Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, Canada Toronto, Mar 9 (The Conversation) Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has already caused two million refugees to flee the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees predicts that another four million will be displaced if the conflict continues.To get more news about binaryfx, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
Although all neighbouring European Union countries have pledged to accept refugees from Ukraine, as people flee across borders, a complicated story emerges of who are perceived and received as good, bad and ideal refugees in modern Europe.Take Poland - a country that is being praised globally for accepting over one million refugees from Ukraine - only months ago it was condemned for serious human rights violations after engaging in pushing back and firing tear gas at asylum seekers and migrants from the Middle East and Africa driven to the border by Belarusian forces.
How can we address these clear refugee protection gaps for Black and brown people at borders while still recognising the tremendous efforts neighbouring countries are putting forward to those displaced?
The 1951 Refugee Convention was initially created to protect European refugees in the aftermath of the Second World War. It defines a refugee as a person who has fled their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution on one of five grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.During war, everyone in the invaded country has a well-founded fear of persecution. Non-refoulement states that no one should be returned to a country where they would be in danger of being subjected to violations of certain fundamental rights.
Over the past 50 years, the conventions relevance has been questioned. It is hard to see it as relevant when European countries close their doors to refugees fleeing conflict from Afghanistan and Syria but open them to Ukranians.
Political theorist Steven Lukes argues that disasters, like wars, can be transformative or confirmatory as they provide an opportunity to examine the "exception" to better understand "the rule."
What's happening in Ukraine has unveiled the existing hierarchy of refugees that exists in modern Europe as portraits of the good, bad and ideal refugees emerge.
Mainstream depictions of refugees are quite generic and often comprise images of dark-skinned victimised women and children. But coverage on Ukrainian refugees has focused heavily on Ukrainian-born refugees, not all refugees from Ukraine.
Ukrainian refugees have been described as "white," "intelligent," "educated," "civilized," "middle-class," "well-dressed" and, most importantly, unlike refugees from "Iraq or Afghanistan."
"What's compelling is, looking at them, the way they are dressed. These are prosperous ... middle-class people. These are not obviously refugees trying to get away from areas in the Middle East ... North Africa."
The bias towards Ukrainian nationals as the only worthy refugees was so strong that the E.U. had to clarify that people from third countries who lived in Ukraine and wanted to travel on to their home countries were also welcome.
Comparing "intelligent," "middle-class," Ukrainian nationals to other refugees - like those from the Middle East and North Africa has contributed to foreign nationals being discriminated against at the borders
Lately, many reports have surfaced of African and Indian international students being denied access to trains and border crossings by Ukrainian officials. Border officials in Poland and Romania have been documented segregating refugees by race, beating them with rods and giving preferential treatment to Ukrainian nationals in Europe and abroad.
Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, Canada Toronto, Mar 9 (The Conversation) Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has already caused two million refugees to flee the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees predicts that another four million will be displaced if the conflict continues.To get more news about binaryfx, you can visit wikifx.com official website.
Although all neighbouring European Union countries have pledged to accept refugees from Ukraine, as people flee across borders, a complicated story emerges of who are perceived and received as good, bad and ideal refugees in modern Europe.Take Poland - a country that is being praised globally for accepting over one million refugees from Ukraine - only months ago it was condemned for serious human rights violations after engaging in pushing back and firing tear gas at asylum seekers and migrants from the Middle East and Africa driven to the border by Belarusian forces.
How can we address these clear refugee protection gaps for Black and brown people at borders while still recognising the tremendous efforts neighbouring countries are putting forward to those displaced?
The 1951 Refugee Convention was initially created to protect European refugees in the aftermath of the Second World War. It defines a refugee as a person who has fled their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution on one of five grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.During war, everyone in the invaded country has a well-founded fear of persecution. Non-refoulement states that no one should be returned to a country where they would be in danger of being subjected to violations of certain fundamental rights.
Over the past 50 years, the conventions relevance has been questioned. It is hard to see it as relevant when European countries close their doors to refugees fleeing conflict from Afghanistan and Syria but open them to Ukranians.
Political theorist Steven Lukes argues that disasters, like wars, can be transformative or confirmatory as they provide an opportunity to examine the "exception" to better understand "the rule."
What's happening in Ukraine has unveiled the existing hierarchy of refugees that exists in modern Europe as portraits of the good, bad and ideal refugees emerge.
Mainstream depictions of refugees are quite generic and often comprise images of dark-skinned victimised women and children. But coverage on Ukrainian refugees has focused heavily on Ukrainian-born refugees, not all refugees from Ukraine.
Ukrainian refugees have been described as "white," "intelligent," "educated," "civilized," "middle-class," "well-dressed" and, most importantly, unlike refugees from "Iraq or Afghanistan."
"What's compelling is, looking at them, the way they are dressed. These are prosperous ... middle-class people. These are not obviously refugees trying to get away from areas in the Middle East ... North Africa."
The bias towards Ukrainian nationals as the only worthy refugees was so strong that the E.U. had to clarify that people from third countries who lived in Ukraine and wanted to travel on to their home countries were also welcome.
Comparing "intelligent," "middle-class," Ukrainian nationals to other refugees - like those from the Middle East and North Africa has contributed to foreign nationals being discriminated against at the borders
Lately, many reports have surfaced of African and Indian international students being denied access to trains and border crossings by Ukrainian officials. Border officials in Poland and Romania have been documented segregating refugees by race, beating them with rods and giving preferential treatment to Ukrainian nationals in Europe and abroad.