By Jennifer Ju
Facing Ourselves
Jennifer JU
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created another humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 4 million refugees who have already fled Ukraine, far exceeding the United Nations’ earlier prediction that this number would be reached by July.
As refugees flood neighboring nations, countries’ resources are strained in providing the needed services and support. Although countries are doing their best in the midst of a staggering humanitarian crisis to help these refugees, disparities in the way certain groups are treated prompt deeper examination.
Although many locals, as well as non-government organizations, have exhibited kindness and assistance to all, there are many reports of racist treatment of certain groups of refugees fleeing Ukraine. Discriminatory and racist treatment of refugees ranges from border officials segregating refugees by race in determining who is allowed to cross the border, individuals being blocked from seeking transportation and shelter and people subjecting refugees to violence at the Polish border.
Additional reports include attacks on groups of African, South Asian and Middle Eastern refugees, many of whom are students, as they flee Ukraine. These attacks have resulted in injuries, some of which have required hospitalization. Many of these refugees have endured frequent false accusations of crimes and face protesters shouting “Go back to the train station! Go back to your country!”
The extent of discrimination and abuse against minority groups has prompted some African governments, including Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, to evacuate their citizens who have passed into countries bordering Ukraine. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, acknowledges that these disturbing incidents are occurring and has pledged to “spare no effort to solve the problem.”
In addition, the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, has declared, “All who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under the UN convention and the color of their passport or their skin should make no difference.”
The current controversies in treatment of refugees from Ukraine has been compared to the other incidents in which mistreatment of refugees from Middle Eastern countries has occurred. For example, although Poland has graciously accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees, Poland has also recently pushed back on accepting more refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, stating that they did not have room for them.
Thousands of refugees from Middle Eastern countries have been caught by border guards and violently forced back to Belarus, despite promises by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko that “safe passage” to Europe would be guaranteed. These refugees are currently starving and stranded in a frigid climate, hiding in a forest at the border of Belarus or have been transported to detention centers with nowhere to go.
European countries are not the only ones that may benefit from examination of their approach to refugees. Although the United States had previously been the world leader in accepting refugees, this policy changed in the past several years, with the number of accepted refugees falling to an all-time low of 12,000-15,000 in recent years, compared to 207,000 refugees who were accepted in 1980.
Although President Joe Biden has announced an increase in the annual number of refugees that the US is willing to accept, debate remains on how much the US should open its borders due to the strain it poses on our resources, particularly when so many Americans struggle with food insecurity, economic uncertainty, affordable housing, obtaining gainful employment and obtaining access to health care.
People argue that our own American citizens are struggling and we should take care of our own. Resources are indeed limited, and there is validity to these concerns.
What is interesting is the recent media rhetoric about how relatable and similar to “us” Ukrainian refugees are, in contrast to the way in which refugees from the Middle East and Africa are portrayed. Polls in the US also indicate that more Americans are in favor of accepting Ukrainian refugees than those from the Middle East and Africa.
Worldwide humanitarian crises are unceasing and ask us to consider: who are we willing to help? Does skin color matter? What assumptions do we make about refugees from certain regions, and how does it affect the desirability of accepting them into our country? Do we assume certain refugees are more likely to bring disease and commit terrorism? Why should we help others? Shouldn’t we adopt an “America first” philosophy? Who is worthy of compassion and support?
Many major world religions and wisdom traditions emphasize the importance of helping others and provide guidelines to serve others. These guidelines provide a framework for a service roadmap – one which does not include dead-end detours or roadblocks for those who are “different” or “less relatable,” or have different religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds.
Although these commandments and philosophies centered on serving others have been in place for thousands of years, modern science more recently has shown the benefits of altruism, with reams of research documenting the positive physiologic changes and improvement in mental health that occur when we help others.
Helping others, in fact, helps us. We need to be aware of what barriers and stipulations we employ in doing so, and on what basis we employ these qualifiers. As we ponder the nuances in the ways in which we treat “others,” we can recall the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”
Jennifer Ju, MD is a physician who is a graduate of the Brown University family medicine residency program. She is also an actor and writer who has performed in various theatres across the state and whose plays have been produced locally. Ju has also presented numerous online and in-person workshops on mindfulness, health and wellness for parents and children, as well as for pre-K-12 educators in New Haven and Fairfield counties.