Over the past few days, MSNBC has repeatedly fretted that the massive refugee crisis likely to result from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to “the rise of far-right political movements” across Europe and falsely blamed “a misinformation campaign about immigration” following the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis for conservative wins like Brexit.
“If Russia launches a full-blown invasion….some experts are expecting that millions could potentially flee, triggering a massive humanitarian crisis,” anchor Chris Jansing warned on Tuesday, just days before the invasion began. She noted how “Poland, one of Ukraine’s neighbors, bracing for a possible wave of refugees.”
Tuning to RAND Corporation senior policy researcher Shelly Culbertson, Jansing quickly moved from warning about Russian aggression to fearing the potential political fallout of European voters electing “anti-immigrant” conservative politicians:
The refugee crisis of 2015. Many fled places such as Syria and Iraq to flee the violence in Iraq. That led to an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric that then led directly to far-right political movements.How do you envision it going against a backdrop of another refugee crisis?
Culbertson was commiserated “I think that there are some risks….there are risks that host communities could become overwhelmed by an influx in Europe of people who are difficult to house or feel like chaos. This could cause divisions within the E.U. along the lines of what we saw in 2015, during that migrant crisis.”
She then blamed that crisis for the nightmare of leftists worldwide – Britain leaving the European Union: “So in the 2015 migrant crisis, those large numbers of people really created a lot of divisions, it led to support for far-right parties, and a lot of polling suggests that some of the migrant crisis had even been an impetus – been one of the impetuses for Brexit.”
The 10:00 a.m. ET hour At 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, the Russian invasion started, Cal Perry reported live from the border of western Ukraine. He was a wailing:
I’m just reminded of what happened in 2015, when Syrians were turned away at European borders, when countries shifted to the right, their politics.This is new. It is well-known that Britain broke away from the European Union because of misinformation about immigration.This is why the continent isn’t always prepared for a pandemic.
MTP Dailyat 1:00 p.m. Perry was back at ET to raise the alarm over Europe shifting towards a conservativeer direction. “The political price that was paid for the Syrian refugees in Europe was a mass swing to the right. So people here are concerned and they’re talking about it.”
Millions are under threat as Russia invades another sovereign nation, sparking the largest war in Europe since World War II, but MSNBC is worrying about a Brexit-inspiring “swing to right.”
Subway and Dove presented this worrying concern about European conservatism. This is your chance to fight back against these advertisers by telling them what you think about their sponsorship of such content.
These are the transcripts for MSNBC’s coverage.
MSNBC Reports
02/22/22
9:00 AM ETCHRIS JANSING: If Russia launches a full-blown invasion, the capital, what you’re looking at, and these same people could be on the front lines. Many experts believe that millions may flee as a result of this invasion. This could lead to a huge humanitarian crisis. I’m going to bring in NBC’s Cal Perry in Poland, one of Ukraine’s neighbors, bracing for a possible wave of refugees. Also with me, Shelly Culbertson, a senior policy researcher with the Rand Corporation who’s been looking into this. This country is home to 44 million people, Shelly. Are there any estimates of how many would try to leave the country if Russia sends in its military? It could get worse.
SHELLY CULBERTSON [RAND CORPORATION SENIOR POLICY RESEARCHER]Current estimates suggest that Russia might invade the country and create anywhere from one to five million refugees. There are many ways this could happen. So if there’s a full-on, full-country invasion, there could be a sudden mass exodus of people flowing into neighboring countries, in particular Poland. Or if it’s a lower-grade, longer-term insurgency or limited in geography, there could be a slower movement of people over the coming months or years.
But regardless, this is – this could likely be one of the biggest movements of people since world War II. My most recent comparison is with the 2015 migration crisis which saw more than 1.3million asylum seekers flee to Europe. There were also the Balkans Wars, where about two million refugees fled. This could possibly surpass any of the most recent historical moments.
JANSING Take me to Poland. What’s being done to prepare for refugees and how are U.S. troops involved?
CALPERRY: I thought back to the Pentagon press conferences in which John Kirby said that these forces are capable of multi-mission. We’re gonna show you some video from Reuters in eastern Poland, just close to where I am, of members of the 82nd Airborne. We’ll remind our viewers, the United States has basically doubled its NATO presence here in Poland. These troops, and we’ll remind folks, are not intended to be in the Ukraine or to come across Russian troops at all. These troops are there to support NATO.
Chris, you also mentioned that the topic of your talk is on both American and Polish commanders’ minds. On Friday, we heard the Secretary of Defense in Warsaw talk about the issue and the potential for an influx refugees should there be a wider invasion. So the 82nd Airborne has been working together with their Polish counterparts. NATO missions by definition are multinational so communication is available. They’re preparing and picking locations, getting ready for any eventuality where refugees might appear.
The Polish government has also identified some locations here to help in the event of an influx. Reminding viewers that approximately 2,000,000 Ukrainians live in Poland, it is important to remind them. Many of these people are refugees. But what we’re talking about now, Chris, and the conversation you’re having, is a very different one. We could witness an influx of people crossing the border if there was a large-scale invasion. And in that case, you would need the infrastructure of camps and that’s where the 82nd Airborne could assist here.
JANSING Some people left Syria, Iraq and fled to flood western Europe. This led to a rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric, which was then followed by the rise of far right political parties. How do you envision another refugee crisis, possibly even worsening in the next months?
CULBERTSON : There are risks. First off, it seems that sentiment right now is quite positive. There’s a lot of sympathy for Ukrainians who might be forced out of their country if there is a Russian invasion. However, there is a risk that host European communities could be overwhelmed by the influx of refugees, who are often difficult to house. This can cause divisions in the E.U. Similar to what happened in 2015 during the migrant crisis.
So in the 2015 migrant crisis, those large numbers of people really created a lot of divisions, it led to support for far-right parties, and a lot of polling suggests that some of the migrant crisis had even been an impetus – been one of the impetuses for Brexit. The E.U. didn’t manage to develop a shared asylum policy in this circumstance. They instead focused on strengthening the borders of migrants and working together with transit countries to ensure that people are not allowed to enter. There is also the risk that large numbers of migrants could cause political tensions, especially during COVID.
Jose Diaz-Balart Reports
02/24/22
10.36 am(…)
CAL PERRY: I’m just reminded of what happened in 2015, when Syrians were turned away at European borders, when countries shifted to the right, their politics. It’s all fresh. The misinformation campaign against immigration led to Britain leaving the European Union. This continent does not have the necessary resources to manage a pandemic.
(…)
MTP Daily
02/24/22
1:14 PM(…)
CALPERRY: 50 miles from me is Poland, and the NATO border. American forces say that they are ready to welcome refugees who cross that border. Polish authorities are starting to relax some requirements that Ukrainians can enter the country. They say, for example, you don’t need to come with a COVID test but you would need to quarantine.
It is still not clear how large or wide this will go. But as you look at pictures of people sheltering in subways, it is important to remember that that’s who’s going to lose this conflict, the civilians are gonna lose this conflict. They will always be in motion. And as you said, a refugee crisis in Europe, a place where, in 2015, we saw Syrian refugees come by the millions, it’s just unclear how this is going to play out. How these neighboring countries are gonna handle that, how they’re going to handle it economically, how they are going to handle it politically. A massive swing to the left was the price paid by Europe for Syrian refugees. So people here are concerned and they’re talking about it.
(…)
About Post Author
