European Countries Welcome Ukrainian Refugees Amidst Russian Invasion

Lamis Abdelaaty, assistant professor of political science in the Maxwell School, was quoted about the new refugee ‘crisis’ after Russia’s war on Ukraine in various outlets, including CNN, Vox, and HuffPost. Lamis also wrote The Washington Post opinion piece “European countries are welcoming Ukrainian refugees. It was a different story in 2015.”

In Abdelaaty’s piece for the Washington Post, she discussed Ukrainians fleeing to other European countries amidst Russia’s invasion. She said, “It was a different story in 2015, when more than 1 million people from Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere crossed into Europe. Countries responded by tightening their borders and quickly negotiating a deal with Turkey to stem arrivals. Since then, European governments have made efforts to deport Syrians, block Afghans and trap sub-Saharan Africans in perilous conditions in Libya. Even as Poland has embraced Ukrainians, it has cracked down on Iraqis and others attempting to cross from Belarus.”