Many European countries have opened their borders to Ukrainian refugees, who have fled the country in droves to escape Russia’s invasion. It’s an undeniably positive move, offering help and safety to the one million (and counting) Ukrainians who’ve crossed the borders in a time when they need it most.
However, as The Daily Show host Trevor Noah points out, this huge sympathetic response to Ukraine’s refugees also highlights a significant failing: Europe’s markedly less welcoming attitude toward non-white refugees.
“That’s really strange,” said Noah, contrasting a montage of recent news clips about the treatment of Ukraine’s refugees with a montage ones discussing refugees from Africa and the Middle East. “When it’s Syrians who are fleeing a war, it’s all, ‘We do not have space, do not come.’ But now there’s space and people must come? What changed?”
“I understand the arguments that these countries will make, that they have to think about how easy it is for refugees to integrate into their culture and society,” said Noah. “I get that. I truly get that. It’s just like it’s easier for you to take in a family member who’s in trouble than a random person who needs help… But it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. And the problem I have is that when it’s Syrians or Africans on a boat, these countries didn’t even try to integrate them. They didn’t even say ‘women and children only.’ No, they reject even the chance that anyone brown could assimilate.”
