Sadly, welcome is not the feeling that many Africans and other racial minorities have when they live in Ukraine.
As Kyiv Post’s Elisabeth Sewall wrote in a front-page story, many non-Slavic looking people here experience a range of unpleasant emotions – ranging from discomfort at chilly attitudes, alarm at racist graffiti and, most seriously, justifiable fears for their personal safety and lives because of their race. Sewall talked to non-governmental organizations who say at least five murders and more than 40 other physical attacks already this year are racially motivated. Official statistics are lacking.
Ukrainian culture, at its best, is open and welcoming. Many Ukrainians identify strongly with people who have suffered and experienced injustice, since their nation has had more than its share of both. However, troubling racial intolerance also exists, perhaps fueled by decades of relative isolation and racial homogeny. Whatever the root cause, the intolerance needs to end, along with the indifference of government officials, police officers and other citizens. This indifference only encourages racists into thinking they can attack with impunity.
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