Geneva, Europe Brief News – The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said on Wednesday that statements of officials and European media reporting of the Ukraine crisis, which resulted in the refugee crisis, have exposed deep-rooted racism that excludes and discriminates against Non-European Ethnicities.
In the last few days, the security officials in Ukraine and Poland and other European politicians have revealed one or other forms of racism and discrimination entirely on the basis of religion and colour against refugees fleeing from Ukraine.
Students and residents of Arab and African nationalities living in Ukraine said Authorities at the border forced them to sit for long hours at the Polish border without any help.
On the other hand, the authorities were treating white Ukrainians with great facilities and even allowed them to cross the border without visas.
South Asians residing in Ukraine also claimed that they had to go through great challenges when fleeing the country. The authorities were not very welcoming and did not allow boarding the train.
They were stopped on the border from crossing for no solid reason while Ukrainians were crossing the border without any issue.
Discrimination even extended to the official political level as Kiril Petkov said “ These people are intelligent and educated. This is not the refugee wave we have been accustomed to, we were not sure about their identity, and people with unclear pasts could have been even terrorists”.
European Nations Double standards
Major European Nations showed flexibility welcomed Ukrainian refugees and ordering them to facilitate their reception and residence. But there is a sudden change in policy when dealing with asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa. At times, this issue seems more severe than the Russian Ukrainian conflict.
Michela Pugliese migration and asylum research at Euro-Med Monitor said “ While European countries welcome Ukrainian refugees and provide them with official and safe transit routes, seven asylum seekers of non-European ethnicity died yesterday after their boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coasts of Greece.
She further added, “Safe routes should be provided to all migrants and asylum seekers, regardless of their race, religion or nationality”.
European Union and European Countries’ humane treatment of refugees should include refugees of different races, religions and nationalities, away from double standards in dealing with humanitarian issues.
