Central Europe, which has been closed for a long time, has opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees.

They were criticized for closing their doors to immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa in 2015, and seven years later, the countries of Central Europe are accepting an unprecedented number of people who escaped the war in Ukraine.

In the last wave of immigrants in 2015, which brought more than a million refugees to Europe, the countries of the so-called Visegrad group (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic) opposed the system implemented by the European Union to redistribute this flow of arrivals.

However, after Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, the four former communist states that were in Moscow's orbit until 1989 spared no effort to help those escaping the war.

Analysts cite the cultural, linguistic and geographical proximity to Ukraine and the fact that the majority of new refugees are women and children in order to transform this strategic shift.

“Today the situation is completely different,” says sociologist Martin Buchtik at the STEM Institute based in Prague.

Ukraine “is a society that is very close to us culturally, but people in the Middle East are far apart and, unlike Western countries, have no experience,” he told AFP.

According to Buchtik, the impact caused by the war is an important factor.

“The situation has occurred right now, and there is no room for discussion. It's not for nothing that the first phase of a shocking phenomenon is called +heroic+.” He added.

More than 3 million Ukrainians fled to neighboring countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and most of all, Poland, and they alone received about 2 million refugees.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia received more than 200,000 people.

- Changes compared to 2015 -

According to analyst Grigorij Meseznikov based in Bratislava, media coverage of the invasion also contributed to this change.

“The suffering of the Ukrainian people was so spectacular that it caused the Slovak people to have compassion for Ukrainian refugees,” he said.

The wave of immigrants in 2015 became a political challenge for four countries whose leaders were particularly afraid to oppose voters if they were to welcome people out of other conflicts, such as Syria or Afghanistan.

However, today this issue raises consensus among the population, which in the past suffered the repression of Moscow.

Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, points out that Poland's historical aversion to Russia plays its role according to the expression “the enemy of our enemy is our friend.”

“Polish society responded well and the government had to continue. Our cultural and linguistic proximity was important.” He told AFP.

According to her, “The fact that people mainly see women and children increases compassion.”

This situation contrasts with what happened a few months ago when, according to Warsaw, the government ordered the construction of a fence on the border with Belarus in order to prevent a significant flow of immigrants from the Middle East, coordinated by Minsk and Moscow.

In 2015, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stood out for fierce opposition to the arrival of refugees and set up a fence on the border with Serbia.

- Double standard -

Even now, transnationalist Orban distinguishes himself from others by his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his refusal to send weapons to Ukraine, defended by the European Union.

However, it was advantageous to accept many Ukrainians from Hungary in the border areas of Transcarpathia.

“Hungary will continue to help refugees and refuse to migrate,” he said. “Two different words in Hungarian. Immigrants: Stop it.Refugees can get all the help they need.” He clearly argued.

Orban said in the definition of not complying with international law: “We are the South (...) You can distinguish between immigrants and refugees who came from.

The UN describes a refugee as “someone outside their country of origin because of fear of persecution, conflict, widespread violence, or other situations that have seriously disrupted public order.”

However, Czech sociologist Buchtik warns that this perception may change in the context of difficulties caused by the pandemic and the rise in energy and fuel prices.

“The change of mood depends on the burden imposed on society. It is not yet known how many people will come and how many people will stay.”

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