confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
Ukrainian refugees expose European double standards
Blue Lines
European states are competing to offer the most generosity to the more than 3 million refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion. But it has prompted some activists and officials to look more closely at the plight of the thousands of Africans and Arabs still awaiting decisions on their asylum and immigration status. Ukrainian refugees are getting approval immediately and the right to work for at least three years.
Some areas are reporting resentment among non-Ukrainian refugees. According to the Asylum Unit at the Finnish Immigration Service, 2,300 asylum seekers were waiting for residence permits and other decisions before Russia's invasion. The asylum application process in the country lasts for around ten months on average, though many people have been waiting for years.
Reports circulated several weeks ago, which Polish officials dismissed as Russian disinformation, that many Africans in Ukraine attempting to flee were turned back at the border. African diaspora organisations reported that some students were forced back into danger zones in Ukraine.
With several European governments creating 'hostile environments' for immigrants and asylum seekers, the situation raises awkward questions. Selective application of a more liberal approach to refugee rights will sound alarms for African and Asians amid the sharpening geopolitical schisms.
