As ordinary Ukrainians flee the country in order to escape from the Russian invaders, CBS Saturday Morning declared that, unlike other refugees, they benefit from their race.
As part of a video report, anchor Jericka Duncan interviewed historian Kimberly St. Julian Varnon on the racial aspect of the evacuations. St. Julian Varnon declared, “You know, it's—it’s-- one of those things where if you are a person of color and you work in Eastern Europe and research Eastern Europe, racism isn't new. I mean, the racial discrimination is not new, but to see it on display and being exacerbated by war, it was just really heart-wrenching.”
It wasn’t just the treatment of foreigners evacuation Ukraine that the duo found disturbing, but also other refugees:
DUNCAN: Especially, she says, when considering Syrian refugees who in December sought help at the Poland/Belarus border with little to no success.
VARNON: So I tried to point out this crisis we saw in December because it is very much the same situation of people fleeing a war and needing protection and care, but they're not getting that.
While there were Syrians at the border in November and December, it is wrong to claim that crisis was a refugee crisis. There were also several non-refugee economic migrants from Iraq and they were victimized and all used as political pawns by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who lied to them by promising they would be granted asylum there, to destabilize the E.U.
Despite the false portrayal of that crisis, Duncan asked: “What is the difference, and why is there a difference?” For St. Julian Varnon, the answer was clear.
“I think the key difference is race and ethnicity," she proclaimed. "I mean, we've seen it in reporting and how people have said this, but also like the Bulgarian prime minister saying these aren't the refugees we're used to. These are educated refugees.”
Despite her reporting, Duncan warned that Russia is using the claims “to spread disinformation” and St. Julian Varnon warned, “They use these videos of these African students and these Indian students talking about racism and their experiences of racism and they're using it to undermine the Ukrainian war effort.”
And CBS helped them do it by claiming the December crisis orchestrated by Russia’s puppet Lukashenko was actually a genuine refugee crisis.
Back in the studio, Duncan further warned that St. Julian Varnon “tells me that many of them now considered third-country nationals have been told they have to move to another country or go back home within 30 days.”
Nobody explained why that is cause for concern or even how they could be considered in the same category as Ukrainians as those third countries aren’t currently being invaded by the Russians. Duncan and her colleagues ended the segment by urging people to consider the plight of other refugees from other war-torn countries as well.
This segment was sponsored by Colgate
Here is a transcript for the March 12 show:
CBS Saturday Morning
3/12/2022
8:31 AM ETJERICKA DUNCAN: Historian Kimberly St. Julian Varnon has been studying race, foreign policy, and Russia for years, and called Ukraine home back in 2013.
KIMBERLY ST. JULIAN VARNON: When I initially saw the videos, you know, I was just like -- not again. You know, it's—it’s-- one of those things where if you are a person of color and you work in Eastern Europe and research Eastern Europe, racism isn't new. I mean, the racial discrimination is not new, but to see it on display and being exacerbated by war, it was just really heart-wrenching.
DUNCAN: Especially, she says, when considering Syrian refugees who in December sought help at the Poland/Belarus border with little to no success.
ST. JULIAN VARNON: So I tried to point out this crisis we saw in December because it is very much the same situation of people fleeing a war and needing protection and care, but they're not getting that.
DUNCAN: What is the difference, and why is there a difference?
ST. JULIAN VARNON: I think the key difference is race and ethnicity. I mean, we've seen it in reporting and how people have said this, but also like the Bulgarian prime minister saying these aren't the refugees we're used to. These are educated refugees.
DUNCAN: While social media has helped expose racial discrimination, St. Julian Varnon says it has also been used by Russia to spread disinformation.
ST. JULIAN VARNON: They use these videos of these African students and these Indian students talking about racism and their experiences of racism and they're using it to undermine the Ukrainian war effort.DUNCAN: Students from Africa and other countries make up a small population, but as St. Julian Varnon explained, it's not okay for people to be discriminated against in this way. She is in touch with several students who made it to Hungary and tells me that many of them now considered third country nationals have been told they have to move to another country or go back home within 30 days. I think, you know, I've gotten a lot of messages from people about this story. I'm glad that we were able to highlight it. A lot of people talking about it on social media, but it also brings into perspective the importance of not just recognizing this typical -- you know, this specific humanitarian crisis, but there's others, you now, other refugee crises, Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and we need to remember that ---
JEFF GLOR: Ongoing
DUNCAN: as a country, as a world.
DANA JACOBSON: And learn from this moment, again, it’s important to show it, to tell people this is going.
