Race, culture and politics underpin how — or if — refugees are welcomed in Europe
More than a million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries to escape the Russian invasion — and that number could soar to more than 4 million in coming months, the United Nations refugee agency says.
More than half have entered Poland, with others going to Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania — and they have been receiving a warm welcome.
Ukrainians arriving in Hungary are coming to a "friendly place," Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said.
"We will do everything to provide safe shelter in Poland for everyone who needs it," said Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski.
At the Polish border, guards hand out sandwiches to Ukrainians in waiting rooms. Polish citizens donate piles of toys and meet migrants with hot tea and free rides to where they need to go.
The open-arm welcome for those fleeing Ukraine stands in sharp contrast to the treatment of previous waves of refugees from places like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Just two months earlier, Orbán said Hungary was keeping its restrictive immigration policies: "[W]e aren't going to let anyone in."
But experts say the differences are not due to racism alone. One factor is cultural: For instance, the long, historic ties between the peoples of Ukraine and Poland.
