Ukranian, welcome! Middleastern, African? Get to back of the bus!

[OldieWordly]

The war in Ukraine is truly horrendous, but so are all the wars happening all around the world. It is happening in Europe, a place this country is geographically and culturally a part of. So we can emphasise more with the Ukranians and hence the outpouring of support.

But it also helps that they are white and look like the majority of this country, and therefore more support is volunteered.

Why do I as a black woman, while feeling great empathy and sorrow, also feel that other asylum seekers also fleeing war and destruction in their home countries, have been relegated to the back of the bus?

Where are the offers of a sponsored home from UK individuals/families and reimbursement of £350 a month? The right to live in the UK for up to 3 years? The right to work, or to immediately access benefits if needed?

Many of you may say, it's not about skin colour, ethnicity etc, it's about humanity. But tell me, why do so many of us black, brown or non white people often have a feeling of being treated subconciously as belonging at the back of the bus? And the welcome given to Ukranian refugees as apposed to those from Syria troubles me greatly.

I hear you and agree with you wholeheartedly.

It is blatant racism clear and simple in the differences between how non-white refugees are treated and how Ukrainians are being welcomed with open arms because they are white.

No-one in this country gave a shit about Ukrainians before, in fact this country voted Brexit in order to stop EU immigration and yet here we are allowing countless in to live, work and claim benefits. The system is a joke but then we have top racists in charge so hardly surprising.giveita few months before the public turn on the Ukrainians, it’s inevitable.

There are many UK hotels still housing thousands of Afghan refugees. The government has now asked people to open their homes as the hotel model isn't sustainable and houses cannot be built quickly enough. Is that racist, or practical?

Not this again.

[quote Katya213]@BewareTheLibrarians. What do you expect them to do, sit back and make the Russians tea? Wars war, Ukrainian s didn’t ask for it but they willing to fight for their country.[/quote]
I think you missed my point, as I wasn’t talking about Ukraine. Men in Ukraine are being asked to join an actual national army, to fight against an invading army.

Men who “fled” from Syria and Afghanistan did so as they’ve were forced (tortured, threatened, families threatened) to join a militia (not a national army) where they would have had to kill their neighbours/countrymen in a civil war, or they faced being murdered for their profession or beliefs. I’m neither of those situations were the men being “asked to fight for their country.”

It’s not in any way similar to the situation in Ukraine, as I’ve been trying to point out.

I hear you OP and agree. Perhaps one explanation here is that there is a clear “baddie” and the innocent Ukrainians being attacked. Whereas in Syria, for example, it’s not clear cut. We’re not sure who is the attacker and who is the attacked. We don’t know whose side to be on (obviously the innocent civilians caught up in the mess but any more than that 🤷🏼‍♀️)

*in neither..

Also to add r.e. Afghanistan there was a massive outpouring. BUT there it was what we owed to the embassy staff, and the UK pulling out. The people coming here were brought by sympathetic parties, educated, English speaking etc.
Syria by contrast is a civil war and people kept on coming, by boat etc. from other safe countries. In fact even people on boats.. nobody knows whether a lot of them were even Syrian or anything else.

All 'non-white' refugees aren't a homogenous blob.

@TheSillyMastiff

I know what you’re saying is true and statistics can back it up, the humanitarian aid and the welcoming of refugees from non white countries has been huge. Thank you for posting this but it’ll be ignored.

@Papertyger

I've felt awful seeing all the displacement and lives ruined in recent war s especially Syria. The horrors of Syria and chemicals and Isis

But as look says , young men fleeing France doesn't seem as desperate as women, the elderly and vulnerable fleeing an active war zone.
We've been told time and time again that it makes sense for the men to leave the vulnerable behind whilst they make the journey.

Now we're seeing the opposite from Ukraine.
Imagine if all the men were running away leaving the elderly, vulnerable, disabled, children behind!
Have fun with Putin's Russia!

It's absolutely absurd and doesn't make sense.
Is it cultural?
I don't know.

No it is not cultural. The men who are able to fight, must stay and do so whether they want to or not.

I think it's probably because it's Europe and closer to home. Maybe people feel that there are other countries closer to Afghanistan and syria that could help those refugees.

www.facebook.com/parul.das.336/videos/373619861021475/

@Momijin

Yes, I don't understand it at all. I have been appalled by people's responses to refugees (Syrians drowning etc) and even Brexit. Now because the media tells us it is ok and good to care about Ukrainians, people are donating and offering their homes to Ukrainians refugees.

I don’t think this is entirely fair? I recall the scenes in Germany in 2015 when the refugees arrived and were greeted by locals holding welcome signs and handing out food, snacks, clothing. Sweden and Germany absorbed a lot of these refugees with open arms at the time

@FairyCakeWings probably because the Russian invasion is an attack on NATO. While the Israel invasion on Palestine affects... who else?
I don't agree with any of this fighting but it's not really about skin colour.
It's about money/politics.
And values, and whether people's OWN livelihoods will be affected.

BTW most other countries in the world are happily racist and xenophobic. It's the 'norm'. The UK has many problems, and is also racist etc but compared to other countries... and I'm not talking about Europe!

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Not this again.

Yes again.

@TheSillyMastiff people are just going to ignore facts but great effort. A+

@CBFA

There are many UK hotels still housing thousands of Afghan refugees. The government has now asked people to open their homes as the hotel model isn't sustainable and houses cannot be built quickly enough. Is that racist, or practical?

And will thousands of Afghan families come forward to take them in. Doubt it. But when white families ,with an entirely different culture and way of life, also don't come forward,or are rejected as unsuitable, there will be a whole load of shouting about how racist white people are.

Ukrainians were not allowing brown and black people to get on the buses and trains. It really doesn’t get much worse than that.

OP, threads like this always go round in circles. I think it's patently clear globally that Black people are second class citizens. I absolutely think what is being done for Ukrainian refugees is amazing but sort of treatment would never be bestowed on Black people. White people will try to find all sorts of justifications or work-arounds to explain that it isn't about race. It really is, everything is.

Some actual stats

“Amongst adults, Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK in 2021, as it has been every year since 2016, with 9,800 applications.
In the year ending September 2021, the top five countries of nationality for asylum applications (from main applicants) were: Iran (6,002), Eritrea (4,412) Albania (4.010), Iraq (3,042) and Syria (2,303).“

www.unhcr.org/uk/asylum-in-the-uk.html

“From other safe countries”

There’s no law that says refugees have to stop in the first “safe country” that they arrive in. My relative came to the UK as he spoke fluent English and had colleagues who could help him get settled. He passed through many “safe” countries that were actually unsafe to him due to political connections. It’s not always as simple as it looks.

I have students who arrived in the UK as that was the only place the traffickers would take them. They didn’t choose here. They sometimes didn’t know which country they were in until they were told. There’s a massively over inflated expectation of how much control refugees have over where they end up and how.

If you recall, there was another war in Europe not that long ago. People have forgotten it sounds like it. I was living through it as a young child, hiding in my neighbour’s basement from the Serbian warplanes. It's not like that would have helped. I don’t recall the UK being overly welcoming to any of us. We weren’t welcomed to the UK, nor are the Ukrainian refugees today if you read the news. It’s all over the news…Are you annoyed that the UK public is distressed by what’s happening in Europe and making this to be about Ukrainians being white?

@Loudhousefun

Ukrainians were not allowing brown and black people to get on the buses and trains. It really doesn’t get much worse than that.

The Ukranians' racism is a separate topic, unless you're saying that the UK should reject them for being racist.

Thank you for putting this so much better than I could.
@BewareTheLibrarians

@LibrariesGiveUsPower

Yep correct I had mentioned those. They are close in proximity, understand the culture and religions in the region and can help refugees.

Any stats on Europe and the UK?

@Rummikub

That’s so good to hear that their neighbouring country would do that. That’s what we are doing for Ukraine but getting branded racist in the process. *@Katya213*

U.K. doesnt border Ukraine. At least three countries are crossed to get to uk.
Pakistan borders Afghanistan.

It’s Europe!