Double Standards: The Ukraine Refugee Crisis in Europe - Saisubramaniyam Venatagirish

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  My family and I arrived outside Budapest’s Immigration Office in the 13th District, at 6:30 on a mildly cold Wednesday morning. As we arrived, we were met with tens of Ukrainian families who were queuing up before the door opens to get their access to the temporary protection available to them through the Hungarian Government. This was an eye-opening experience for me, as it was the first time I had encountered people who had to go through a devastating war, and as a result, had to relocate. The long queue signified the impact the war had on these Ukrainian citizens. This first-hand event had happened almost forty days into the war, and I couldn’t imagine how the line would have been had this been the start of the war.

   Throughout my visit back to Hungary, I learned about the responses to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Through most of my interactions with my friends and their families, the response from the Hungarian public was very hospitable. Airbnb and hotels were paying for Ukrainian refugees to stay in their rooms, Hungarians were welcoming Ukrainian families to stay in their homes, and other governments were allowed to use Budapest as an intermediary to take their citizens back. For example, the Indian Embassy in Budapest managed to gather all Indians in Ukraine to Budapest, under “Operation Ganga”. Food and stay were offered for more than 2000 people, and flights specifically organized by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were set up from Hungary to India (NDTV).  The hospitality shown towards (now what is) over half a million Ukrainian refugees by the Hungarian public is led by the Hungarian government and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban has been open in “praising volunteers’ work and said Hungary would help to both resettle Ukrainian refugees and return home those from third countries such as India and Nigeria — whether they wanted to go or not” (O’Brien). Upon arriving in Budapest, Ukrainians would receive meals, free SIM cards, trains, buses, hotels, etc (Stewart). 

  While this response from the Hungarian Government is very welcoming, I couldn’t help but think about the Middle Eastern Refugee crisis in 2015. Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has, in the past, been criticized by the European Union and the United Nations for his hardline immigration policies. Orban's anti-immigration policy received huge flak in 2015 during the refugee crisis, where he turned away, detained, and banned asylum seekers from countries like Syria and Afghanistan. I vividly remember a huge emphasis being placed on Hungary at the time, be it from news sources, or just in everyday conversations with teachers and friends at school. Quite literally everyone was talking about Hungary’s poor treatment of refugees coming from the Middle East. 

  It is quite noticeable that there is some double standard involved in Hungary’s response to the Russia-Ukraine war. Since the start of the war, everyone has started to take notice of Viktor Orban’s seemingly racist and contradictory policies toward immigration. The European Union’s high court found Hungary defying its refugee and asylum laws. Despite this 'slap on the wrist' Orban committed to his nationalistic immigration policies. 

  During the Middle Eastern refugee crisis, Orban built a border fence around its southern border on the Serbian side. Only through Serbia, could refugees enter Hungary as the first EU state. Alongside building a barbed wire fence, Orban declared Hungary in a state of emergency, which allowed the country to arrest everybody who crossed the checkpoint without being approved. Hungary wanted no responsibility in providing them food and shelter, and as a result, forced neighboring countries like Croatia to bear the burden. Even today, Hungary continues to push migrants back over the Serbian border. 

  The Hungarian government has been hostile to everyone who is not an ethnic Hungarian. Numerous Jews have left the country because they feel it's not safe (Beauchamp). In 2018, Orban called migrants on the Serbian border “Muslim Invaders” (qtd. In Stewart). Part of this recent switch in Orban’s policies has a lot to do with the fact that Ukrainians are Christians. Even within Hungary’s softening of its immigration policy racism is evident. Roma refugees are not getting the same treatment as Christians. Speaking at the border on March 3, Orbán claimed he can “tell the difference between who is a migrant and who is a refugee.” (O’Brien). The quote by Orban is targeted toward these “outcasted” Ukrainians, who aren’t Christians. It is important to note that Orban's policy switch coincided with the Hungarian election (which he won by a landslide), and that his switch could be seen as a ploy in uniting Hungarians, who were otherwise upset at his anti-LGBTQ policies. 

  The fact that it is not surprising that the reasons for this double standard are mediated by religion, race, and nationality is shocking, and it is not exclusive to Hungary. Poland, Bulgaria, and other European countries have been suspected of differentiating Ukrainian refugees from other refugees in the media. Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov said Ukrainians “are Europeans...[who are] intelligent, and educated people…This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been terrorists” (qtd. In Alexander-Nathani). Statements like this make it clear that the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees has not forced a shift in racist stance by Governments.  Governments view White or Christian Europeans as safer and superior citizens compared to those migrating from the Middle East. 

  Similar to how government officials view Ukrainian refugees versus other asylum seekers, journalists, media, and even us, tend to show bias towards Ukrainian refugees compared to Middle Eastern or African Refugees. Major media sources like CBS and Al Jazeera have “described Ukraine as a “civilized” nation of “prosperous, middle-class people” who “are not obviously refugees … [but] they look like any European family that you would live next door to.” (Adida et al). In a survey conducted by the Washington Post, the journalists identified that survey participants feel more favorable toward Ukrainian refugees compared to Afghan refugees by a difference of fourteen percentage points. I think the study emphasizes why maybe higher officials think the way they do with their immigration policies in democratic countries. 

  How do we achieve a world where refugees from the Middle East and Africa who have traveled thousands of miles, are greeted with SIM cards, food, and residential dorms? I think we take inspiration from the current situation happening in Ukraine, and try and use that to overhaul the racist structures underlying the immigration system. The European Union and the United Nations need to take a stronger commitment toward protecting immigrants in times of war and need to condemn nations like Hungary, Belarus, Poland, etc. There needs to be a shift from governments politicizing human beings, toward caring and asking what would you want if you were forced to migrate your home? The treatment shown towards Ukrainians from these otherwise hardline European countries should be the new gold standard for any refugee be it Christian, Muslim, black, white, and so forth.

• Works Cited

  Adida, Claire, et al. “Analysis | Americans See Afghan and Ukrainian Refugees Very Differently. Why?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Apr. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/american-opinion-afghan-ukraine-refugees/. 

  Beauchamp, Zack. “Why Hungary Is so Awful to Refugees.” Vox, Vox, 18 Sept. 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/9/18/9349081/syrian-refugees-hungary-viktor-orban.

  International, Asian News. “How a Team of 30 Working from Budapest Hotel Is Guiding Operation Ganga.” NDTV.com, NDTV, 6 Mar. 2022, https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/how-a-team-of-30-working-from-budapest-hotel-is-guiding-operation-ganga-2806615.

  Isabella Alexander-Nathani. “The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis' Double Standard.” SAPIENS, Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance/Getty Images, 7 Apr. 2022, https://www.sapiens.org/column/borders/ukrainian-refugee-crisis-double-standard/.

  O’Brien, Erin. “Viktor Orbán's New ‘pro-Refugee’ Stance Is Opportunistic - and Still Racist.” Jacobin, 4 Mar. 2022, https://jacobinmag.com/2022/04/viktor-orban-hungarian-election-refugees-ukrainian-migrants.

  Stewart, Briar. “Hungary, a Country That Once Shut out Refugees, Has Opened Its Doors to Those Fleeing Ukraine | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 1 Apr. 2022, https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/hungary-ukraine-refugees-1.6403263.