How the war in Ukraine affects safety and security in our member cities

Categories: New initiatives
Udgivet: 20 Apr - 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing implications for safety and security across Europe, including the Nordics.

To have an ongoing understanding of the challenges that our member cities are facing, we asked them to share both their experiences with the incoming refugees and learnings so far, as well as their concerns as to which challenges may lie in the near future, and how to prepare for these.

Perceptions of Ukrainian refugees are overwhelmingly sympathetic

With thousands of refugees still to arrive in the Nordic countries, the exact ramifications, which the war will have on the cohesion and the feeling of safety in our member cities, are still somewhat unknown.

Early signs point in a positive direction, though. So far, the general perception of the Ukrainian refugees and their presence has been overwhelmingly positive.

On the national level steps have been taken to change legislation to make it easier for Ukrainians to settle in the Nordics quickly. Local politicians have likewise gone a long way to accommodate and help the refugees in their municipalities. The same thing can be said of the general public all over the Nordic countries, who have opened their homes to families fleeing the war, and even private companies have made a lot of efforts to make the refugees feel welcome. The sympathy has also been remarkable in national news outlets all over the Nordics, who have condemned the Russian invasion.

Several municipalities have also taken a public stance on the war in Ukraine by turning away from buying energy from Russia, which in turn has spurred the conversations and urgency around transitioning towards using renewable energy as a main power source on a local and national level.

 

Sympathetic response could spur discrimination

 

 

Noticeably, the immense sympathy shown towards the Ukrainian refugees also has the potential to create challenges.

First, the sympathy can create, and in some cities, it already has, a general feeling of resentment and antipathy towards citizens of Russian heritage.

The cases of bullying and discrimination are still, thankfully, few in our Nordic member cities, but there has been reports of vandalism against a Russian embassy, some Ukrainian refugees have refused to have translators of Russian descent help them settle in, and an online tip line for police in Norway has received upwards of 50 reports of hate speech directed at Russians.

Of special concern in this regard, the Nordic Safe Cities coordinators highlighted the potential bullying and discrimination of children of Russian descent in schools. For now, the coordinators did stress that they had not heard of many reports of this kind.

Special treatment of the Ukrainians can create unrest among other groups of refugees

The contrast between the general reception of the Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees from other parts of the world, who have entered the Nordics in the past ten years, is stark.

Most noticeably, legislation has been changed swiftly across the countries to help Ukrainians settle in and get integrated into Nordic societies as quickly as possible.

This has generally been applauded, but the concern is that refugees who have not experienced the same kind of accommodating approach to their presence in the Nordics may feel unwelcome and discriminated against and consequently be unsettled.

Though there have not been reports of incidents sparked by this possible tension, it is something that has made human rights organisations cry foul, and in Copenhagen there have been demonstrations with the purpose of getting politicians to make recent legislative accommodations not only apply for Ukrainians but for every refugee no matter their country of origin.

It is a situation that the Nordic Safe Cities coordinators will continuously monitor.

On the backdrop of two years of hard work

The ramifications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential challenges relating to the handling of the Ukrainian refugees in the Nordic cities, are yet to reveal themselves entirely.

Though one thing is sure: The ramifications come on the backdrop of more than two years of immensely hard work handling the effects of the Corona Virus, which has taken its toll on city administration across the Nordics. In light of this, our city coordinators highlight the importance of the Nordic Safe Cities network and the value of sharing experiences, learnings, and good practice as a mean to overcome the challenges ahead as a unit.

Nordic Safe Cities will therefore facilitate ongoing conversations between our nineteen member cities across the Nordics and offer dedicated scenario training to strengthen both immediate responses to challenges and long-term preparedness.