When we see the images on the news of people fleeing and trying to reach safe places, I like to think that the vast majority of viewers have a sense of empathy. But until it happens to you, it’s hard, if not impossible, to really imagine what it means to have to leave your homeland because of war because of a particular religion, political opinion, affiliation with a particular social or ethnic group confesses because of your sexual preferences or gender identity. Leaving home is often a journey full of fear, uncertainty and hardship. More and more often we need to add the not always legal barriers that many states put up so that those who need it can access the right to asylum and refuge that we all have in safe and legal conditions. You too have it.
With very good criteria based on basic human rights standards and simple humanity, we all have the right to always have a door in case our life or safety is in danger and we can only find shelter outside the borders of our territory. .
This protection mechanism has worked and worked in an exemplary manner on the territory of the European Union for those who leave Ukraine because of the war. For the first time, the temporary protection directive is applied, a measure that was created after the war in Yugoslavia for cases of “mass or threatened immigration” of refugees.
The double standards of the European reception system do not neglect the human rights values on which coexistence on the continent is based
The directive allows large population groups to have open borders and automatically receive protection that can be extended to up to three years. All of this without the need to overcome the physical and bureaucratic barriers to entry of individual asylum applications and to provide access to multiple rights such as housing, education, health, social assistance and family reunification. In our country, this protection has been extended not only to citizens of Ukraine, but also to those of other nationalities who have resided in this country with a permanent or temporary residence permit. In addition, this temporary protection was applied, to the best of our knowledge and belief, to the Ukrainian population already living on our territory before the Russian invasion, in order to provide a path to legalization for those who were in an irregular situation.
However, this policy has not been applied to the war in Syria, to those fleeing Afghanistan, to those in Venezuela, or to those fleeing the various active conflicts currently taking place around the world. This double standard does not leave the human rights values on which European coexistence is based in a good place. Nor is the reaction of societies in Europe, which have unanimously accepted the obligation to take in refugees from Ukraine. This does not always happen with citizens of other countries who also avoid conflict; perhaps out of ignorance of the realities these people are at best leaving behind, and out of racism, xenophobia or Islamophobia on the dark side of the scale.
This is what we should all think about: government institutions and citizenship. The challenges of hosting and integrating refugees are enormous in an increasingly troubled world, but we must do the impossible to keep our doors open and continue to see ourselves as people who believe in justice, justice and why not compassion.
Albert married He is Advocacy Director for Ayuda en Acción.
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