The European Union pledges to admit refugees from Ukraine

The European Union pledges to admit refugees from Ukraine

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Michael Bociurkiw, a global affairs analyst² and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, about whether European countries will equally welcome migrants from Ukraine.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

As Russia wages an attack on Ukraine this morning, the European Union is pledging that refugees from Ukraine will be allowed in and given a place to stay along with humanitarian³ aid. Poland is setting up receiving stations on its border. Hungary and Slovakia's governments say they will send troops to help with the arrival of people fleeing Russia's invasion. Michael Bociurkiw is a global affairs analyst and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He's also a former spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. And he joins us now from the Ukrainian city of Lviv (ph) in the west part of the country, just a couple of hours away from Ukraine's border with Poland. Michael, from where you are, what have you seen and heard today?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW: Hi. Good to be with you. Well, I would say organized chaos⁵, if we can use that term. I was up very early before dawn, and there - people were still sleeping. They hadn't received word of the Russian invasion. But as soon as the sunrays started to hit, you started hearing air raid sirens going off, never heard that here before, people waking up and being advised actually to shelter in place and turn off their gas connections, things like that. I think there were a lot of people just running out as well to get as much cash as they could from ATM machines, bread, that sort of thing. But a real sense, obviously, of anxiety here. What a lot of people are looking for is while we're anticipating the flow, as you mentioned, the migrant flow from Eastern Ukraine from Kyiv, just quickly, Lviv is regarded as a very safe city relative to the rest of Ukraine, obviously close to the border. So a lot of people are expected to be here within hours to shelter in place as well.

MARTINEZ: Yeah. I was watching on television the amount of traffic to get out of Kyiv. The cars were just locked. There was no one moving. So I'm wondering if you've seen any flow of traffic where you're at considering how close it is to Poland.

BOCIURKIW: We haven't in the city, but I know a lot of people are making that run, two or three hours or whatever. In fact, around lunchtime today, I was in the center of the city, just a few blocks away from where I'm talking to you. And the Canadians who have been - got decamped here for some weeks, the Canadian Embassy, they all got into their vehicles in a convoy⁶ and headed towards Poland. So, you know, I got to say, you know, as an expat here, you know, visiting here, you do feel a little bit less certain now that the diplomats⁷ have left. Yeah. So that adds to, of course, to the anxiety.

MARTINEZ: Now, the EU says that it will welcome refugees, but European nations don't always embrace sweeping⁸ EU policies. Michael, will every European country welcome migrants from Ukraine equally?

BOCIURKIW: Great question. Well, so happens, I wrote a book called "Digital Pandemic" about the pandemic, and in it I talk about how, you know, the disunity among nation states, especially within the EU, came to light, came to the surface during the pandemic because a lot of them did not follow the advice of the EU to keep their borders open. So this is a big, big fear of mine and I know of other Ukrainians is that the EU will not act in a unified⁹ manner, that Poland, I think, will take as many as they can.

But you know what? There are already about 2 or 3 million Ukrainians in Poland working there. And I'm less certain about some of the other states with populist right-wing leaders. So that remains¹⁰ to be seen. But I think the Ukrainian authorities are pretty much telling Ukrainians, stay in place, don't flee. But there is a bit of an information gap. People are anxious, understandably. And Mr. Zelenskyy is trying to keep an upbeat mood even with these circumstances.

MARTINEZ: Even if a European nation were willing and wanting to take on refugees, are they prepared? Are European countries prepared for the possible massive influx¹¹?

BOCIURKIW: I don't think so. We've received - we've heard of very little information about instructions. And, you know, I think there is - having covered Europe quite - for quite some time, there's a lot of we can call it migrant fatigue¹² out there of taking in more people. I don't think the, you know, you have elections coming up in certain EU countries. France, for example. You have a coalition¹³ government in Germany. And I don't think leaders can that easily summon up the political will to let in millions of refugees. It's going to be a tricky¹⁴, tricky situation henceforth.

MARTINEZ: Yeah, because, I mean, such large movements of refugees sometimes are regarded as a security threat. So what shape does that risk take in this particular case?

BOCIURKIW: Well, I think the good news there is that Ukrainians are regarded as very good workers, and there's a lot of talent here. I mean, in Lviv, it's basically the Silicon¹⁵ Valley of Ukraine. So, you know, they're viewed as hardworking, talented individuals. Many Ukrainians have multiple degrees. They will be anything, anything but a burden on these economies, which, by the way, happened to require a lot of human labor¹⁶. I think as well a lot of the Ukrainians who are fleeing would do so temporarily. They would like to come back. Many left their homes, their jobs very abruptly¹⁷. So this, I think, would just be a temporary stay for most of them.

MARTINEZ: A temporary stay, OK. Because I was wondering if Ukrainians did decide to leave their homes to escape the fighting, what would it likely look like for them, at least in the short term?

BOCIURKIW: Well, we are hearing reports of certain cities - sorry. The Russian posture¹⁸, military posture, being - surrounding certain cities, for example, Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. Another kind of observation of a former military - American military chap I spoke⁴ to today here says the strategy would probably be to cut off Ukraine from its borders. If that were the case, it would be difficult for folks to leave. And I think that word, where that fear is getting around, so you're having extra panic there. We're in a kind of strange lull¹⁹ right now. It's very quiet, but definitely the firepower is there. It's close by. And again, the posture is very definitely towards a massive show of force.

MARTINEZ: Will even stronger sanctions from the West, from the United States and the EU, which we've been told for a week now, would not only hurt Russia but also hurt everyone else, at least in the short term, possibly long term, would that have an impact on what could be a large scale, wide-ranging humanitarian crisis?

BOCIURKIW: In a word, no. I think Putin is not to be deterred²⁰. If - anyone who listened to bloodcurdling speech the other day, he's intent on grabbing Ukraine, on redrawing the security map. I think that over the years since 2017, at least Russia has done a really good job in terms of inoculating²¹ itself against Western sanctions, creating, for example, a $3 billion slush fund for oligarchs who get sanctioned by the West. They are heavily sanctioned already. They're, as you know, into a tightening²² embrace with China. So I think that gives them even more kind of a confidence to go ahead and do what they want. We're not in a very good position geopolitically, I think, right now.

MARTINEZ: One more thing quickly, Michael. You've worked with relief organizations in more than 15 countries. What's the biggest challenge for aid workers in this crisis right off the bat?

BOCIURKIW: Well, to stay safe. They're usually not well-protected, not well-equipped. So they are actually oftentimes the most vulnerable. So their protection is very important. And then having the goods on the ground to pre-position to immediately deliver it to the most vulnerable.

MARTINEZ: Michael Bociurkiw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Michael, thanks.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

12 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

15 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

18 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

19 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

20 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

21 inoculating   

v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He attempted to investigate bidirectional streaming by inoculating two dishes with R. oryzae. 他试图研究双向流动的问题，他把未根霉接种于两个培养皿。 来自辞典例句
• Doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inocuLating. 医生们给新兵检查了身体，护士们给他们打了预防针。 来自互联网

22 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。