Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put a population of 44.13 million under threat. Condemnations, aid, arms, evacuations, and a media blitz followed. For what it is worth, I will remind you of something a great man once said.
“The very distinguished European humanist carries within him a Hitler who is unaware of himself. What he does not forgive Hitler for is not the crime in itself but the application of procedures to whites which until now only fell upon the ‘Arab from Algeria, the coolie from India, the n ** from Africa”
- Aimé Césaire
Before all else, this is what Ukraine’s Deputy Chief Prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze has to say. Does this pass as dark humour? I think not.
The sheer dehumanisation is what enables war crimes, and genocide, against people of colour, and against Muslims. This is blatant Islamophobia.
More gems from media coverage, this time, it’s Sky News.
“This is Europe.” Read: “They are white.” Peak Eurocentrism and white supremacy.
A CNN anchor went on to say that the damage in Kyiv is something a capital city in Europe hasn’t seen in almost a century. The Seige of Sarajevo has been long forgotten.
Bosnian Muslims are no less European than the Ukrainians now, are they? Are we missing something in the puzzle? Probably yes, the Bosnians were Muslim.
And there we have it…they’re white, they’re Christians!
Which makes it wrong to use Sarin gas on them…
If Halep and Damashq are a place for the remote, impoverished, and uncivilised no corner of Earth can possibly know civilisation. Modern Iraq was one of the earliest places where writing developed. Modern Afghanistan gave birth to some of the most exemplary poets of the Persian world. Modern Pakistan housed one of the oldest universities in the world. For the media blitz, civilisation is a lack of melanin.
“Look at how they are dressed….”
Poland:
“There will certainly be a wave of refugees arriving in our country,” Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski told journalists. He added that Poland would take in “as many as there will be at our borders”.
Earlier, during the refugee crisis from the Middle East, Poland, along with Hungary, refused to take in any refugees under a 2015 deal that was supposed to allocate 160,000 people among EU member countries in order to take the load off Greece and Italy. Warsaw shrugged off the threat. “In agreeing to take in refugees, the [previous government] put a ticking bomb under us,” Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak told reporters in Brussels. “We’re defusing that bomb.”
Bulgaria:
Bulgaria’s previous response to refugees is in sharp contrast to what we see today.
Denmark:
PM Frederiksen released a statement saying Denmark was ready to take in refugees from Ukraine.
It is the same country that came under fire multiple times for anti-immigrant laws, including legislation on extraterritorial asylum, seizing valuables from incoming refugees, and the ghetto law, targetting neighbourhoods with non-Western immigrants.
France:
“We are in the 21st century, we are in a European city, and we have cruise missile fire as if we were in Iraq or Afghanistan, can you imagine!”
If you want to flee war, you better be white.
Norway:
Norway was lauded, and rightly so, for being one of the countries to absorb one of the highest numbers of refugees during the crisis in comparison to its local population in Europe, and keeping them well.
In Ukraine, the Norwegian Refugee Council has been helping civilians and refugees since 2014.
For Middle Eastern and African refugees, volunteer organisations like A Drop in the Ocean, and Refugees Welcome Norway, were formed in 2015. The efforts were commendable. On the flip side, some politicians also suggested housing refugees in the Arctic archipelago. Some of these islands included those which are home to oil/gas refineries and were disputed regions with Russia back in the time.
Other invasions and bombings…lest we forget
When European Muslims in Bosnia faced genocide, the UN became part of the problem, rather than being the solution, before the war was finally ended. The war left 20 million displaced, and 1 million dead.
The US pullout from Iraq in 2011, after nine years of occupation, was followed by a second invasion in 2014. As of 2020, 9.2 million Iraqis are internally displaced or refugees abroad.
Approximately 6 million Afghans became refugees during the Soviet Invasion. Millions more fled after that, making them one of the largest refugee populations in the world. Today, 41.7 million Afghans living in their country face starvation as the USA has frozen, and stolen their national reserves. The images below say all there is to say on the matter.
America’s “War on Terror” cost Pakistan some 100k civilian lives. Between suicide bombings by foreign-funded extremist groups who took arms against the Pakistani State for “aiding” America, and careless drone strikes carried out by the USA on Pakistani soil, with pressure to “do more”.
As a result of the Arab Springs backed by the USA, several countries fell into a state of perpetual conflict. After a decade of civil war, Syrians make up the largest registered refugee population in the world. Over 9 million Libyans are in need of humanitarian assistance due to civil war. In Yemen, over 13 million people are on the brink of starvation.
The United States of America dropped 26,171 bombs on seven countries, including mine, in 2016 alone. To put it into perspective, between them, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan saw 72 bombings every day, or 3 bombings every hour.
And what of America’s allies?
In Kashmir, 14 million people are being held in an open-air prison under a hostile curfew. It has become the world’s most heavily militarised zone after the Indian government unilaterally annexed the disputed territory by revoking Article 370 and 35A of the constitution, thereby usurping all autonomy formerly given to the region of Laddakh, Jammu, and Kashmir.
More than 7 million Palestinian refugees are scattered around the world, whilst 2 million in Gaza alone are besieged, facing food insecurity, water shortages, and regular carpet bombings by Israel.
Speaking of Palestine…remember the football?
Food for thought
From the headlines, it seems that not all wars and invasions are bad. Some of them are not only justified but even celebrated. It really depends on who decides to puts boots on the ground — that alone decides if it is an “invasion” or “liberation”. And from the attitudes, it seems like a lot about the treatment of refugees has to do with the colour of their skin and their religion.
For all intents and purposes, this blog has not been written under the delusion that it will change anything. It is here, just to serve as a reminder, of what has happened, to put invasions and outrage into perspective, to ensure that racism goes down in history, at least somewhere.
Think: not only is the difference towards refugees apparent, but also the media coverage. Either Ukrainian lives matter more because they’re Europeans, and they’re not Muslims; or because it is Russia and the “evil” Putin attacking them, as opposed to the “civilised” West: America, NATO, and their allies. Or perhaps, it is both.
