The Racial Implications of Being a Refugee in the 21st Century
Sandrine Jacquot, Online Branch, Staff Writer
March 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 has taken the world by storm and has no less caused a mass exodus of refugees fleeing the escalating violence being inflicted upon their country. According to the United Nations (UN), more than one million civilians have fled Ukraine in the first week, most to neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova to the west. Now that number has hit over three million, and as the crisis worsens, the European Union says it is likely that up to four million people may try to leave Ukraine. While many are praising the countries that have opened their doors to welcome thousands of refugees, people of colour attempting to flee are met with resistance and a double-standard. As discrimination towards refugees of colour in this crisis becomes more and more apparent, one can’t help but question the strong racial implications of what it means to be the ‘right’ kind of refugee to be accepted, particularly in Western countries.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) explains that refugees are individuals who have crossed an international border fleeing war, violence, conflict, or persecution and seek safety in another country. The international legal definition outlined in the 1951 Refugee Convention officially defines the term as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion”. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you look like, anybody can fit the definition of a refugee if the context is right.
Yet, when you search for images of refugees on the internet, there’s a commonality to many of the top results. The majority of people, children, and families are individuals of colour and/or visibly identify as Muslim by wearing a hijab. The predominance of these images makes sense considering most refugees originate from African and Middle Eastern countries that have high proportions of racialized and/or Muslim-identifying populations such as Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar - with Venezuela being the most notable exception. However, due to mass media coverage produced by the West, these demographics are commonly viewed as ‘the face’ of refugees. This proliferation has led to the unintended consequence of stereotyping and racializing what refugees look like.
Thus, the racialization and stereotyping of refugees has played a prominent role in Western immigration policies which have historically been discriminatory towards minority groups. The racist contentions about welcoming refugees of colour or of Muslim background into European and North American countries, founded on preconceived fears of the ‘other’, is not a new phenomenon. But when a pressing crisis emerges where a significant proportion of refugees fleeing their home country are white, such as the current case of Ukraine, a double-standard is revealed.
Ukrainian refugees, namely those who are white and Christian, have been able to seek refuge in Western countries far more easily than those escaping violence in Africa or the Middle-East. Countries like Poland, who have been historically opposed to immigration, are now “letting everybody in”. While geopolitics certainly plays a role, Ukrainians tend to be culturally and ethnically similar to those in the countries they are fleeing to and as such, their welcoming is less feared. It is suddenly more acceptable to welcome Ukrainian refugees because they are a “prosperous” and “middle-class” people. Not only are these ideas reflected in policy, but also in several media outlets covering the ongoing refugee crisis. Many reporters and media organisations have apologized for their blatant racist and Islamophobic statements differentiating Ukrainian refugees from those originating in Africa or the Middle-East in their coverage. On the ground, African refugees fleeing Ukraine, many of whom who are young and seeking degrees at Ukrainian universities, are being pushed back at border crossings, physically barred from fleeing, and experiencing significant racism and aggression. Simply put, their lives are not being prioritised like their white counterparts.
The 1951 Refugee Convention states that refugees should not be discriminated against based on race, religion, or country of origin. However, equal treatment is the ideal, not reality. The West’s racialized stereotypes and preconceived notions of refugees means that any population that doesn’t fit such characterizations - mainly white people, are considered different and are treated as such. The bias against people of colour fleeing Ukraine demonstrates the prominence of racial discrimination in issues pertaining to immigration and refugee migration.
The need to address racism, Islamophobia, and nationalist views towards immigration in the West is more necessary than ever. As the Ukraine crisis has revealed, double standards and discriminatory practices continue to exist even in the midst of catastrophic humanitarian crises. As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, this issue will only become more prevalent and pervasive if left unexamined.
Sources
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“How many refugees have fled Ukraine and where are they going?.” BBC. Last modified March 17, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472.
Kotlyarenko, Alice. Free Embassy of the Russian Federation Image. Unsplash. Embassy of the Russian Federation. Rua Visconde de Santarém, Lisbon, Portugal. February 27, 2022. https://unsplash.com/photos/urt5o3L9gNo.
Somos, Christy. “Racism preventing African refugees leaving Ukraine.” CTV News. February 28, 2022. https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/it-s-inhumane-african-refugees-experience-racism-while-trying-to-flee-ukraine-1.5799096.
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UNHCR. “Refugee Data Finder.” UNHCR: The UN Refugee Agency. Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.
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