Janine di Giovanni is executive director at The Reckoning Project and a columnist for The National
March 04, 2022
Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, people seeking safe haven from war and conflict are protected by international law. But as Russian tanks continue to roll into Ukraine, we have once again begun to see the multilateral treaty be put to the test.
Many scenes from the ongoing war in Ukraine are heartbreaking: elderly people shivering in the cold under bridges; young mothers and their infants being tearfully bused away from their homes; young conscripts who look like they should be studying or partying lining up to get guns for a war they do not want.
Among the most shocking are the images of black and brown Ukrainians and Ukrainian residents – many of them refugees from Africa and elsewhere who sought safety from wars in their own countries, or foreign students – being segregated at the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Prior to the fighting, Ukraine had been a safe haven for many foreigners. The International Organisation of Migration has estimated that there are more than 470,000 foreign nationals in Ukraine, including many students and migrant workers. At least 6,000 of them arrived in Moldova and Slovakia over the past week. Many more have crossed into Poland.
But many testimonies of black people trying to flee have followed a familiar pattern of discrimination. One Kenyan student told the Associated Press that the Ukrainian military had moved black people into a separate queue and that they were “treated differently” from white Ukrainians. A Congolese student was left out “in the cold” for 10 hours while buses carrying white Ukrainians passed them standing in the road. “We were really shocked,” she said. Others have claimed to have been beaten severely in their efforts to escape.
Foreigners wait to go to Poland at the Shegyni Ukrainian border post on March 1, 2022. AFP
Prior to the fighting, Ukraine had been a safe haven for many foreigners
One Turkish student has said he witnessed Ukrainian border police being “super racist”. The refugees were “never treated like a human", he reported. Some Indian and Nepali refugees have reported similar experiences.
For many, these scenes will evoke former US president Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban” of 2017, in which foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries were barred from the US, along with Syrian asylum claimants. Christians from those countries were largely exempt from the bans, exacerbating the sense of xenophobia that ensued and prompting lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union. It remains an ugly memory. Imagine fleeing war or poverty and then arriving in a so-called safe zone to be treated with racism and prejudice.
The plight of the black and brown people fleeing Ukraine was especially poignant because they were just as much at risk of injury or death from bombs, bullets and tanks as their white neighbours.
Some Ukrainian MPs have responded to the reports in classic denialist fashion, labelling them “fake news”. The deputy interior minister, Anton Herashchenko, denied that his country was obstructing foreigners from leaving, explaining there is a system in which people have to queue, and foreigners were at the end of the queue. Still, the testimonies of many witnesses and the refugees themselves tell a different story.
The African Union and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari have condemned the treatment of Africans fleeing Ukraine following the reports.
The wave of refugees is far from over and will continue to rise. Europe may even see a bigger one than it did in the 2015 refugee crisis by the time this conflict is over. The UN Refugee Agency says that one million people have already fled Ukraine for Europe since the fighting began. If the situation gets worse, that figure could reach as high as four million. This will put enormous strains on Poland and other neighbouring states – but it will also test their moral courage about how to respond to desperate people in need.
The experience of anyone fleeing anywhere is deeply traumatic and they must, above all, be treated with dignity. No one ever wants to leave their home until it is often too late. The experience is compounded for many refugees who were in Ukraine having already fled war or post-conflict situations. Now, they are fearful not only for their future, but of the reality that Europe most likely will not welcome them the way they will welcome white Ukrainians.
The dire situation was, perhaps, summed up best by Ben Crump, an American civil rights attorney who represented the family of George Floyd, a black American who was murdered by a police officer. Mr Crump posted a video of a black mother cradling a two-month-old baby in freezing temperatures at the Polish border. “Even in war,” he wrote. “Racism is alive and well.”
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
