Even Deaths And Destruction Can't End Racism, What Incidents Amid Ukraine War Tell Us
The Incidents of racism against Asian and African students in Ukraine is worrisome. The international community has expressed its worry over the matter.
While there are reports of death and destruction from Ukraine - due to the ongoing attacks by the Russian forces - there are unfortunate incidents of apparent racism meted out to the international students community. A couple of days back, there were reports that the Ukrainian security forces were manhandling students from India.
AFP
A video shared on the internet showed Indians sitting on a road, reportedly at the Ukraine-Poland border. In the video, border forces are seen kicking and harassing Indian students.
#Ukrainian military assaulting girls at #Ukraine #Poland Border. Indian voice also heard. pic.twitter.com/6URlG9enrj
¡ª IDU (@defencealerts) February 27, 2022
According to a report by CNN, the students community belonging to India and Africa have alleged that they were facing racism as they tried to flee the war zone. An African medical student told CNN that she and other foreigners were ordered off the public transit bus at a checkpoint between Ukraine and Poland border. They were told to stand aside as the bus drove off with only Ukrainian nationals on board, she said.
AFP
On Tuesday, the United Nations noted that some non-Europeans refugees have faced discrimination while trying to flee to safety at Ukraine borders after their experiences were dismissed as lies and ¡°Russian disinformation¡± by online commentators.
As numbers of refugees fleeing Ukraine increase by the hour, it is crucial that receiving countries continue to welcome all those fleeing conflict and insecurity - irrespective of nationality and race - and that they receive adequate international support to carry out this task.
¡ª UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) February 27, 2022
An Irish Times report suggests that about 20% of Ukrainian students are African, who mainly come from Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt. Many African students are sharing their experiences on the internet. They are urging the international community and their home countries to ensure their security in such a tough time.
A video shows Ukrainians blocking Africans from getting on rescue trains.
¡ª Wirjil (@Wirjil) February 27, 2022
We stand with people of Ukraine against the unrighteous Russian invasion. But let¡¯s take a moment to talk about racism, anti-blackness and social injustice.#AfricansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/vKoNrDJ6tJ
Even the African Union took note of it and the leaders issued a statement in this regard.
Statement of the African Union on the reported ill treatment of Africans trying to leave #Ukraine https://t.co/wRULm2OfkL : #AfricansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/zZ8WpoCsP3
¡ª African Union (@_AfricanUnion) February 28, 2022
Racism by western journalists
The racism is not only limited to the state authorities. Some journalists as well indulged in racism freely while being live on camera. The world saw how the European journalists reacted to the deaths in Ukraine while undermining similar incidents elsewhere in the world.
Reacting to the clearly racist reporting by the western media, the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association had to issue a statement regarding the coverage of Ukraine that saw, "dehumanizing, racist, and insulting comparisons to the Middle East."
"The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) calls on all news organizations to be mindful of implicit and explicit bias in their coverage of war in Ukraine. In only the last few days, we have tracked examples of racist news coverage that ascribes more importance to some victims of war over others, the statement said.
"In order to prevent such explicit bias, we call on newsrooms to train correspondents on the cultural and political nuances of regions they¡¯re reporting on, and not rely on American- or Euro-centric biases. Inaccurate and disingenuous comparisons only serve to inflame stereotypes and mislead viewers, and they ultimately perpetuate prejudicial responses to political and humanitarian crises," it added.
While the war is already killing people and leaving millions homeless, racism is surely adding insult to the injury.
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News Editor with Indiatimes. He writes on National Affairs and the Middle East.
