Compassion & media coverage towards Ukraine but not the Middle East/Africa

[babyhaha]

This is something that has been on my mind for a little while so hopefully I'm able to word it correctly.

Since the invasion in Ukraine there has been constant threads about this on MN. This is also something that is constantly spoken about and written about in the media as it rightly should be. This is a major thing that's going on and people should obviously be informed about this.

However, why is this not the case when there's constant wars happening in the Middle East and Africa? Iraq, Palastine, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan etc the list really does go on. There's still innocent people in these countries that are getting killed for no reason. Now I've personally never seen threads about these countries on MN but as I don't spend too much time I'm on here, I could be wrong. What I am certain about, is these countries BARELY get any media attention from the West, if ever at all. Why is that?!

Is this because Ukraine is a European country and not a third world country where things like these are 'expected to happen?' Do people feel that as the people in these countries are minorities that they don't deserve the same sort of empathy that the Ukrainians are getting? I really am interested to know why there's such a massive difference in terms of media coverage and general compassion.

It's actually interesting because just a few days ago, supermodel Bella Hadid stated that Muslim suffering deserves the same level of outrage as Ukraine and she is absolutely right. And to those who may say I'm exaggerating or this isn't the case, I've linked a Twitter thread below which has clips of the most racist Ukraine coverage on TV and the wording used in each and every clip is very telling. I'd be very interested in hearing people's thoughts.

twitter.com/alanrmacleod/status/1497974245737050120?s=21

@dreamsarefree

I was talking about this to a colleague today. I think people can relate to the Ukrainian families because they are more similar in terms of their lifestyle and culture than middle East or Africa. Secondly, the majority of the refugees are women, children and the elderly because the men are staying to defend the country. For the other wars you mention, the majority of refugees are men fleeing 'to set up and bring their families across' and women being left behind in war zones (not all of course but it's predominantly the case based on the media). I don't think that sits well with a lot of people as the women and children are forgotten.

That's actually a very good point. I would happily give up our spare room to a woman and child/ren who were fleeing conflict from any country, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing so to a man or men, and as you say the majority of refugees in recent year have been men - for example only 26% of asylum applications were made by women in 2019 refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Asylum-Statistics-Annual-Trends-Feb-2020.pdf but in the current situation in Ukraine it is mostly women and children who are fleeing as men have stayed behind to defend their country.

I would say that Syria and Afghanistan did receive a lot of media attention but I think part of the reason why the Arab/Israeli conflict doesn't get constant media attention is due to the length of time it's been going on. Rightly or wrongly I guess it's stopped being "news". If the situation carries on as long the media coverage will dwindle aswell.

Additionally, I think those who say the cultural similarities plays a part in it are right, that's not to say that people aren't empathetic or care about wars in Africa and middle east. I think it just grabs our attention as it is so close to home culturally and geographically.

And no, they might not face as much discrimination as say, black people do but I worked with a lot of Eastern Europeans, long before Brexit and so many people's attitudes to them were despicable. Discrimination was an all too regular occurrence. So I don't think they''ll be popular for too long.

@TabithaHazel

I think it's because people here rightly or wrongly can identify with Eastern European people more than they can with people from say Afghanistan due to cultural similarities so I'm not sure if it's a racial issue as such, but more cultural. Ukraine borders many countries where people probably personally know people from eg. Poland, so perhaps that's why - certainly in my case I know Ukrainian and Polish people, but I don't think I have any even acquaintances from Syria or Afghanistan. So possibly its a familiarity thing. Although of course this is not an excuse - all humans no matter where they were born are part of the human race and deserve the same empathy.

Also there is a real threat that this conflict could spread across Europe, it is literally on our doorstep, and that's without taking into account the nuclear threat we are now facing. Something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.

That's disgusting imo. Cultural differences or not we are all people. You can feel one thing for a group of people but won't feel the same for another group of people going through the exact same thing due to cultural differences? And the fact that there's been a few comments after you saying a similar thing shows that people really do think like this. What a wow

Listening to the R4 a few weeks ago and a woman was saying that the first time she felt moved by something on the news was when it was someone she could identity with, ie the same colour as her.

It’s human nature.

And the other countries you mention don’t have nuclear weapons.

🙄

@IHateWasps

I do think a lot of people underestimate how much discrimination Central and Eastern Europeans face and have faced in the U.K. White or not, their welcome has often been a long way from warm. Look at Brexit where much of the focus was on how many Eastern Europeans were "taking our jobs". I doubt that they''ll be welcomed with open arms for long.

Yeah that is very true and not something I actually thought of

The statistics show that the majority of asylum seakers in the UK in 2021 were young men. The refugees coming out of Ukraine seem to be largely women and children. In fact men are pouring into the country to join the resistance.

Could this affect sympathy levels?

@DesdemonaDryEyes

Listening to the R4 a few weeks ago and a woman was saying that the first time she felt moved by something on the news was when it was someone she could identity with, ie the same colour as her.

It’s human nature.

And the other countries you mention don’t have nuclear weapons.

It's one thing being moved by something when you see someone that you identify with going through it and a completely different thing to not even be bothered by a situation that people are going through just because you don't identify with them...

So basically it's as if we're saying, the majority of white people in the UK do not care about war going on in the Middle East/Africa because there are cultural differences that don't make you feel close to these people. As they're also minorities, you don't identify with them and are less likely to feel any compassion/empathy at all until you see a white person going through it. How insane is that. I guess that's why minorities tend to stick together because no one else is going to care about them

I've been thinking about this.

For me I think it comes down to a few things;

1. conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan etc are far away from us geographically, they are also quite geographically contained. They haven't been likely to push us into much bigger conflicts. UK involvement has been is sending troops there rather than things coming to us.

2. Ukraine is much closer, there is also scope for this conflict to spread and for the fighting to come to us / get closer to our doorstep. That's scary.

3. I've worked with firms based in Ukraine, I know people there, Kyiv has been on my 'to visi list for a while. My husbands entire IT development team is based there. That also brings it much closer to home.

That's disgusting imo. Cultural differences or not we are all people. You can feel one thing for a group of people but won't feel the same for another group of people going through the exact same thing due to cultural differences? And the fact that there's been a few comments after you saying a similar thing shows that people really do think like this. What a wow

@babyhaha I think you have misunderstood - I was musing on the OP's question of why it might be that people are showing more empathy to this situation to others, not that I agreed with this as you will have seen if you'd read my comment, I even wrote 'all humans no matter where they were born are part of the human race and deserve the same empathy' so not sure why you have picked on my comment for your indignation.

Empathy is a very subjective thing though and people are able to feel it more for people where they can imagine themselves in the other person's place. Not saying that's right or wrong that's just how many humans are wired.

that's not to say that people aren't empathetic or care about wars in Africa and middle east.

That's exactly what it sounds like to me! And that's okay, I can't be the person to change that. I just wondered why and I've actually got some answers to the questions

@SheilaWilcox

It's driving me mad. Where is all the compassion for other refugees around the world?

This.

Interesting (opinion) article on this very topic.

edition.cnn.com/2022/03/07/opinions/europe-refugee-response-ukrainians-syrians-damon/index.html

@CouldIhaveaword

The statistics show that the majority of asylum seakers in the UK in 2021 were young men. The refugees coming out of Ukraine seem to be largely women and children. In fact men are pouring into the country to join the resistance.

Could this affect sympathy levels?

@CouldIhaveaword clearly it does! I never considered the fact that more men coming over as asylum seekers would even be a thing. Whether it's women, kids or men why does it even matter? What if they're fleeing a country because the family decided it's in the best interest for the man to go elsewhere and send money back home? Who honestly knows what the reason is but again, this is interesting to know

I had a similar conversation with my dh a few days ago. His response was because ‘the enemy’ is Russia, who are a huge powerful force.

I totally understand that this conflict has risks that others did not and people are afraid, for genuine reasons. But it does make me cross all the virtue signalling on here "it's breaking my heart" etc. about Ukraine when no-one gave a shit before. UK has actually been the agressor before and still supplies weapons that have destroyed cities and killed innocent civilians.

It's unconscious bias. As humans we tend to feel more empathy for those who look/feel/seem like us. It's not right but it's a fact.

I get what you mean. I work with someone from Syria and the stories of what her family are still going through are awful. They're lucky to be relatively well off but there have been weeks when they've had the extended family living in the only central room in the house during air strikes. She's had days where they haven't been in contact. It was very frequently in the news when the worst of it kicked off. I think most of us saw the heartbreaking images of chemical attacks injuring children at that time. It's older news now and not quite as frequent so stories have tapered off. More than anything, the key difference is how very far away "the Middle East" feels compared to Ukraine, especially when they started talking about the Polish border.

@TabithaHazel

That's disgusting imo. Cultural differences or not we are all people. You can feel one thing for a group of people but won't feel the same for another group of people going through the exact same thing due to cultural differences? And the fact that there's been a few comments after you saying a similar thing shows that people really do think like this. What a wow

@babyhaha I think you have misunderstood - I was musing on the OP's question of why it might be that people are showing more empathy to this situation to others, not that I agreed with this as you will have seen if you'd read my comment, I even wrote 'all humans no matter where they were born are part of the human race and deserve the same empathy' so not sure why you have picked on my comment for your indignation.

Empathy is a very subjective thing though and people are able to feel it more for people where they can imagine themselves in the other person's place. Not saying that's right or wrong that's just how many humans are wired.

@TabithaHazel no no sorry I got your point and I got that you wasn't saying that's your personal view. I was just responding to the fact that people even thinking like that is disgusting in my eyes. When I was saying 'you' I was just speaking in general terms for the people that think that way.

I agree empathy is subjective but I just think if you only care more about something when you see someone who looks like you/lives similar to you is going through it. Then your empathy really is capped and won't be given to every human simply because they're human. It's sad if anything but is what it is

This. It’s clear as day.

There have been news reporters and politicians saying these aren’t “the usual” refugees- their whiteness affords them compassion where there is fury and contempt for those from the global south.

The same old same old.

I am always sympathetic to those in war torn regions across the world. But Ukraine is part of Europe, it looks similar to many cities I’ve visited in central and Eastern Europe. I consider myself to be European. I know Ukrainians. There’s a sense of familiarity.

If you think humans care about everyone and everything equally then you are surely naive.
I agree with PPs. We surely seem to care more about issues /people with closer geographical or cultural connections . That is a very broad statement obviously. Many people care about Syria for example, but most dont see a reflection of themselves there on TV. I think they easily see that looking at Ukraine.

The Ukraine has the infrastructure to document the war via social media channels. We don't rely on journalists on the ground to document the plight of ordinary people...
Then there are also the geographical implications and the fact that it is relatively easy to go to Poland to deliver aid = no visas or other travel restrictions.

I very much remember the the reports about families in Afghanistan having toselltheir daughters in order to survive the winter. Or how much women's & girls lives are getting worse.Where are the people from these reports now? Yet there is very little reporting now, because most journalists have left, thanks to the Taliban.

The same is happening in Russia, we will know very little about a possible opposition to Putin or how they are silenced due to media blocks and the journalists exodus.

I think people/ keyboard worriers need to put things into perspective. Saying that the help offered is about race is very simplistic. It is about geography, infrastructure and how & who reports about the suffering and displacements. And then there is politics...

@IHateWasps

I don't see how you can say that Syria got little coverage. When war broke out there, it was all over the news and high profile for a few years. Iraq got considerable coverage. Afghanistan got a lot too though.

This. ^ The middle East/Syria crisis got lots of coverage, for MONTHS, and 10s of 1000s of refugees were helped by the UK along with 100s of 1000s being helped/given sanctuary by lots of other 'first world' countries. We have given 100s of 1000s of £ to people from the middle east and Africa who needed it, and housed many 1000s of refugees and asylum seekers. And other western European countries have accepted 10s of 1000s each too.

To say 'the Ukrainians are mostly white, and that's the only reason the west care' (as a previous poster said,) is disgusting, insulting, and wholly incorrect. What a vile thing to say.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, the UK has done virtually fuck-all to help the Ukrainians anyway!

Lots of media coverage is just lip service. Less than FIFTY refugees have come into the UK from Ukraine thus far! So the UK is hardly 'favouring' them over people from the middle east and Africa.

@babyhaha YABU!