More than 6 million Ukrainians have fled their country as a result of the ongoing conflict with Russia, with many settling in other European nations.
While this is not the first refugee crisis that Europe has experienced, it’s one of the first which has come from within European bounds. This has impacted how Ukrainians are seen by neighboring countries, from receiving widespread welcome and support, to negative stereotyping and xenophobic claims of freeloading.
As a nation which is far from the conflict, we talked to students across Europe to gauge how the current crisis is perceived.
In Ukraine, Anastasia states that due to Europe’s previous reactions to refugee crises, many are concerned that current migrations may reflect badly on them. She states that it is important people keep in mind that Ukrainians do not want to flee their homes.
Such a concern is not unfounded, bordering nations like Slovakia and Poland have seen citizens change their sentiment towards refugees as the war has continued.
“Some people think that Ukrainians only came to take their jobs, take their life, I don’t know, husbands, take their money, and live here for free” says Anastasia.
Yahor, a Belarusian, has noticed an increase in Ukrainian students attending his University in Lithuania. “[Lithuania] has set up refugee centers, such as Rukla to provide shelter, food, medical care, and social services to Ukrainian refugees”.
Bordering Belarus, he feels that Europe is paying more attention to Lithuania, acting as a potential buffer state, should the war expand. Yahor has also had his own movement impacted by the war, as a citizen of Belarus, strong restrictions have been set on him being able to leave the country for his studies.
In France, Johannes says that France has changed their entire approach to diplomacy because of the war. “France was skeptical to [sic] EU-Enlargement [prior to the war]”, but has since described more eastern laying EU states as distinctively European. They have provided more than 2 billion USD worth of support, and taken in around 70,000 refugees.
While the war continues, Ukrainians only see one outcome, to win. Others in Europe have some skepticism, wondering if Russia may win through a costly nationwide mobilization.
An outcome is obviously not certain, but it’s clear that the only solution to the crisis is further diplomacy, and an understanding of what it means to flee your own home.
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