Since many of us are following what is going on between Russia and Ukraine, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how immigrant groups have been responding to this crisis. I found a NYT article about how Ukrainian and Russian immigrants in New York City feel about President Putin’s actions–beyond just the recent protests.
Here is a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/nyregion/action-by-russia-divides-immigrants-in-new-york.html
One would expect opinion to be split based on nationality, with Ukrainians supporting the new Ukrainian government and Russians supporting Putin. However, the issue is not that simple. There are a number of Russians who are angry about Putin’s actions, and plenty of Ukranians–particularly in Odessa and Eastern Ukraine–who want to reunite with Russia.
What are your thoughts? Do you think that the concentration of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in New York City makes this events in Ukraine feel closer to us, as New Yorkers? Does anyone know of any other examples of how U.S. immigrants respond to current events in their home countries? What does this article say about how immigrants get news and information from their home countries abroad–from relatives, television, radio?
Thank you, Sasha, for the posting and the smart questions.
One thing that strikes me in recent years, given the ever increasing stream of immigrants to NYC from around the globe, is that whenever anything major happens anywhere — the fire in the Bangladeshi garment factory comes to mind — there are always interesting and provocative reactions from New Yorkers familiar with that part of the world. And of course news moves so quickly, an immigrant community here learns about events practically as they’re unfolding, not only from traditional media but also from social media, though separating the two probably doesn’t even make sense, since they’re so intertwined.
For example, re the following story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/nyregion/thecity/10stan.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1400077928-jiWaHxZX83OsvMwVqCam1A
…you get a vivid sense of how split Pakistani loyalties played out when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2008, told through the perspectives of two Queens newspaper editors who worked virtually side by side. (The author, by the way, Adam Ellick, is the person who wrote the great profile we read about the chicken and rice man.) cr
Most immigrants I know from the former Soviet Union, especially older people who lived through Stalin’s regime, are very against strong central government, so I would expect that most Russians and Ukrainians here in New York would be against Putin’s consolidation of power and and expansion into the Ukraine.
The Ukrainians that I’ve spoken to all share a sense of hopelessness because Russia is much more powerful than the Ukraine and the Ukraine is too small and politically insignificant for the international community to mobilize in its defense. They think that it’s inevitable that Russia will annex the Ukraine and they seem grateful to be away from there, although they worry about their relatives back home and the fate of their countrymen.
I know that as the actions of Turkey’s Prime Minister have become more dictatorial and anti-secular, most Turkish immigrants who support his actions tend to be more religious, come from rural parts of Turkey, and generally have lower levels of education, whereas those who oppose him are more secular, more educated, and from urban areas. Since Putin’s actions are similarly dictatorial and pro-state religion, his supporters and opposers among Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in New York probably divide along similar lines.