Note: The views and opinions expressed in blog/editorial posts are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the views or opinions of Misbar.
A string of comparisons between the ongoing war in Ukraine and other humanitarian crises, such as the Syrian war and Nazi Germany, are riddled with misinformation. For example, one false claim says that not even Hitler used chemical weapons, while the Nazi regime is known for using chemicals in gas chambers. The latest claim that went viral was an infographic posted by the official Twitter account of the National Guard of Ukraine, a branch of the Ukrainian military, and Ukrainian member of parliament Lesla Vasylenko. The inaccurate infographic compares Syria and Ukraine by stating that in five years, Syria was only attacked by 100 missiles while Ukraine faced 1100 missiles in 22 days. The tweet called on people to “realise the scale of the disaster.” However, Syria faced 45,000 missiles fired by the Russian military alone. The Ukrainian National Guard’s post, which has since been deleted, was widely criticised on Twitter, as seen below.
The tweet also angered activists who urged Ukraine to "stand together" with Syrian victims instead of comparing trauma. Ukrainian Journalist, Alona Savchuk, acknowledged, in a tweet, that both Ukrainians and Syrians were victims of Russia’s inhumanity, adding: "With such tweets, you present yourself and us as inexperienced racists, this is factually incorrect."
In continuation of the racist media coverage on Ukraine, some people, including official government bodies and officials, are attempting to increase sympathies and attention towards the war in Ukraine by downplaying other humanitarian crises. By doing so, they are resorting to misleading and false information. The value of a human life is equal and there is no need to compare human suffering, especially when the consolidating argument relies on inaccurate information. As it is, the war in Ukraine is receiving increased humanitarian efforts with all 27 EU countries, plus Norway and Turkey, providing in-kind assistance including medical supplies, shelters and vehicles. Moreover, 16 European and North American countries are offering military aid. The U.S is the largest single-country donor of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
In recent protests in Idlib-Syria, Ukrainian banners and flags were visible to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people and to demand action against President Putin. Mansour Abu al-Kheir, a Syrian refugee in Turkey, who had survived two chemical attacks, said: “We were left alone to face our destiny, I hope this won’t happen to the Ukrainians.” Needless to say, the world would be stronger standing together against the common enemy instead of focusing on unfair comparisons that would create anger and divisions, and cause tensions to escalate. There are more similarities in war than differences as shown by a thread of photos by TRT World on Instagram.
The world needs to send a unified message: all humanitarian crises deserve sympathy, attention and aid, suffering should not be compared. Perpetrators should be called out for propaganda and held accountable for circulating misinformation. Otherwise, misinformation will continue to spread, and belittle the suffering and loss of lives of people in the Global South, such as the Middle East, thereby creating further divisions.
Misbar’s Sources:
Twitter National Guard of Ukraine
