On Thursday the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine under the pretense of “demilitizariing and de-nazifying” the country. The event has been internationally condemned as an unwarranted act of aggression likened to empire building of days thought to be past in Europe. In the wake of the Russian invasion, nearly a million Ukrainian refugees have fled across Europe in the past week alone, making the current mass displacement likely to become the largest refugee crisis on the continent in recent history.
As of Monday the UN states that 830,000 Ukrainians have fled to other European countries, mostly in Eastern Europe at the moment. The breakdown of the Ukrainian diaspora follows:
- ,Poland 453,000
- Hungary 116,348
- Moldova 79,315
- Slovakia 67,000
- Romania 44,450
- Russia 42,900
- Belarus 341
69,600 are estimated to have moved on to other European countries.
The mass exodus has clogged Ukrainian highways creating traffic jams for miles as well as overwhelming border processing to neighboring countries like Poland. Some have been waiting over 20 hrs to be processed.
However, despite logistical hindrances, the European Union (EU), particularly Eastern European countries, have been overwhelmingly welcoming of Ukrainian refugees. Refugees are being informed that documentation is not mandatory to travel, but are recommended to have passports, birth certificates and medical documentation. All Ukrainians or legal residents of Ukraine, such as international students, are automatically granted refugee status allowing them to receive aid from resources from the UN as well as elsewhere.
The EU is in the throes of releasing a EU temporary protection directive for Ukrainian refugees that was developed after the Balkan Wars in the 1990s but never used. The directive would give Ukrainians a protected status of up to 3 years in all EU nations, providing them with residency permits and access to employment and social welfare.
In response to the Ukrainian crisis the US is poised to enact deportation relief for Ukranians already residing within its borders through either a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or a Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) order by President Biden. Both programs would protect roughly 10% of the 355,000 Ukrainian residents in the US from being deported and offer them work visas. The 10% eligible for these programs represents non permanent residents and those without legal status. Any new arrivals would not benefit from TPS or DED programs. Instead they would be processed through the Refugee Resettlement Program. President Biden is also starting to face pressure to prepare for the reception of Ukrainian refugees; Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on Monday sent the president a letter expressing his sympathy for the situation and Rhode Island’s readiness to receive Ukrainian migrants. No official plans have been announced by the White House to receive refugees, but President Biden made the Ukrainian crisis a focal point in his State of the Union address on March 1st.
While some refugee advocates are heralding the massive response by Europe to accommodate the Ukrainian refugees, many can’t help but contrast it to the response to refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Currently the EU is receiving massive amounts of migrants from Ukraine almost without exception, meanwhile they continue to pay the Libyan coast guard to collect would-be asylum seekers in the Mediterranean and return them to potentially dangerous situations in the global south.
Some look to differences in the political landscape of the Ukrainian situation as reasons for a change of tone. With cultural similarities to Ukrainians and a sense of shared fate, Eastern European countries feel now is a time to show unity in the face of Russian aggression. In contrast, past surges of refugees into Eastern Europe have been enticed and transferred by the Belarussian government in an attempt to destabilize the region.
However, this does not account for some of the offensive and blatant language used by European leaders of countries with a history of anti-refugee sentiment such as Hungary and Bulgaria. While addressing journalists earlier this week Prime Minister Kiril Petkov stated, “These are not the refugees we are used to… these people are Europeans… These people are intelligent, they are educated people…. This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists…”
Such statements have made it clear that identity politics are playing a major role in the response of Eastern Europe.
None of this takes away from the fact that the Ukrainian people are in dire need of aid. Now is a moment of blatant violence and aggression in Europe that warrants global attention and response. However, there continues to be violence in Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Myanmar that merits attention and compassion as well.
Below are links to organizations you can donate to that are currently aiding Ukrainian refugees as well as refugees from Africa and the Middle East.