By Claudia Webbe / Globetrotter

War and racism have always been violently, tragically inseparable. For centuries, the world’s most devastating and brutal conflicts have been driven by destructive notions of racial superiority and murderous assertions of ethnic difference.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is heinous and deeply concerning. This is an unprovoked and unjustifiable outrage and a heinous violation of international law that will have lasting and tragic consequences. Russian aggression, military bombardments and the deployment of troops in Ukraine must stop immediately.

Nothing good can ever come from war and military escalation. As Globetrotter journalist Vijay Prashad told the People’s Forum in February: “War is never good for the poor. War is never good for workers. War itself is a crime. The international community must redouble its efforts to find a diplomatic solution that guarantees peace and protects the lives of people in Ukraine and other war-affected countries.

Racism and wars

The pervasiveness of support for Ukraine, particularly by Western states, holds up a mirror to show how, through the prism of racism, certain conflicts, wars and episodes of massive suffering are seen as more important and worthy of sympathy than others. There have been many instances of journalists expressing their shock that the appalling images of Ukraine’s suffering are taking place in a predominantly white European country. This was expressed by NBC News London correspondent Kelly Cobiella, who said, “To put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria; they are refugees from neighboring Ukraine… They are Christians; they are white. They are very similar [to
us].” Echoing this explicit reference to race, Ukraine’s former deputy attorney general, David Sakvarelidze, told the BBC: “It’s very moving for me because I see Europeans with blue eyes and blond hair to get killed.”

If we contrast this with the dehumanizing language used to describe non-white refugees, asylum seekers and victims of war – such as former British Prime Minister David Cameron’s description of refugees as a “swarm” – a very Worryingly emerges from the racism inherent in how crises are reported, discussed and dealt with by media, leaders and the public across the world. This othering of non-white and non-European people serves to lessen their suffering. We should oppose the unjustifiable trauma of the Ukrainian people as vehemently as we do the suffering of the victims of the conflicts in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries suffering from the evils of war.

The UK media and government must recognize that every theater of conflict deserves both our solidarity and our compassion. The UK Government should therefore provide safe passage and refuge for displaced persons, refugees and asylum seekers arriving from Ukraine as well as from all other theaters of conflict around the world. The UK government’s continued hypocrisy is evident with Rwanda’s heinous offshore processing plan and the anti-refugee Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which provides for drastic changes to the UK asylum system. These policies must be abandoned immediately.

Long tradition of non-alignment

On March 2, 2022, the United Nations voted on a motion condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was backed by 141 of the 193 member states, with just five states – Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria – voting against. To understand why 35 states, the vast majority of which are former colonies of the Global South, abstained from voting on the motion, it is essential to consider the long tradition of non-alignment upon which these states operate.

The Bandung Conference of 1955 is rightly considered one of the most important meetings in human history, as it was a hugely inspiring global gathering of former colonized people and an affirmation strong in pan-Africanism and anti-imperialist solidarity. The conference also helped popularize the Non-Aligned Movement, which was an effort to counterbalance the rapid polarization of the world during the Cold War, whereby two great powers formed blocs and embarked on a policy of attracting the rest of the world. world in their orbits. . One of these blocs was the pro-Soviet communist bloc united under the Warsaw Pact, and the other was the group of pro-American capitalist countries, many of which were members of NATO. Millions of civilians died during the proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union in the second half of the 20th century, and the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation hung like the sword of Damocles across the planet.

Non-alignment points us towards a safer and more peaceful future. In 1961, building on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference of 1955, the Non-Aligned Movement was formally established in Belgrade, then part of Yugoslavia. Today, the Non-Aligned Movement comprises 120 countries, representing nearly two-thirds of the membership of the United Nations, home to 55% of the world’s population. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, said, “We are not facing east or west; we look forward.

While the Non-Aligned Movement grew during the geopolitics of the Cold War, it was founded and endured on the recognition that no good can ever come out of war and that violent conflict, colonialism and racism have always been closely linked. For example, of the 35 countries that abstained from voting on March 2, 17 were African nations that for centuries suffered from the violent extraction of colonialism. The abstention was far from reflecting support for the Russian invasion. It was an affirmation of pacifism made by countries which for centuries lived under the abominable racist consequences of colonial war.

Around the world, examples of appalling murder and violence at the hands of the British state have been erased from our current memory of empire. Now is the time for former colonial states to apologize and take seriously the historic debt they owe to the countries, communities and individuals who endured their cruelty. A revitalized Non-Aligned Movement, guided by the principles of pacifism, justice and international cooperation, could help rebalance the scales of world politics away from racist wars and towards a future of peace.

This article was produced by the the morning star and Globetrotter.

Claudia Webbe is a Member of the British Parliament representing Leicester East. You can follow her on Facebook and on Twitter @ClaudiaWebbe.

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