Are refugees of color treated differently than White refugees?









My service learning experience took place a few months into Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022. Over 3 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children fled Ukraine as Russia invaded and sent missiles into civilian targets. The refugees from Sierra Leone and Nigeria felt the pressure as their living space was reassigned to Ukrainians. Most of the Sierra Leone and Nigerian refugees I spoke with claimed racism and were upset that Ukrainian refugees were being treated differently. 

I can see that the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine was unprecedented and neighboring states and programs were overwhelmed. I can also understand that many service providers may have viewed the Ukrainian rush as temporary- just until Russia stopped. But to the refugees that were already in the programs, they viewed it as inherent racism, and Germany being more receptive to white refugees. I often wonder what happened to the Sierra Leone and Nigerian refugees- were they forced to return to the places they fled and face the rulers they feared because white refugees needed the space, or was the bias recognized and addressed in an equitable way. 

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