Several nonprofit organizations working with asylum seekers have denounced French authorities for racially discriminating against non-European refugees while maintaining welcoming policies towards Ukrainians fleeing from the ongoing war with Russia with open arms, local media reports said.
“At a time when Ukraine has re-focused attention on refugees, it’s important to remember…that people from many different countries are also here fleeing the most terrible conflicts and the fear of persecution. We should be welcoming all of them,” non-governmental organization (NGO) Care4Calais said Monday in a Twitter post.
NGOs working in northern France’s Calais region adjoining the English Channel, a major hub for unauthorized border crossings to Britain, have been criticizing government authorities on social media for the unequal treatment towards refugees and migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
“In Calais, while associations have been asking for accommodation for people stranded at the border for years, places have been freed up in just a few days for people arriving from Ukraine,” Utopia56 said in a Twitter post on March 4.
The NGO mentioned that a hostel has been opened up for Ukrainian nationals arriving at the Calais station who are warmly received by citizen's associations.
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