in governmental newspapers, refugees are those who are objects of undergoing activity, not the actors themselves.

As for category “genericization/specification” in articles of Enab Baladi we can find both these types with predomination of the first one. Refugees are referred as to a group with the exceptions when journalists interview them. Interviews occur only in 30% of the articles, when it is crucial to influence the reader's emotion. On the contrary, the “professionals” are often specified except for officials or representatives of security services, which give them more credibility, if their profession and activity are fully described.

The next category - individualization/assimilation - could be derived from previous one. Enab Baladi tends to individualize a refugee while describing his/her problems during the interview and assimilate refugees as a group in other cases in order to demonstrate the attitude of officials toward this vulnerable group.

Even in the interviews the refugees could be represented without any details, in some way they are group's representatives. There are no indications on their functional role, except for being refugee or returnee, the only thing mentioned is their age and gender. All of the interviews were with young males. It could be an indicator of the fact that illegal acts are most often committed against men, as they most often pose a threat, or of that men are likely eager to conduct an interview.