Refugees are only refugees because of matters inevasible to themselves. No refugee willingly becomes a refugee and no refugee needs hostility from the privileged after fleeing their home from war, suffering, violence and loss.

 

Only a refugee because of the potluck of not being born into wealth or a specific country, any human subjected to the conditions of famine, bloodshed and bombings would seek refuge in another country. So surely, instead of rallying against, compassion and sympathy are required along with a humane approach to welcome them as fellow human beings in dire need. What is the point of treating them any differently? What is the point of turning your back on people in despair?

 

This begs the question, what would happen if all those too blinded by hate and anger, such as the EDL and ‘Migrant Hunters’ in the UK along with right-wing fascist parties such as those sweeping Europe in Italy and Hungary were dropped in Aleppo, Syria, for an educational experience they would never forget?

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The EDL facing Syrian devestation.

 

Left to their own devices with none of the international aid they could have had, but fought against, they would do everything in their power to escape the bombings and shelling, they would do everything they could to get onto ‘the boats’ cross the sea and get to safety across Europe. Hence becoming exactly what they hate, a refugee. The few that are able to return home may need hospital treatment for their sufferings, when bed-bound and fatally ill, who will be looking after them, well, one in six NHS staff have a migrant's tale.

 

This may sound extreme but then Aristotle said: “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet,” such as would be the case in this instance, Aleppo would certainly be bitter, but their new-found feelings of acceptance would be oh so sweet, they would no longer be in opposition but do everything in their power to change legislation and people’s views. It is imperative for them to step into the shoes of those they persecute to understand how they feel, something many of us can do to a certain extent without having to undergo the experience, but then many seem to have this callous deficiency.

 

The influx of Ukrainian refugees to their Western counterparts has shown that a gratifying welcome is achievable, around six million registered in Europe and 163,000 have been welcomed in the UK since February 2022, with individuals opening their homes and communities hosting events promoting solidarity. Of course, this is a luminous success of what could be for all those displaced, but it blatantly accentuates that attitudes towards refugees differ significantly when it best suits people’s prejudices on race. There is ample space for those escaping war when they are white. Astonishingly, far from the six million registered, in the same year, only 271 Afghans were resettled in the EU, 0.1% of the 270,000 Afghans in need, many remain trapped in prison-like conditions across Europe.

 

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Afghan and Ukranian refugees.

 

Racial undertones have always been prevalent, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine has heightened the apparency of refugee discrimination, even black Ukrainians were prevented from crossing the border and boarding trains, in some cases in favour for dogs. A study conducted by UCL depicted the disquieting views the British public hold among refugee groups. The survey, included a representative sample of 1,690 adults, who were asked: Do you agree or disagree that we should let refugees fleeing conflict-affected areas come and stay in the UK? However, three marginally different questions were conducted to respondents, with each person seeing only one. In one version, the universal question was asked, in the second version, a reference to Ukraine as the conflict-afflicted area was added, and in the third, Afghanistan was used as the example. Recipients of the neutral question showed a high level of support for helping refugees, with 71% agreeing that refugees should be allowed to come and stay in the UK. Similar levels of agreement were found among the Ukrainian question, with 70% of respondents agreeing they should be helped. However, when the Afghan question was posed, the proportion of respondents agreeing that they should be helped dropped by a staggering 21% to 50%.

 

It comes as little surprise that from the sample, 67% of Conservative voters thought refugees should be allowed in the UK but only 36% in favour of refugees from Afghanistan, while even more startling is that only 58% of those aged between 18 – 24 thought refugees should be permitted. Post-Brexit Brits should be wary, having already lost 1% of the workforce made up of Immigrants that commonly do the jobs that British people aren’t so keen to do, such as picking fruit, only 1% of seasonal farm workers are British.

 

Leading the study, Dr Paolo Morini, said: “The war in Ukraine has clearly prompted British people to think about their role in helping those who suffer and to build a fairer world. But charities, NGOs, and governments, through their efforts, are apparently still not able to bridge the gap in the public’s mind between the specific case of Ukraine and the broader cause of helping all those afflicted by conflicts worldwide.” Other factors apart from race that could be causing refugee exceptionalism regarding Ukraine is the vast rates of media coverage granted to the Russian invasion and the proximity between the two nations not just in terrestrial terms but in social nearness and the sense of what happened to the Ukrainians could happen to themselves, whereas it is much less likely that European people would ever flee to the Middle East.

 

The high Ukrainian refugee intake hasn’t seemed to have created lasting change in attitudes towards those in need, Morini said: “Thinking ‘it could be me’ will move many to act, but it won’t give us the chance to engender the radical change in our care for all people around the world. Once the emergency is over in Ukraine, the work to make the world a place without suffering will still go on.”

 

There is a danger present that is akin to the early persecution of the Jewish people pre 1939 to what is being thwarted on refugees and migrants across Europe today. In July 1938, 32 nations met at the spa town of Evian, France, to discuss German-Jewish refugees that has been quite nearly wiped from history.

 

Convened by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the vast refugee crisis triggered by Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism, the Evian conference was a catastrophe in which its disastrous consequences must be considered in light of Europe’s current migration crisis.

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Cartoon showing 'where will Jewish people go' for The Evian Conference in The New York Times.

 

Supposing to address the predicament of hundreds of thousands of German and Austrian Jews made refugees by Hitler, the conference only played into his hands, as although European delegations voiced dismay over the torment experienced by the Jews of Germany and Austria, they were unprepared to take concrete action. The outcome of the meeting was clear: Europe, North America and Australia would not accept significant numbers of these refugees.

 

“Density” and “saturation,” were constantly repeated by European countries who were convinced their populations were beset with “density” and had reached a point of “saturation.” An obvious lie, given the population rates in 1938 opposed to today. These countries would later find themselves in dire need of the compassion they rejected the Jews.

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Lord Winterton, delegate of the United Kingdom, during a speech at the conference.

 

As anti-migrant, Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia and homophobia accompanied by countless hate crimes, run rampant across not just Europe, but the world, nations and individuals, making the whole, must consider the actions of the past more so than ever before and prior to an inevitable and uncontrollable herd mentality that will incite increased hatred for minority groups engendered by people in western countries. As they themselves become financially poorer, they will turn to minorities to vent their rage.

 

By calling them refugees we tend to forget their humanity. They are people aside from a group. Each life is a life just as yours. You could have been born destined to live in poverty and war, but if you are reading this from the west you were born lucky compared to what refugees know, so consider welcoming a little diversity if you haven’t already, you could of played a part in saving the 1,800 lives lost in the central Mediterranean so far this year and can still play a part in helping the voiceless.

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A Spanish aid volunteer hugging a Senegalese migrant