False reports that exaggerate the amount of aid refugees receive compared to locals, as well as linking refugees to violent crime and political extremism, could cause a breakdown in relations with local communities, the charity said. World Vision. In its report, Warm Welcomes, Lurking Tensions, the humanitarian organization said anti-refugee messages are already spreading on social media and “special media” in neighboring countries. Some 8.8 million people, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, with many heading to border countries such as Romania, Moldova and Poland. “Messages that could ignite anti-refugee tensions are already spreading in Romania, Moldova, Poland and across Central and Eastern Europe,” the report said. “Although not yet a major issue, tensions are starting to build in some host countries. “Children may face risks such as verbal and physical abuse between refugees and host communities, human trafficking and more as early as February 2023. “The international community must act now to prevent the situation from escalating to dangerous levels as in Lebanon and Bangladesh.” The report’s lead author, Charles Lawley, senior advisor for advocacy, policy and external engagement at World Vision, said disinformation campaigns would change attitudes if misreporting was allowed to continue unchallenged. He said: “While disinformation campaigns have, so far, been largely unsuccessful, as solidarity with refugees from the host community remains strong, if left unchecked it will continue to exacerbate the resentment towards refugees that we are seeing starting to materialise. “In settings such as Lebanon, which has a significant number of Syrian refugees, and Bangladesh, which has the largest number of Rohingya refugees in the world from Myanmar, disinformation has gone largely unchecked and become mainstream and added to extremely high tensions in these contexts”. Lies spread about Ukrainian refugees include exaggerating the financial support they can access and inaccurate claims of anti-social or illegal activity. There were also unsubstantiated reports of local children being thrown out of hospitals and replaced by children from Ukraine, Lawley said. “Our case studies show a pattern largely followed by the influx of Ukrainian refugees,” he added, saying the initial response from the host community was “solidarity and welcoming.” But after a period of six to 12 months, the warm welcome began to cool. “There are no obvious reasons why contexts like Moldova and Romania, for example, would be exempt. When you consider how the global cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, we would argue that we expect tensions to develop soon if action is not taken.” Moldova in particular has felt the pressure since the outbreak of war in neighboring Ukraine. Europe’s poorest country has hosted around 100,000 refugees, the most per capita in Europe. The numbers equate to around 5% of the population, in a country where inflation is at 27% and the country’s near-total dependence on Russia and Belarus for natural gas has led to a fuel crisis. The report lists a number of recommendations needed to ensure that Ukrainian refugees do not suffer the same fate as others, such as Syrians who have remained displaced in Lebanon since the outbreak of civil war in 2011. Local infrastructure should be improved for all communities, communication campaigns promoting coexistence and education for refugees and opportunities for host communities and Ukrainian refugees should be encouraged, the report says. “There are many valuable lessons for governments and humanitarians responding to countries hosting large numbers of Ukrainian refugees from Lebanon, Chile, Bangladesh, Kenya and Uganda,” he said. “The anguish of sudden displacement should not be compounded by the negativity of host communities. “If refugees in places like Poland, like refugees in Uganda, are immediately able to settle, work, access public benefits like health care and education, and start their own businesses, then it matters impact on social cohesion’. Sign up for a different perspective with our Global Dispatch newsletter – a collection of our top stories from around the world, recommended reading and thoughts from our team on key development and human rights issues, delivered to your inbox every two weeks: Sign up for Global Dispatch – check your spam folder for the confirmation email
