"These are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from Ukraine. They're Christian, they're white, they're very similar [to us]." – Kelly Cobiella, Correspondent, NBC News.
"It's really emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed, with Putin's missiles and his helicopters and rockets." – Ukrainian Politician and Prosecutor David Sakvarelidze, BBC.
"This isn't a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilised, relatively European city where you wouldn't expect that or hope that it's going to happen." – Charlie D'Agata, Correspondent, CBS News.
The discrimination between #Ukrainian and 'other' #refugees has shocked me to the core. Mainstream media outlets have already been infamous for their dehumanising language towards refugees in general. Be it when they describe them as coming in 'waves or floods' or just labelling them as '#migrants' who have crossed the border illegally. But this racist and #whitesupremacist coverage that showcases a picture that Ukrainians are more worthy and deserving of the world's sympathy and acceptance is unequivocally and morally wrong.
Why don't those who have endured #war and persecution from #Afghanistan, #Syria, #Iraq, #Yemen, #DNC, #Eritrea, #Xinjiang, and #Burma deserve the same level of empathy and help? One might assume that discrimination of the #globalsouth might not be so obvious, but in fact, it has happened. In-group favouritism in the face of threat is an age-old concept that further drives the "us vs. them" divide. But today, I witnessed it unravel with no consequences to account for.
I am an Indian migrant and today I couldn't help but wonder, what would it be if I became a refugee? So, I took the liberty to pen down my thoughts as a free verse poem.
The most crucial point is that no one gives us the higher ground to decide whose life is more worthy of protection. All refugees are equal, and we must strive to reduce this appalling discrimination that has come to light of the harrowing situation of Ukrainian refugees.