Ukraine Conflict: Europe’s humanitarian disaster
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Cars with Ukrainian license plates have been queuing up at the borders of Poland, Hungary and Romania. Some manage to cross over while others are left abandoned after running out of gas.Packed railway and bus stations, flooded streets and highways. This is the new reality of Ukraine as a massive humanitarian crisis unfolds in Europe, one that experts are estimating to be Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War Two. The panic is palpable. Two days after Russia’s invasion, Poland’s Interior Ministry confirmed that 115,000 people had crossed over to Poland from Ukraine, a figure that’s on a rapid rise.As for men aged between 18 and 60, social media is swamped with accounts of Ukrainian personnel yanking men out of buses and roads to conscript them in the army. Advocacy Group, Refugees International has warned of further displacement and suffering during the Ukraine conflict. In a statement by its President, Eric P Schwartz, the organisation says, “In going to war against Ukraine, Russia is creating a crisis that risks displacement and suffering on a scale that could surpass any seen in Europe in decades. Millions of people are in danger. As efforts to deter Russia fail, governments of the world must be prepared to provide assistance and protection for people who are forced to flee, as well as those who may become civilian victims of military action.”The West, especially Europe and the US, need a framework that includes not only the rescue of refugees but also one that protects them from secondary harms, like human rights violations. On the ground in Ukraine to film a documentary on Russia’s invasion, actor and activist, Sean Penn has condemned the Russian President, Vladimir Putin for what Penn called “a most horrible mistake for all of humankind.”The fact is wars only lead to destruction. They end lives and livelihoods. Childhood, marriages and families are destroyed. Putin is the tyrant behind the ruin of Ukraine but the incompetence of NATO especially, the US, unable to contain the ruthless expansionist is equally reprehensible.