One year of war in Ukraine: from Berlin to Barcelona, passing through Paris… the SINGA assessment
One year after the start of the war in Ukraine, Amer Alqadi, Member of the Board of Directors of SINGA Global (based in Berlin), Flavia Catacora, Director of SINGA Barcelona, and Benoît Hamon, Managing Director of SINGA Global (based in Paris), share their perspectives on temporary protection, the perception of displaced individuals, and progress in migration policies.
Over a year after the start of the war in Ukraine, with over 8 million displaced people, how has the migration issue evolved?
Benoît Hamon: The European Union triggered the “Temporary Protection” directive, significantly facilitating the actions of NGOs. This protection allowed all public and private actors to align themselves and facilitate the inclusion of displaced Ukrainians by granting them immediate rights to work, housing, healthcare, and employment. In parallel, hundreds of millions of euros were mobilized by these actors to successfully include the displaced from Ukraine. As a result, today, there is not a single Ukrainian person sleeping on the streets in European countries. The European Union demonstrated that when it commits to inclusion, it has the capacity to achieve it. This precedent justifies our call for the generalization of this directive to all conflicts that force thousands of refugees onto exile routes.
This crisis has also brought about a certain awareness and surge of solidarity within local populations regarding what it means to be in exile, to leave everything behind from one day to the next… We hope that this will open minds to the experiences of all exiled individuals and that this solidarity will endure in the long term.
Flavia Catacora: In Spain, Catalonia has been the autonomous region that received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees, officially 36,000 people by December 2022. The country swiftly implemented numerous reception measures and support solutions for these individuals. This demonstrates that European countries have the capacity to mobilize and welcome newly arriving populations.
This past year also reveals the variable geometry with which the European Union addresses migration issues. Their response is rapid when it concerns a European population. This shows that it is a political will rather than a lack of logistical means. However, what remains unchanged is the failure to consider other migrations and those to come in the context of an escalating climate crisis.
Amer Alqadi : We witnessed one of the largest immigration movements in Europe. Governments and populations in the Western world reacted very differently on multiple levels.
- Governments did not hesitate to welcome all newly arrived people, regardless of their number.
- In Germany, newly arrived Ukrainians were treated differently from “migrants.” They easily obtained work permits, and students without certified secondary education were allowed to start university studies, among other benefits.
- The pressure was so significant on public policies that the government continues to find a place for each individual in schools and various infrastructures.
- Within German society, local citizens seemed slightly more welcoming towards this wave of immigration. We heard people and governments referring to Ukrainians as “brothers and sisters”, whereas they labeled people from the Middle East as “potential terrorists”.
- The media labeled Ukrainian refugees as “civilized”, “white”, and “people with Netflix accounts”. Unfortunately, it is evident that skin color plays an important role in how migration is perceived.
- Finally, numerous initiatives and platforms were launched to recruit Ukrainian talents. These are interesting initiatives that we must capitalize on for all newly arriving individuals.
How has this exceptional situation impacted SINGA, and what adjustments have been necessary?
Benoît Hamon: The Ukrainian crisis has not changed our principles of welcome. SINGA’s mission remains to accelerate inclusion and unlock the potential of newcomers to enrich society. No discrimination should be made based on origin, religion, or the nature of the crisis leading to exile. We had to adapt our programs, particularly by involving more interpreters in Russian and Ukrainian languages.
We also accelerated the scaling of our citizen hosting program J’accueille.fr, expanding from 4 to 10 cities and engaging in discussions with the French government to expand it to 45 cities, including semi-rural and semi-urban areas.
Flavia Catacora: The populations affected by the crisis in Ukraine and newly arrived in Spain find themselves in a state of waiting, facing the evolution of the war in their country, rather than a perspective of sustainable and permanent settlement. The protection permits issued by Spain are temporary, valid for one year and renewable three times. When we talk about migration and entrepreneurship, people embark on projects when they have been able to resolve certain necessities like housing, language, administrative procedures… In our incubation programs, we work with associations that handle the reception of Ukrainian populations to understand their needs and respond to them effectively.
Qu’est-ce que vous aimeriez voir comme changements pour mieux répondre aux enjeux migratoires à venir ?
Flavia Catacora : Au-delà de la guerre en Ukraine, la situation en Espagne a été marquée en 2022 par les mobilisations citoyennes pour une régularisation massive des personnes sans papiers présentes sur le territoire. Cette initiative, qui a recueilli plus de 700 000 signatures, est en cours de traitement au Congrès des députés au niveau national.
Par ailleurs, nous espérons le changement de la “Ley de extranjería” – la loi espagnole sur l’immigration – qui aujourd’hui précarise les personnes nouvelles arrivantes. Ces dernières doivent rester sans papiers pendant trois ans avant d’envisager l’arraigo ou “régularisation”. Cela signifie pour ces personnes trois ans de précarité, exposées à l’économie informelle, l’exploitation, sans aucune possibilité de dénoncer un abus, au risque d’une expulsion.
Les conséquences pour la société espagnole sont multiples. La perte d’une contribution économique et fiscale majeure et l’invisibilisation de la contribution des personnes immigrées à l’économie locale.
Enfin, entre 2014 et 2020, l’Union européenne a versé à l’Espagne 850 millions d’euros pour la gestion des frontières. Cette gestion est en partie externalisée à une série d’entreprises et d’organisations faisant partie d’une “industrie du contrôle migratoire”. Il faut mettre fin à ce modèle d’externalisation et de contrôle, cela doit devenir une priorité au niveau européen. Nous ne pouvons plus être témoins d’une autre tragédie comme celle de Melilla, où la collaboration avec le Maroc est pointée du doigt pour ses manquements au respect des droits à la personne.
Benoît Hamon : La crise ukrainienne a encouragé des coalitions d’organisations engagées pour l’inclusion des nouveaux arrivants, à se mobiliser, ensemble, pour l’élargissement du principe de “Protection Temporaire” à toutes crises migratoires causées par une guerre, une famine et une catastrophe climatique. Par ailleurs, cette crise a démontré que permettre aux personnes exilées de travailler immédiatement accélère considérablement leur inclusion, l’apprentissage de la langue et la capacité à s’épanouir, au bénéfice de tou.te.s. C’est ce que nous défendons, notamment auprès du gouvernement français, qui prépare une énième loi sur l’immigration. Empêcher les personnes de travailler ralentit leur inclusion, les rend invisibles et crée de multiples problèmes.
Indépendamment de la guerre en Ukraine, il existe un changement d’échelle des migrations. Il faut donc adapter les politiques publiques, l’énergie et les budgets que l’on met à l’inclusion des personnes à ce changement d’échelle. La crise ukrainienne a montré que l’Europe est capable de se mobiliser pour l’inclusion.
Amer Alqadi : En général, le système en Allemagne et dans d’autres pays européens est trop court-termiste et ne se prépare pas assez à accueillir de nouveaux et nouvelles arrivant.e.s. Il manque de véritables programmes visant à inclure rapidement les nouveaux et nouvelles arrivant.e.s. De nombreuses mesures doivent être prises, comme l’amélioration des lois sur l’immigration et l’implication de la société civile dans le processus décisionnel. Il paraît aussi nécessaire de sensibiliser plus largement les populations sur l’immigration.
*chiffres Fundación porCausa.
What changes would you like to see to better address future migration issues?
Flavia Catacora: Beyond the war in Ukraine, the situation in Spain in 2022 was marked by citizen mobilizations for a massive regularization of undocumented people present in the territory. This initiative, which collected more than 700,000 signatures, is being processed in the national Congress of Deputies.
Moreover, we hope for a change in the “Ley de extranjería” – the Spanish immigration law – which currently leads to precarity for newly arriving people. They have to remain undocumented for three years before considering “arraigo” or regularization. This means three years of precariousness, exposure to the informal economy, exploitation, and with no possibility to report abuse, risking deportation.
The consequences for Spanish society are manifold. The loss of a major economic and fiscal contribution and the invisibility of the contribution of immigrants to the local economy.
Furthermore, between 2014 and 2020, the European Union granted Spain 850 million euros for border management. This management is partially outsourced to a series of companies and organizations forming part of the ‘migration control industry’. This model of outsourcing and control must come to an end and become a priority at the European level. We cannot witness another tragedy like that of Melilla, where collaboration with Morocco is criticized for its failure to respect human rights.
Benoît Hamon: The Ukrainian crisis has encouraged coalitions of organizations committed to the inclusion of newcomers to mobilize, together, for the extension of the “Temporary Protection” principle to all migration crises caused by war, famine, and climate disasters. Furthermore, this crisis has shown that allowing exiled people to work immediately significantly accelerates their inclusion, language learning, and capacity to thrive, benefiting everyone. This is what we advocate, particularly with the French government, which is preparing yet another immigration law. Preventing people from working slows down their inclusion, renders them invisible, and creates multiple problems.
Regardless of the war in Ukraine, there is a scaling change in migration. Therefore, public policies, energy, and budgets for the inclusion of people must be adapted to this scaling change. The Ukrainian crisis has demonstrated that Europe is capable of mobilizing for inclusion.
Amer Alqadi: In general, the system in Germany and other European countries is too short-term oriented and not adequately prepared to welcome newcomers. There is a lack of genuine programs aimed at rapidly including newcomers. Many measures need to be taken, such as improving immigration laws and involving civil society in the decision-making process. It also appears necessary to raise greater awareness among populations about immigration.
*Figures from Fundación porCausa.
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