Imagine that you live on a quiet street. Your neighborhood doesn’t change much, and many of the families living there have been your neighbors for your entire life.
Imagine that in the course of one month, almost a quarter of your neighbors quietly fled those homes. Carrying a small bag of essential documents, perhaps a teddy bear or special heirloom, and the clothes on their backs, they take cars, buses, trains, and even walk to cross the nearest border.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, this massive population shift has become the reality for millions of Ukrainians. With the UNHCR reporting the flight of over 10 million Ukrainian refugees, we stand in the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Perhaps surprisingly, in comparison to other crises, many states, international organizations, and media outlets appear to be on the same page with their responses to Ukrainian refugees. We must ask, what can we learn from this response and from the Ukrainian refugee crisis itself?
The Role of Race
Before addressing the successes in refugee response seen over the past month, we have to talk about race. Many publications and activists point to the role of race in the West’s somewhat unified support of Ukrainian refugees. Early comparisons on international news outlets between Ukraine and other conflict zones conveyed the belief that Ukrainian refugees are ‘different’ from their Middle Eastern and North African peers.
You know, [Kiev] is a relatively civilized, relatively European — I have to choose those words carefully, too — city where you wouldn’t expect that…
Charlie D’Agata, CBS News
They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking. Ukraine is a European country… War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations. It can happen to anyone.
Daniel Hannan, The Telegraph
Criticisms of these and many similar comments led to the issuing of apologies, but the point remains that race is a major factor determining how people think about and respond to the war in Ukraine. Race may matter even more for refugees, as recent evidence shows. Xenophobic attitudes are alternatively driven by both visible and inferred assumptions about differences between refugees and the communities which host them.
As we think about some of the successes in efforts to protect Ukrainian refugees across the world, we also have to critically examine how attitudes about and perceptions of race, ethnicity, and religion make some of these successes uniquely possible. Through this critical lens, we can more confidently adapt these policies for other refugee populations.
Immediate Conferral of Immigration Status
Refugee scholars and activists alike endorse policies which expedite assigning status claims to people migrating under duress. Assigning immigration status can confer access to social services and the opportunity to work. In the case of Ukrainian refugees, a number of status policy avenues exist to help immediately support refugees.
Job and industry-specific visas: While these visas mainly assist a smaller subset of highly-skilled workers, they come with the advantage of directly building in opportunities for refugees to have an income upon arrival, as well as enabling them to bring their families with them. An Australian pilot program is testing this policy for Ukrainian refugees in the tech industry.
Special humanitarian visas: The United States recently announced it would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, a significant increase over its annual refugee acceptance total for last year. However, the majority of these visas will only provide temporary status to Ukrainians refugees, demonstrating the need for more future-oriented visa policies.
Blanket acceptance of asylum/refugee claims: As the largest receiver of Ukrainian refugees, the European Union enacted a blanket acceptance policy which would allow Ukrainians to live, travel, and work in the EU for three years. This is the most expansive effort thus far to include refugees and also creates greater flexibility for Ukrainians, with the caveat that this acceptance does not necessarily confer access to support services which are important for future integration.
However, we still have a long way to go. Many refugees — especially Black Ukrainians — have been left stranded on the Ukrainian border or waiting in limbo for a promised visa which may or may not ever come.
Policies for a Brighter Future
These policy options related to immigration status provide meaningful lessons to adopt in response to current and future refugee crises. However, offering immediate opportunities for integration only addresses some of the challenges that refugees face.
Acculturation is the process of adopting the customs and values of another culture while retaining the distinct culture of one’s home country. I recommend checking out this great article from sociologist Dr. Nicki Lisa Cole to learn more about this concept. Acculturation takes time and effort, both from immigrants themselves and also their host communities. Beyond offering refugees a place to stay, host communities must provide necessary services including language training, access to healthcare, opportunities to work, and the other forms of support that Annabelle highlighted in her series on mental health and the refugee experience.
Without developing long-term plans for refugees, the risk of acculturative stress or failure increases. As the immediacy of the Ukrainian refugee crisis fades, we must also consider policies that set up refugees for a brighter future, whether back in Ukraine or in their host communities. Whether Ukrainian or Syrian, Afghan or Myanmarese, we must think about these longer term challenges and adapt them to present and future refugee crises.
While most policies address the immediate aftermath of conflict and flight, future-oriented policies should consider how best to manifest and sustain:
- A sense of place and home for refugees;
- Opportunities for economic growth and social mobility; and,
- Long-term stability for individuals and families
Diverse policy options can aid refugees coming from widely different backgrounds. With the response to Ukrainian refugees showing uncommon international unity, we can adapt these lessons to become better hosts and neighbors to all vulnerable populations, in the present and the future.
- State of the UNIONS: Welcome to September’s Impactfull Series - September 2, 2022
- What We Can Learn from the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis - March 29, 2022
- The Olympic Effect: Changes in Host Communities - February 21, 2022