{"id":29385,"date":"2022-03-05T07:14:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T07:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=29385"},"modified":"2022-03-05T07:14:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T07:14:48","slug":"ukraine-refugees-racism-still-exists-during-war-and-cant-be-ignored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/05\/ukraine-refugees-racism-still-exists-during-war-and-cant-be-ignored\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine refugees: Racism still exists during war and can’t be ignored"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As the horrific fallout of Russia<\/a>\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a> sends shockwaves around the world \u2013 a crisis within a crisis is developing.<\/p>\n

This is the scourge of racism<\/a>. It is being felt most keenly on the ground, by the people with Black and Asian heritage who are attempting to flee Ukraine<\/a>. <\/p>\n

There are verified accounts <\/a>of Black and ethnic minority people being barred from leaving the country, being held at gunpoint at the borders<\/a>, being forcibly removed from buses<\/a> that would take them to safety.<\/p>\n

A 29-year-old Nigerian student told Metro.co.uk that she had to \u2018fight\u2019 and \u2018plead\u2019 <\/a>her way onto a train out of Kyiv earlier this week.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0government has even acknowledged the racist abuse<\/a> that Black people have been subjected to while trying to flee from Russian attacks in their country.<\/p>\n

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, despite the multiple accounts from individuals and an admission from UK officials<\/a> that this discrimination is happening, Black and ethnic minority refugees are being gaslit<\/a> about their experiences, or told that now \u2018is not the time\u2019 to talk about race.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s happening here in the UK too. Broadcaster Charlene White had to shut down critics who accused her of \u2018playing the race card\u2019<\/a> when she spoke powerfully about the plight of Black and brown refugees on Loose Women. <\/p>\n

The crisis of racism is also bleeding into how people in the UK are reacting to the conflict, and how it is being reported in mainstream media and on social media.<\/p>\n

Broadcasters and expert guests on news programmes have been called out for their use of language surrounding this war, and how it differs from language used to describe conflicts in predominantly non-white countries.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0CBS News, foreign correspondent Charlie D\u2019Agata later apologised after he said: \u2018This is a relatively civilised, relatively European city where you wouldn\u2019t expect that or hope that it is going to happen.\u2019<\/p>\n

On\u00a0BBC News, Ukraine\u2019s deputy chief prosecutor David Sakvarelidze described the emotion of seeing \u2018European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed everyday,\u2019 \u2013 and he wasn\u2019t challenged or questioned on this comment.<\/p>\n

\u2018It has been shocking to hear correspondents at internationally renowned media outlets, especially in the US, repeatedly dehumanise the victims of wars outside Europe. But it\u2019s not just a problem with the American media,\u2019 Dr Halima Begum, CEO of race equality think tank Runnymede Trust<\/a>, tells Metro.co.uk.<\/p>\n

\u2018Even Al Jazeera English has apologised for the way one of its anchors attempted to depict Ukrainian refugees as a contradiction to the trope of non-White, non-Christian, non-civilised Iraqi refugees.<\/p>\n

\u2018This really is an issue about basic dignity and respect. It\u2019s about the way we view the rights of refugees and asylum seekers irrespective of which tyrant they are fleeing or from which country, regardless of their race, religion or sexuality.\u2019<\/p>\n

While this stark inequality is playing out amid desperate conditions, there are still those who think now is not the time to talk about racism. That it is an unhelpful distraction from the bigger threats that humanity is currently facing.<\/p>\n

However, during a global crisis, issues of racism are not merely superficial gripes that can be dealt with later, when things calm down. <\/p>\n

Inequality that is not addressed can lead to lower quality of life, entrenched divisions, and even the disproportionate deaths of people from marginalised racial groups. Which is a pattern that we saw play out during the pandemic, as those from Black and Asian backgrounds had higher mortality rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u2018right time\u2019 to talk about racism \u2013 both on the ground and in our response to the conflict here in the UK \u2013 is right now.<\/p>\n

How times of crisis can make racism worse<\/h2>\n

Professor Matthew Williams is the author of The Science of Hate<\/a>, and specialises in hate crime, hate speech and extremism at Cardiff University.<\/p>\n

He says that during times of great stress and perceived threat, such as in wartime, human brains are programmed to protect those who look like themselves, and turn against those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of ingroup\/outgroup theory \u2013 in which we gravitate to an \u2018ingroup\u2019 that we see ourselves as a member of. These groups can be created in lots of different ways, but they are often constructed along lines of social identity, such as race, gender or sexuality.<\/p>\n

\u2018Historically, working in groups inherently meant you are more capable of surviving,\u2019 explains Prof Williams, \u2018This grouping tendency can be non-malignant, and can be useful in terms of survival, but it can also be weaponised in certain situations.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018We now see this occurring across the world, in various contexts, and the media is a key player in how we now define groups, or how we think about groups. They perpetuate stereotypes and images that tell us that we should care about this group of people, but we shouldn\u2019t care too much about this other group, because we\u2019re not showing them to you.\u2019<\/p>\n

In criminology there is the concept of an \u2018ideal victim\u2019, who will typically be young, white and often female. This type of victim will be afforded more empathy and willingness to act from society. Prof Williams says the way Ukrainian refugees are being presented in contrast to refugees from other parts of the world is a good example of this phenomenon. <\/p>\n

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In times of peace we have more bandwidth to be decent human beings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2018The divisions of ingroup versus outgroup are perpetuated by the media and it gets worse during a war, primarily because we get this incredible sense of threat when a country is destabilised or invaded and there is a real threat to life,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018When a group of people, or anyone witnessing that unfold, senses that threat, unfortunately, humans have this tendency to hunker down into their groups. <\/p>\n

\u2018In times of peace, we have more bandwidth to be decent human beings. We have more capacity to be tolerant of difference around us, more capacity to process how our behavior might affect another person. In peace time, we want to be seen as a person who treats others with dignity, who understands discrimination, and tries to stamp it out.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Of course, many people at the borders of Ukraine are acting with the utmost compassion and humanity, doing everything they can to provide assistance, clothes, shelter and transport for refugees \u2013 regardless of skin colour. But that is not the entire picture.<\/p>\n

In wartime, Prof Williams says that for some, the tolerant traits that most aspire to during periods of calm and stability become a luxury they no longer have time or energy to consider.<\/p>\n

\u2018All of a sudden, all these nice things that a civilised society is meant to be aspiring towards, are no longer a priority,\u2019 he explains. \u2018And this is where you get people saying that now is not the right time to be talking about race. <\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m sorry, but it is exactly the right time to be talking about it. The social processes that are unfolding show us that we are at our worst when we are perceiving a threat, an extreme threat from an outsider. That will increase your prejudices towards the invader, but it also, unfortunately, increases our prejudices towards those groups that are different around us.\u2019<\/p>\n