Mizuki Uchiyama
Sept. 6, 2023
Ever since the Russian invasion in February 2022, many countries have sent aid to UkraineBut many Ukrainian refugees have been unable to receive aid. Here is a nine-minute video I produced and presented about the challenges of humanitarian assistance.
According to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 6.2 million people had fled Ukraine as of August 2023, and support is pouring in from all over the world, especially from Western countries. But many people in similar circumstances from other countries are unable to receive assistance. According to the UNHCR, there will be 35.3 million refugees worldwide by the end of 2022.
The top three countries of origin for refugees, including those in need of other international protection, are Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan. Many refugees have limited means of transportation to take refuge and money to pay for it, so about 70% of them seek refuge in neighboring countries. The top three receiving countries are Turkey, Iran and Colombia. Turkey, the top accepting country, borders Syria, and Iran, in second place, borders Afghanistan Most refugees cannot reach Western countries and remain in low- and middle-income countries nearby. As a result, support systems are often inadequate. The United Nations and other international organizations often play a major role in assisting refugees, and according to UN data, Ukraine will receive more than 80% of the funds needed by UN agencies in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in central Africa, where there are still continuing conflicts and 5.7 million refugees and internally displaced persons, has collected only 40% to 50% of the aid needed since 2018. Myanmar, which suffered a military coup in 2021, has also received only 40%. Why do these differences occur?
“Humanitarian assistance is not decided around human life, but it is strategic and it is also political,” said Professor Virgil Hawkins of Osaka University’s Graduate School of International Public Policy. ”When it comes to Africa, on the contrary, that strategic political interest is lessened. Since political benefits cannot be expected, support cannot be gathered, and since support cannot be gathered, a lot of people die.” Which refugees receive support and to what extent depend in part on the political decisions of the receiving countries, and it is difficult to gather support for refugees from regions in which the international community has little interest. On the other hand, there are also reports of people who have fled Ukraine but have been treated unfairly because of their race or nationality.
An international student at a Ukrainian university who tried to evacuate to Poland told : “I was told to get off the train. When we asked why, we were told that the train was for Ukrainians.” He added: “Only whites are allowed.We had to protest for three days until we were allowed to move ourselves.” Ukrainian universities enrolled many international students before the Russian invasion, with about 20,000 each from Africa and India. But they were not allowed on buses and trains for evacuation, even though they were not full, and were ordered off the buses to make room for Ukrainians. They were also reportedly prevented from completing procedures to cross the border and assaulted by guards on the Ukrainian side of the border. In response, the African Union issued a statement saying that the situation was “shocking racism and would violate international law.
Japan is actively accepting Ukrainian refugees. Associate Professor Naoko Hashimoto of Hitotsubashi University’s Graduate School of Social Sciences said Japan provides generous support from the public and private sectors, such as immediate issuance of short-term visas; change of residence status to one that allows work after arrival in Japan; mediation for Ukrainians to find “limited” employment in public housing; subsidies for living expenses; Japanese language education, and counseling.
But those who have fled other countries are not necessarily eligible for such assistance. Many Afghans have left their country to escape Taliban persecution, and when they obtain Japanese visas, they are required to have proof of ability to pay for living expenses and proof of employment in Japan, even if they are longtime employees of a local Japanese organization. Those seeking refuge from Afghanistan are the same as those fleeing Ukraine in the sense that their lives are in danger, but the government’s response is very different. A Kurdish woman who fled to Japan after being persecuted in Turkey was unable to obtain a work permit and was struggling to make ends meet. She was puzzled by the Japanese government’s response, saying, “The response from the Japanese government is totally different, why is it that we are the same people?
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros pointed out in April 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, that the world does not treat race equally in emergency situations. He was probably hoping that more attention would be paid to Africa and the Middle East. Society needs to look again at the fact that huge numbers of refugees are in danger in regions that do not receive much attention from the international community.
