Exodus of Ukrainians creates new immigration crisis for Europe

The flight of several million Ukrainians out of Ukraine to Poland and other parts of Europe has created a new immigration crisis for Europe, similar to what had occurred earlier as a result of the US wars in Syria and Iraq.

However, the reaction from the European nations has been much different. Ukrainians fleeing their country have largely been greeted with open arms.

During the flight from the Middle East and Africa due to the wars and the economic deprivation, there was a massive reaction from the Europeans fearful of having to integrate these newcomers into their economy.

Many of them still remain in camps in isolated areas near the Mediterranean, and all too many boats filled with immigrants were turned back, often with a tragic end for those onboard. In the United States, where immigration has become the hot button item of the political debate, Ukrainian refugees are being offered "asylum."

Why this "double standard" with regard to immigration? Part of it can be attributed to racial prejudice. Accepting hundreds or perhaps thousands of "white Europeans" into one's country may be preferable to accepting hundreds or thousands of Spanish-speaking immigrants from El Salvador or Africans. The reasons may also be political. Accepting Ukrainians, who many Westerners consider to be fleeing "Russian oppression," may appeal to people's political prejudices.

However, not everybody fleeing the fighting in Ukraine was treated equally. Many of the African and Asian foreign students, who also wanted to leave, were often placed at the "end of the line" in the immigration traffic and were met with more stringent requirements when they arrived in their land of refuge, reflecting the "double standard" again.

Adeyemo Abimbole, a Nigerian student studying in Ukraine, told ABC News that he and a group of African students had been waiting for a train to cross into Poland for nearly three days but were told to wait. "The Ukrainians are given priority, which is to children and women," Abimbole said. Russia, on the other hand, has opened up its borders to Indian students studying in Ukraine.

According to data from Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science, in 2019, there were about 80,000 international students studying in Ukraine from 158 countries, the majority of which – about 23 percent – were from India, followed by Morocco, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Nigeria.

Some African students found it easy to cross the border to Slovakia. However, in Poland, some immigrants of color found themselves harassed by right-wing Polish groups when they reached the border town of Przemysl.

In one instance at the Romanian border, when African students reached the front of the line, Ukrainians behind them tried to stop them from entering. When the students turned to the Ukrainian military to assist them, they were asked to join a line of those going on foot and consisting primarily of people of color.

The world, of course, has been appalled at the humanitarian crisis resulting from the situation in Ukraine. However, it is clear that much of the "humanitarianism" is still colored by "geopolitics" and even "racial politics." But this contradicts the very notion of "humanitarianism," which recognizes that "all men are created equal," and the loss of even one life is a loss for humankind. So why the racial or political divide in saving people's lives?

This points to the serious gap that continues to exist regarding the definition of the "family of man." We can learn to live with starvation in sub-Saharan Africa, but starvation among "our equals" brings forth different emotions.

This has to be attributed to the fact that the world has not entirely "matured" in the moral realm. Friedrich Schiller, the noted German poet and philosopher, relates the old story of "The Good Samaritan" in his Kallias Letters. A man has been beaten, robbed and left to die on the side of the road. Four strangers offer assistance, but in each case, their offer is badly motivated by prudence or greed or out of a tortured sense of duty. The fifth man, by contrast, offers, of his own accord, to abandon his own belongings and carry the wounded man to safety. We call this man's action beautiful, Schiller says, because he "forgot himself in his action" and "fulfilled his duty with the ease of someone acting out of mere instinct."

It is clear that the world has a long way to go to achieve Schiller's sense of the "beautiful soul." But it is worthwhile that we try to achieve that ideal and thereby give a new meaning to the notion of "humanitarianism."

William Jones is the former White House correspondent for Executive Intelligence Review and a non-resident Fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.