As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the world is faced with yet another refugee crisis. Millions of Ukrainians, fleeing the attacks of Russia, began to take refuge in Europe and neighboring countries. According to the data released so far, more than 500 thousand Ukrainian refugees in total have crossed to neighboring countries.
But this crisis has also raised some controversy. Some users on social media began to compare Ukrainian refugees with refugees fleeing the war in Middle Eastern countries, leaving the human factor aside. A similar discussion was recently broadcast live on CBS News by reporter Charlie D’Agata.
CBC News correspondent’s reactionary statements:
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Charlie D’Agata, during the live broadcast, told that people would flee from the capital Kiev, “Forgive me, I say, This is not a place where conflict has been fought for decades like Iraq or Afghanistan. This is a more civilized, more European city where you don’t expect this to happen, I have to choose those words carefully.” used the expressions.
These words of D’Agata garnered a great reaction on social media:
“Iraq was more civilized than this sick mind knew before the invasion. 93%- 95 literacy rate, more than 90% free healthcare and clean drinking water, zero suicide bombings… Then Iraq was invaded and innocents were massacred. Ironically, Ukrainian soldiers also helped.”
“So it was okay for the US to kill civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan because they were “uncivilized”. It’s OK.”
“This was the most blatant display of bigotry I’ve seen in a while.”
“Relatively civilized” and “relatively European” puts the Slavs in the hierarchy inferior to the self-proclaimed “civilized” west, but higher than, for example, the MENA region. This is one of the reasons why the protracted war in Yemen, one of the poorest countries, is rarely on the agenda.”
After the reactions from the social media, the reporter apologized in his broadcast the next day:
“Words I regret I’m sorry about that. What I want to say is that what’s particularly angry about the conflict here is that unlike countries that have suffered from years of war, this country hasn’t seen such a major war in the near future. You shouldn’t compare any conflicts with each other. I’ve dedicated my career to describing the pain of any of these wars, no matter where. I made bad word choice and I apologize.”
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