As racially-motivated attacks in Ukraine increase, state policies and legislation for immigration and national minorities are needed to promote tolerance
The number of raciallymotivated attacks in Ukraine has increased noticeably in the last two years, according to watchdogs.
At the same time, the number of foreigners residing and seeking asylum in Ukraine has grown in the last three years, while the number of illegal immigrants has fallen.
Experts say that to help solve the problem of racism, state policies for immigration and national minorities are required, as are changes to legislation and more educational programs promoting tolerance.
An event aimed at drawing attention to the issue was an anti-xenophobia rally held in Kyiv on June 26. The event was organized by the SOS Racism union headed by well-known Kyiv publisher and social figure Walid Harfouch – himself of Lebanese origin.
More than 200 people, including Ukrainian social activists, Africans, Indians, Jews, Arabs and others, took part in the march, which was touted as the first open protest against xenophobia and racism in Ukraine.
Ignorance is bliss
Harfouch said the authorities simply ignore the problem of racism by claiming that it doesn’t exist in Ukraine. He said incidents of racism were becoming increasingly more frequent.
During the march, demonstrators drew attention to the fatal beating of a 42-year-old Iraqi in Kyiv. Authorities are withholding names because the murder, committed in early June, is still under investigation.
Organizers called on Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko to create an appropriate legislative base for dealing with racism and provided him with a list of urgent measures, including investigating racist attacks.
Harfouch said that Ukraine should learn from its European neighbors and do everything possible to prosecute racist actions, which requires a separate law on xenophobia, since people must realize that any manifestation of racism is punishable.
“Along with legislative changes, civic activity is also important, as we let people see the problem and understand its scale,” Harfouch said.
However, celebrity television journalist and SOS Racism supporter Savik Shuster said that creating a separate law was simply a waste of time, as Ukraine’s criminal code already defined xenophobia as a punishable offense.
Maksym Butkevych, a board member of Amnesty International in Ukraine, said that actions similar to the one organized by SOS Racism should be repeated. A journalist with top television channel Studio 1+1, Butkevych said that despite some organizational errors, the march’s overall goal of increasing awareness was achieved.
He said that a national anti-racism strategy was required, adding that merely copying the laws of other countries would not work in Ukraine, since that would not address the problem at its core.
European legislative practices differ drastically. In France there is a separate law on racism, in Germany there is a law banning even nationalist symbols. Great Britain has limited itself to definitions of racism in the criminal code, while in Russia, racist issues are regulated by a law on extremism.
Racist attacks double
Butkevych said that the number of the racially-motivated attacks reported to Amnesty began growing in 2006. He said that greater publicity to the issue may have contributed to the higher reporting rate.
According to Butkevych, 35 incidents were reported for all of last year; that number has been surpassed in the first five month of this year alone, with 36 racist attacks reported. Butkevych said the list was incomplete, since many cases, particularly those in the regions, go unreported, adding that no state body compiles statistics on racially-motivated attacks.
Recent incidents include a clash with marijuana-legalization supporters during the Freedom March in May this year, the attack on Iranian Oleksandr Alaveranov near Kyiv’s Lukianivka metro station in March 2007 and the murder of 34-year-old Georgian Moris Yugashvili. On July 23, a Kuwaiti was reportedly attacked by 10 people with a “skinhead appearance” in Odessa and hospitalized with head injuries.
“I have been living in Ukraine for eight years and have experienced xenophobia more than once, as have other members of the African community in Kyiv, which counts about 2,000 people,” said Charles Afante Yeboa, head of the Kyiv-based African Center. “But in most cases [victims] don’t go to the police, as they are often disposed toward us with hostility as well,” he said.
More legal immigration
According to a recent survey by the European Union’s Cross Border Cooperation organization on asylum and irregular migration issues, the number of foreigners residing in Ukraine grew from 108,501 in 2003 to 195,011 in 2006, with Russians accounting for 45 percent of this figure. Moldovans, Chinese and persons from Caucasus republics each contributed 4 percent, while the number of Indian and Iranian expatriates accounted for 2 percent.
The number of asylum seekers and refugees has grown as well. In 2003, 916 persons sought refuge in Ukraine. In the first nine months of 2006, that number grew to 2,101. Last year, most of the refugees came from India (473), Pakistan (359) followed by Iraq, Palestine and Nigeria.
The number of illegal immigrants has fallen noticeably from 17,390 in 2003 to 8,264 for the first nine months of 2006. The lion’s share came from Russia (19 percent), Azerbaijan (14) and Moldova (12); immigrants from China, Uzbekistan and Georgia each contributed 7 percent; immigrants from other Asian and Arab countries each provided between 1 and 3 percent of illegal immigrants to Ukraine.
The director of the Kennan Institute’s Kyiv office, Yaroslav Pylynskiy, said that in comparison with European countries, such as France, Ukraine has not been affected by problems with immigration on the same scale.
“Racism is rather an imported problem in Ukraine,” he said.
“Sure, it exists, but not to the critical point. So we don’t have to undervalue the problem, as well as exaggerate it. In my opinion, the issue, which is much more burning for Ukraine at the moment, is the outflow of Ukrainian manpower abroad and not the inflow of foreigners.”
Indeed, in a survey of 24 European countries, Ukraine placed last in the rating of countries where people claimed to have encountered racism. Only 2.3 percent of Ukrainian respondents said they encountered racism. Racial discrimination was more common in Iceland, with the analogous figure there being 13 percent. The same indicator for Great Britain was 10.6 percent, 8.8 percent for Estonia, 7 percent for France and 6.8 percent for Sweden.
More racists
Local watchdogs claim the number of nationalist and racist movements in Ukraine is on the rise.
According to Butkevych, the number of skinhead “fighters” in Kyiv is around 800, while the skinheads themselves claim only 500. The movement has groups in most large Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Odessa.
According to the skinheads, the groups operate mostly locally without any central organization.
“Mostly, the groups divide a city by districts, particularly on the outskirts, like Borshchahivka and Troyeshchina [in Kyiv],” explained a member of the skinhead movement, adding that “they often do not demonstrate the customary skinhead appearance, thus avoiding extra attention for the attacks.”
Butkevych cited several reasons for the growth of racism, including general social discontent and the national pride awakened by the Orange Revolution. These factors have led to growing numbers in the ranks of extreme nationalist movements.
Butkevych said that the situation has been further exacerbated by anti-immigration discussions in the media and by politicians who make anti-Semitic statements. Those combating anti-Semitism point to the Kyiv Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (MAUP) and its corporate magazine, Personnel Plus, as a source of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.
Imported from Russia
Russia’s skinheads have had a major impact on the movement in Ukraine. The country’s northern neighbor ranks first among European countries in terms of skinhead activity. The movement arose there in the early 90s and reached Ukraine in the mid-90s.
“In Russia the skinhead movement is on the rise and will definitely grow, as it is supported by the masses mostly due to the large number of people from the Caucasus republics,” said a Kyiv skinhead.
“In Ukraine, I think the movement will also grow, though not to the same extent, and most likely will modify gradually, taking the form of a subculture rather than a combative movement,” the skinhead said on condition of anonymity.
The victims of skinhead attacks are usually foreigners with a “non-Slavic” appearance, students and, sometimes, diplomats. Skinheads say that diplomats become victims largely by accident, as they are not singled out especially.
White supremacists say that some attacks have no racial motives and are crimes committed by street hooligans.
Organized strategy needed
According to the head of the East European Development Institute, Mridula Ghosh, Ukrainian authorities and police have until recently ignored the problem of racism, attributing the crimes to simple acts of hooliganism.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the creation of a separate department to deal with racist crimes, but it has not yet presented a concrete course of action. The only groups concerned with the issue have been local NGOs, including the International Organization for Migration, East European Development Institute and Amnesty International.
Experts say that a separate state body for dealing with issues of racism is required, which would record statistics and develop a national immigration strategy that would in turn reduce the number of racist incidents.
“What we need is more statistical information and a systematic approach to the issue. We don’t have to start from scratch – there is a system of statistics and records developed by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) – this is what Ukraine needs. The second step is to stamp out ‘hidden racism,’ which takes place even in the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Butkevych said.
