Tragedy within a Crisis

Reports suggesting discrimination based on race in providing asylum to those crossing over from embattled Ukraine into neighbouring countries are quite disturbing. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 15 lakh people have entered countries around Ukraine during the war following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These include 80,000 third world country nationals from 138 countries who have left Ukraine and are non-Ukrainians, as per statistics released by the International Organisation for Migration. Those from Africa, Latin America, India and other countries have complained of encountering xenophobia and bias based on the colour of their skin.

Even a report from the Nelson Mandela Foundation has found that people with black and coloured skins have been debarred from using transport from the border points to the inner cities in Poland and Romania. While some of them were even beaten up, others have complained of access to various necessities being barred for them. There are also reports of Ukrainians being given priority in clearance at check-points, third country nationals being asked to go to the back of the queues and some even being turned away at hotels after entering Poland. Some Afghans were even turned away while Yemenis faced violence.

All these accounts prove that racism is very much alive in Europe. While non-white lives matter less, the blacks are favoured the least. That these distinctions can operate in such tragic times goes to show that even refugees have to be judged by characteristics like whiteness, tendency towards Christianity as benchmarks and not by factors such as threat to life and liberty. As per the UN charter for Refugees, any person who has lost national protection is a refugee and should be offered shelter, security and basic necessities of existence.

While the Government of India has not spared any effort in its struggle to evacuate over 18,000 students studying at universities in Ukraine, it is quite understandable that the operations spread over a period would not mitigate suffering at once and cooperation of countries bordering Ukraine is inevitable in rescuing them. But the raw deal at the hands of the borders guards at Polish and Romanian boundaries is totally at variance with how Ukrainians have been dealt with. It is not difficult to discern that Europe is not troubled over merely the colour of the skin, but also by the religious and cultural identity of the migrants from its formers colonies. It treats the refugees by the same yardstick. It is imperative for the European Union to remind its members of the global commitments they are supposed to comply with and see to it that race and colour do not turn into a tragedy within a crisis.