Dina Mahmoud (London)
On the verge of the start of the third year of the Ukrainian crisis, European relief experts warned of the worsening plight of refugees who were forced to flee their homes, as a result of the military clash that broke out between the two sides on February 24, 2022, which constitutes the largest mass migration operation in Europe since… Bringing the curtain down on World War II.
Current estimates indicate that the current conflict has turned nearly four million Ukrainians into displaced persons within their country, while forcing about six million others to become refugees to countries, some of which are neighboring on the European continent, and others are geographically distant from their motherland, which means that the crisis has led to the displacement of some Between a quarter and a fifth of Ukraine's population, which numbers approximately 44 million people.
Experts pointed out that the plight of these refugees has become more complex over the past few months, after the focus of many of them shifted beyond the immediate neighboring countries, extending mainly to countries such as Germany, as well as to distant regions located on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, such as Canada, which is located It already has a relatively large Ukrainian community.
According to experts, the Ukrainian refugees headed to Germany at the expense of their remaining in Poland, which until the spring of last year contained the largest number of those forced by the crisis to leave their homes in Ukraine. Official data currently indicate that Germany is now sheltering about 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees, compared to approximately 960,000 remaining in Poland, out of 1.6 million who went there during the first year of the crisis.
The trend of Ukrainian refugees from Poland and Eastern European countries to the countries located in the west of the continent, led by Germany, is attributed to seeking a higher financial income and enjoying a better social security system than the one provided by the Polish authorities to the country’s citizens and refugees, based on the advice they received, From friends or relatives who previously resided in German territory.
As for those who go to North America, whether to Canada or the United States, they are following the path of their ancestors, who, since the nineteenth century, formed a prominent Ukrainian presence in this part of the world.
Experts indicated, in statements published on the organization’s website, that more than 400,000 Ukrainians have immigrated to Canada and the United States since February 2022, which prompted the authorities of the two countries to introduce special visa systems for Ukrainian refugees.
According to published estimates, the number of applications for the right to work or study received by the Canadian authorities from Ukrainian refugees amounted to about 1.2 million applications, nearly two-thirds of which were approved, but those who actually entered Canada only slightly increased. Over 210 thousand Ukrainians.
The same estimates indicate that the US authorities granted humanitarian visas or granted temporary protection status to about 270,000 Ukrainians who arrived in the United States after April 1, 2022, due to the crisis, of course.
Experts warn that the distress facing Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons is increasing, with the diminishing ability of regional and international relief agencies to extend a helping hand to them, as a result of the outbreak of conflicts and other more intense crises in other parts of the world.
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