War is war... and we must help all victims

When we come to the rescue we help the world fight evil

The response of the European Community to the crisis in Ukraine has been commendable. The degree to which countries have imposed sanctions on Russia is unprecedented – and so it should be.

Every one of us should do our bit to help innocent victims of war.

Being of service and coming to the rescue helps the world fight evil, overthrow greedy leaders, expose corruption and restore faith in human kind.

So I felt immensely proud of my husband Steve when he said to me: “We should definitely open our home to a Ukrainian refugee. I want to do my bit.”

But why, at the same time, did I feel pained?

The brutally honest answer is because I’d never seen him so compassionate about a refugee crisis before.

I don’t want to come across as “insensitive” and “tone deaf ” during a human refugee disaster.

But I have been wondering why our kindness and selflessness has not manifested itself in response to other crises.

Such as in Syria. According to the charity World Vision, hundreds and thousands of people there have been killed and 13.5m have been displaced in “the world’s largest refugee and displacement crisis of our time”.

In Afghanistan, the people were exposed to the brutal Taliban when the US relinquished its safeguarding duties and left the country last year. But it is reported EU countries “have made no new pledges to take in Afghan refugees”.

And in Yemen a war, essentially between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has left the innocent population starved, diseased and attacked. Unicef says there are around 23.7m people in need of assistance, including almost 13m children.

Do we care more for people with the same skin colour, history or religion than we do for populations who don’t share those characteristics?

It’s a difficult subject because it involves unconscious bias, racism and even xenophobia.

I want to be very clear. This digging deep and facing uncomfortable home truths applies to everyone – including me, as a woman of colour. I can’t say I feel more pain for people who look like me, than those who don’t.

War is war. Refugees are refugees.

The way they are represented in the media can have a direct impact on our reactions to them.

According to research by journalists Glenda Cooper, Lindsey Blumell and Mel

Bunce, it can prompt either “public hostility or support for those seeking sanctuary”.

For example, they found Middle Eastern and North African asylum seekers “were far more likely to be portrayed as associated with security risk and terrorist activities”.

So we are all brainwashed by what we see and hear – but we are also responsible for our own feelings.

Only we can ensure that, when it comes to empathy for those who need our help, we are equal in our response, generosity and compassion.

After all, we all bleed the same colour.