Introducing ‘Hot Migrants’: the controversial Instagram account that everyone is hating on…and for good reason…
The short answer is yes. This IS the most inappropriate refugee Instagram account that we have yet to see, but don’t worry guys, ‘the site was not made with bad intentions’. Although we're not sure if that actually makes it any better.
‘Hot Migrants’ (no, we’re not kidding) launched just a week ago, dedicating its content to attractive Syrian and Afghan refugees. After posting just 31 photos, the site has gained 3000 followers and a tonne of haters. Somehow we could have predicted the last part…
The ‘Hot Migrants’ description box reads: ‘Handsome men on their journey to Europe. Their countries might be falling apart but their sex appeal still goes strong.’ Now is probably the right time to mention that the American creator of the account remains anonymous. (Shocker.)
‘Hot Migrants’ has received a huge backlash, with people accusing the account of fetishing and objectifying refugees, making a mockery of the desperate situation that these people are in.
Don’t get us wrong, Instagram is an effective way of spreading awareness and poignant messages, but this account does nothing close to that, posting snaps of male migrants and teaming them with inappropriate captions.
‘Quite the seductive stare’ one photo reads, whilst another is entitled ‘Looking flawless in Lesbos’. An image of a struggling man is captioned ‘#afghan migrant arriving by sea, his hotness can’t flee’ and another: ‘Pretty in Pink, gotta stay fresh as you try to start a new life. #hot #vneck #prettyinpink #migrantcrisis #syrianrefugees #humanitarian #aesthetic’. It even goes so far as to dub one bearded refugee ‘Migrant Wolverine’ before adding the hashtags: #hotmigrant and #beardlife.
The captions are offensive enough but the hashtags really do go one step further, their choice including #greatsmile, #hotmigrant, #beardgoals and #beardonfleek.
Casa Libre: a youth shelter for homeless refugee minors, commented on one of the images to say that it was ‘very disheartening to see [their] struggle reduced to this’ whilst another user wrote ‘how disgusting is the person who came up with this account? What a pathetic way of making a mockery of the oppressed displaced wrecked civilians.’
It was not created with bad intentions, the creator explained to The Cut, ‘these photos bring the realities a bit closer. There is something to be said about finding comedy in such a tragedy. It helps to cope with the situation.’
