The impact of racism on refugee treatment is evident in how African, Middle Eastern, and Asian refugees fleeing Ukraine are treated. LIMBONG: The Nigerian statehouse issued a statement today denouncing reports of Nigerians being denied entry to the Polish border. To counter this trend, employers and NGOs in Sweden and Germany offer asylum seekers apprenticeships, training courses and special-track employment to help them adapt to the national labor requirements and enter the labor market faster. At a time when Western states are highly concerned with maintaining influence in the Middle Eastern debacle, excluding people from their shores seems ill-advised. The asylum program works to provide refugee protection to people in Canada who: have a well-founded fear of persecution or. PublishedFebruary 28, 2022 at 3:31 PM CST. The U.S. response to both crises should be guided by international law, our moral obligations and our history. Refugee implies involuntary exodus, while migrant refers more to voluntary movement; therefore, the use of the latter undermines non-Ukrainian refugees requests for asylum. Since it was first implemented in March 2020, more than 1 million migrants and asylum-seekers have been turned away. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov recently drew a distinct line between the two groups, justifying differential treatment and fostering a sense of Ukrainian exceptionalism: Underscoring this justification is Islamophobia; Ukrainian refugees are primarily Christian, while refugees from Syria and North Africa are mostly Muslim. In 2014, Syrian and North African refugees poured into Greece, a country then not equipped to fulfill those treaty obligations. The way we talk about conflicts can impact those who are already most directly affected by war, refugees. According to new research, many asylum seekers experience discrimination on the Swedish labor market. Among those were27.1 million refugees, half under the age of 18 (21.3 million refugees under . Similarly, right-wing European officials used the recent sexual harassment scandal in Cologne to fuel cultural bias and collective punishment against all asylum seekers. The Refugee Act is a federal immigration law that was adopted in 1980. To receive Stanford news daily, That's what makes it so shocking. 1, People want to keep their identity and their profession when they go abroad. Arriving from the Middle East and Africa, non-Ukranian refugees are often otherized. Every threat type was correlated with unfavorable views of migration and refugees and with favoring more restrictive control of migration. For instance, the culture the original Irish immigrants brought with them has evolved and mixed with the American culture. Turkish security guards shot and killed eleven Syrian refugees. : 'Labours Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper struggles to justify why refugees fleeing war in Ukraine should be treated differently to refugees fleeing war in Afghanistan. In a survey of almost 20,000 Europeans across 15 countries in 2016, my IPL colleagues found a strong anti-Muslim bias. But, as Katy Long argued in a policy brief for The Century Foundation, in the case of the United States, which accepted 69,900 refugees including a mere 2,192 Syrians last year, Western countries may be shooting themselves in the foot by outsourcing their migrant problem. That's what makes it so shocking. By giving all asylum seekers temporary work permits and cracking down on labor discrimination, member states with surplus capacity could gain a much-needed workforce and secure long-term influence in the region. Compared to college students in previous samples, these participants reported perceiving even stronger threats and experiencing more hostility toward refugees. (Image credit: Michele Tantussi /Getty Images). Refugees, defined by international humanitarian law as people in need of protection, are entitled to a privileged status. If you are among those who hate refugees, do you know why you feel this way? These asylum-seekers should be welcomed just like Afghans are being welcomed. Saif Khalid of Al Jazeera attributes this disparate language to primarily white media outlets that [lack] diversity and perspective and enforce racial stereotypes. The Century Foundation The EU had to support Ukrainewhich included a commitment to aiding Ukrainian refugeesor risk international condemnation; in contrast, it is more politically risky for the EU to commit to one side of the Syrian civil war (a perceived choice between a tyrannical government or jihadists). KESHAVARZ: So as journalists, I think it's really critical that we look at that duality, and we question why that is. Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers have custody of approximately 54,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants. | king5.com. She previously worked as a Middle East Fellow at the Independent Diplomat Advisory Group and as an adviser at the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN. That flow increased the worlds refugee population by about 9 million over the next decade, according to data from UNHRC, the United Nations Refugee Agency. More so, their action was a case study in poor strategic thinking. Once granted refugee status in a host country, the state cant deport them. Why aren't all refugees treated like Ukrainian refugees? She told us that she shared the name of a family member in California, and then boarded a plane, believing she would be safe and with her family in the U.S. soon. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. HIRING! Help fund the NPR Illinois mission to inform the community by securing business sponsorships. Americans see Afghan and Ukrainian refugees very differently. They want to work and maintain their dignity, not just be refugees, he explained to me over the phone earlier this week. In 2016, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbn described migration as a poison, yet he recently exclaimed that Ukrainians are welcomed by friends in Hungary. EU nationseven those with notorious anti-migrant sentimentshave opened their arms and borders to Ukrainian refugees with unprecedented generosity. Many are living with so-called foster families and are being exploited . For instance, do you worry about foreigners spreading diseases, committing violence, or taking away jobs and depressing wages? The Supreme Court hears arguments today on President Bidens student loan forgiveness plan; John F. Cogan and Michael McConnell discuss their amicus brief opposing it. Religious and other prejudices are often intertwined; the disparity between how the EU treats Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian refugees stems from Europeans empathy for Ukrainians and the othering of African and Middle Eastern refugees. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stipulates that while refugees are humanitarian subjects primarily seeking protection, migrants are economic subjects, seeking better lives. But research suggests some approaches can help communities successfully absorb all kinds of refugees Analysis by Claire. In The Telegraph, Daniel Hannan wrote an article about Ukraine that led, they seem so like us. Refugees, for instance, pose an economic threat because they need jobs, low-cost housing, access to health care, etc. And if you zoom way, way out when talking about refugees and displacement, countries in the Middle East, Africa and the global South have taken in more than their fair share of refugees. In addition, we should remember foreigners culture will change, particularly with intergroup contactjust as cultures of European immigrants to America have changed, as history shows. Is it a vague feeling of hostility or does it stem from specific unpleasant experiences or future worries? These two groups are treated very differently, however, due to the prevalent stereotypes that exist about them in society. The conflict is also highly symbolic, for it reflects a [return] to bipolarity and a new Cold War, a standoff between democracy and autocracy, morality and hostility. But many European leaders nonetheless feel they are under pressure to minimize the number of asylum seekers within their own country. In the words of Al Jazeera journalist Saif Khalid, when white people commit terrorism this is seen as an individual act that does not represent the entire race. In Srebrenica in July 1995, towards the end of the 1992-1995 civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbs massacred 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, a blatant act of genocide. Since being forced to wait one additional year for the asylum decisions lowers the probability of being employed by about 4.9 percentage points'' due to skills atrophy and demoralization, it is more difficult for non-Ukrainian refugees to integrate into the workforce. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Famously declaring The fight is here. In fixating on distinguishing the two, politicians tend to miss the benefits that integrating both refugees and migrants into the labor market could have on the national economy. To answer this question, they conducted a second study using a sample of 289 female and 118 male students (average age of 32 years). More than half - nearly 548,000 - have fled to Poland which shares a 500km border with Ukraine. This treatment also extended to racialized permanent . Refugees are not citizens of the country of asylum and therefore have specific protection needs. Unfortunately, extremists and right-wing politicians alike have used the sensitive political climate to strike fear and tensions. If there are too many refugees being housed in hotels, it's because the home office has been shown to be incapable of processing people quickly and letting them earn their own living. The United Nations refugee agency has expressed concern over these expulsion flights, noting that those impacted are being sent back to the very dangers they have fled in their countries of origin. Indeed, these asylum-seekers should instead be welcomed just like Afghans are being welcomed all refugees deserve protection, not just our allies. The Refugee Act of 1980 amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, standardizing the process for admitting refugees into the United States. Rather than bringing people to safety via transit centers and, ultimately, to countries including the United States, these flights are sending vulnerable migrants and asylum-seekers back to danger returning them to the very places theyre fleeing. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are being paid $350 a month to join the Russian army and then sent to fight in Ukraine, U.S. news agency The Media Line reported on Feb. 28, citing a Lebanese . HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic refused to accept asylum seekers the EU attempted to relocate from Italy and Germany. It is not enough for them simply to stay alive. It took three. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(7), 1401-1420. A charity that helps refugees has said there is a big variation in how the UK helps people from different countries. Albagir is given beatings, and the Maslovas are given bread. She says that's a pretty good sign of civilization. D'AGATA: What I'd hoped to convey is that what's unique about the fighting underway here is that this country has not really seen the scale of war in recent years, unlike some LIMBONG: But it wasn't just CBS. LIMBONG: Keshavarz points to Poland accepting Ukrainian refugees when not that long ago, the country was telling scores of Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis, no, the country's full. But the Venezuelans are being labelled as 'migrants' and that is shaping the governance response and the degree of engagement by UNHCR and others. The EUs response to the refugee crisis also shapes its posture towards Russia and reignites Cold War concerns about Russian aggression, for Eastern Europeans acknowledge the potential for Putin to invade their nations as well. Melissa De Witte, Stanford News Service: mdewitte@stanford.edu, The researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that dont suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. Its a continuation of the policy begun under the Trump administration known as Title 42, which essentially bans anyone from seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border under the pretext that concerns about the spread of Covid-19 mean they must immediately be deported. For the West, the line between right and wrong is simply the border between Ukraine and Russia. 5 Spiritual Practices That Increase Well-Being. 90 RB 0022). Furthermore, it is important to help the public understand immigrants do not have to give up the core of their identity (in terms of cultures and traditions) to be able to follow the law, find jobs, contribute to society, and make friends with people of the host country. Examining these six threat types, researchers tried to determine if only one or two of them might explain hostility toward refugees just as well or even better than all six factors combined. Why refugees from Ukraine have been treated differently European countries haven't seen such a large number of displaced people in this short period of time in recent history. Job insecurity, poverty, and hunger can leave people with no other choice but to risk everything on a boat across the Mediterranean. A third study, a replication of the second study, included a sample of 23 male and 108 female students (average age of 33 years) and concluded that, aside from the prejudice threat, every threat type was associated with unfavorable attitudes toward migrants. Kotada Al-Younes, a young Syrian journalist who has found exile in Sweden, told me that many Syrians in Sweden share this frustration with being confined and labelled as refugees: People want to keep their identity and their profession when they go abroad. Approximately 18,000 Europeans from 15 countries were given profiles and asked whom they would grant asylum; the study found a consistent bias against Muslim asylum-seekers, who were 11 percentage points less likely to be accepted than otherwise similar Christians. Corroborating this anti-Muslim bias among Europeans, another experiment in France concluded that increasing numbers of Muslims in France resulted in increased xenophobia. 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