Consider how differently Europe and the United States have been treating white, Christian Ukrainian refugees than those from anywhere else.
by Helen Benedict, Tom Dispatch
Almost anyone would agree that war is horrifying and peaceful countries should do their best to help its victims. The widespread eagerness to welcome fleeing Ukrainians after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded their country last February is a heartening example of such aid. But behind that altruism lies an ugly truth: most of the countries embracing Ukrainians are simultaneously persecuting equally desperate refugees from elsewhere.
Such unequal mercy would be no surprise from nations like Ukraine’s neighbors Hungary and Poland, controlled by nationalist parties that have rarely welcomed anyone not white and Christian. However, the same thing is happening in Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and here in the United States, the very democracies sworn to protect those fleeing war and persecution and that, in the case of America, sometimes turned those people into refugees in the first place. Our Global War on Terror alone has displaced an estimated 37 million people since we invaded Afghanistan in 2001.

One of the worst examples of this unequal mercy is taking place in Greece, a major gateway to Western Europe for anyone fleeing the Middle East or Africa. Between February and mid-April of this year, some 21,000 Ukrainians made it to Greece — more in three months than the total number of asylum seekers who entered the country in all of 2021. There, the Ukrainians were instantly granted temporary protection status, giving them access to medical care and jobs, subsidized housing and food allowances, schooling for their children, and Greek language classes for adults.
This is an admirable example of how all people who flee danger and war should be welcomed. But I’ve been visiting Greece for years now to research my new book, Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece, and I know a lot of refugees there who have found no such generosity. Most are Syrian, Afghan, or Iraqi, but some are Kurdish or Palestinian, while others come from African countries, including Cameroon, Eritrea, Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and the Republic of Congo.
Recent Posts
Pentagon Official: Trump Boat Strike Was A Criminal Attack On Civilians
September 9, 2025
Take Action Now A current DoD official and many military legal experts say the U.S. attack on a boat in the Caribbean near Venezuela broke…
The Department Of War
September 8, 2025
Take Action Now If Congress had to pass National War Authorization and Appropriations Acts instead of so-called National “Defense” Acts,…
Washington, DC, Residents Protest Against Trump
September 7, 2025
Take Action Now Several thousand protesters march to oppose Trump’s troop deployment, Justice Department data shows violent crime at 30-year…
‘Shameful Assault on Human Rights’: Trump Sanctions Palestinian Orgs That Called for UN to Investigate Israeli War Crimes
September 6, 2025
Take Action Now The former executive director of Human Rights Watch said Trump’s “answer to Israeli atrocities is to censor reporting on…