As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, Ukrainian refugees have fled to a number of neighboring countries. Poland has been providing Ukrainian refugees with free healthcare and free education, and about 13,000 Ukrainian children are already attending school in Warsaw. Warsaw, the capital and largest city in Poland, has been housing and accepting millions of Ukrainian refugees, gaining international praise and credit for standing with Ukraine, however now is “at [its] capacity.” This is coming from Rafal Trzashowski, the current Mayor of Warsaw, who also noted, “escalation by Russia in eastern Ukraine we could have a second wave.” With the addition of the Ukrainian refugees, Warsaw’s population has increased by 20% in just a matter of a few weeks with a possibility of another wave and therefore more refugees. Each day, about 30,000 Ukrainians flee to just Warsaw alone in the last month.
With the increase in population, especially in times of war, Warsaw hospitals are in need of supplies, housing is becoming scarce, and volunteers are tired. The education system in Warsaw has also been under a lot of strain as about half of the 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland are children. Warsaw is enrolling about a thousand new students every day and looking for teachers who can speak Ukrainian and Russian. Warsaw is attempting their best to accommodate the refugees and their needs, however, space and supplies are running short. Due to the increase in buyers on the market in Warsaw, supplies are dwindling and demand is increasing. It is also safe to assume that other cities that have taken in huge numbers of refugees are also facing some economic changes as a result.
Trzaskowski is asking for European support in providing supplies and rehousing refugees throughout Europe, “While Russia wages war in Ukraine, life in much of Europe remains normal but uneasy.” The mayor wishes to relocate the refugees with a more spread-out housing arrangement and then provide the refugees with money and other means of support through local governments. Currently, Warsaw and the refugees are still facing uncertainty, however, Poland continues to welcome more refugees.
Questions:
How do you think the refugees should be housed?
Should other countries be helping neighboring countries to Ukraine in housing
and aiding refugees?
Why do you think there has been a lack of aid coming from more developed countries like Europe and America?
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/21/ukraine-refugees-warsaw-poland/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/23/world/europe/ukraine-poland-refugees.html
4 comments:
This is a somewhat similar situation to when Angela Merkel was accepting abundant numbers of Middle Eastern refugees from the ISIS fighting in Syria. Housing displaced people is always going to be a challenge, but well run refugee communities often can have diverse economies that can benefit the economy of the nation. With a small infusion of capital, many shopkeepers or entrepreneurs can restart their businesses in the camps, and regain a part of their livelihood. This spreads to the rest of the camp as well. I digress, but I think European countries feel a little burdened to take care of their fellow brothers and sisters, and other western countries aren't getting involved since they don't want to face Putin's wrath.
https://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/refugeeeconomies
I believe that other neighboring countries should definitely help Ukraine, ultimately helping to remove some strain from Poland. I understand that many Western countries want to stay neutral in this war in fear of Putin, as Darshan said, but I also think that this current situation is unsustainable. I think that as this war continues, and possibly escalates, developed countries need to step in to help out with stopping Russia, as well as the impact that the war has on Ukrainian citizens.
It’s really hard to house so many refugees that are coming in so fast. The quickest way to accommodate them is to make refugee camps which is probably already happening. However, these camps can become super crowded and aren’t an optimal place to live. Yet, this may be the best option as it takes lots of money to build new housing for these new people. They could try to implement a system where they get refugees labor jobs where they build homes and such but such a proposal would inherently be complex and have some effect on the economy.
Other countries should help give supplies to neighboring countries taking in refugees like Ukraine because it is vital that they do so to ensure that the refugees are better off. Right now the situation is very bad as an overwhelming amount of refugees are moving into neighboring countries and many of these countries don't support this huge influx. That’s why other countries like the USA or UK have to help because they aren’t facing these strains on their economy and resources as much as the neighboring countries. A concern is that Russia might not like this but is the most humane to help. At this point, help and see what happens, then respond appropriately.
The lack of aid might be because, as I mentioned before, from how neighboring countries are scared of the consequences. Many countries like the US just came out of a pandemic which means their economy is very unstable. Additionally, supporting these Ukrainian refugees might go against the Russians and make them mad, leading to even greater consequences like nukes. That’s the last thing anybody wants. However, with all this said, I think it is important to help because it is the right thing to do. Only if it becomes too dire should we stop helping.
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