As of today, there are over 4 million Ukrainians that have fled their homes seeking safety and shelter. For context, this is comparable to 40% of all Michiganders gone and for an even more complete picture, this figure does not include Ukrainians internally displaced within Ukraine. Every 2-3 days, approximately 125,000-150,000 new Ukrainians seek refuge, which is equivalent to the entire City of Ann Arbor becoming desolate.

Image:Mariupol, March 22, 2022 - Maximilian Clarke / Story Picture Agency via Shutterstock

What is evolving in Ukraine is a direct result of geopolitical divides, which in simplistic terms is the West (primarily a pluralistic viewpoint by nature of democratic institutions) vs Russia (primarily an individualist/Putin-backed political viewpoint). With growing consideration of Western values in eastern European countries, the Soviet-era of states serving as a buffer between these two sets of values has become smaller. Those caught in the middle of these conflicts suffer the most, and Ukraine has not been the only one.

This shouldn't be a foreign concept to all of us. There is a myriad of ways in which this divide and points of friction exist within our community. Social constructs like redlining, racial deed restrictions, unjust incarceration, lynchings, and segregation are root causes of racism, poverty, and trauma. We have a growing understanding in our community that these are completely unacceptable practices. An interconnectedness understanding and approach will help to heal these traumas, and uproot racism and poverty. CAN and many other nonprofits and organizations do this work every day and are only made possible because of our supportive community.

So wait, what is the interconnectedness with Ukrainian refugees and how is it even comparable to our own ill-conceived social constructs!? These are admittedly broad strokes but the core factor is widely recognized. It has long been established during the Soviet-era and post-Soviet-era that many eastern European countries served as a physical barrier, and this purpose remains true to even today. The United States and West as well as Russia being the dominant powers used these countries primarily for ensuring their own safety. It is a similar mindset that supporters of segregation, redlining, and other pearl necklace clutching strategies used to ensure their own safety through compromising another's safety and well-being.

Our community has only started to heal when we began to deny these destroyers of interconnectedness and accepted an openness and understanding of everyone's needs. We can do this work within our own community by not only ensuring policies that increase affordable housing, but we do so in a way that focuses on integration and not segregation into Washtenaw County's moderate and affluent areas. In a growing interconnected global community and in a position culturally, politically, and economically to be the biggest purveyor of this healing process, we need to step up and step up big!

I have no Polish or Ukrainian roots. In fact, my mom was an orphan from Colombia, which has been experiencing a massive migration of Venezuelans due to the collapse of the Venezuelan economy and government. However, CAN has actually worked with many refugees in our history. Our staff has helped undocumented residents (another form of refugeeism due to dire economic opportunity and lack of community safety), Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians, Somalis, Sudanese, and many others over the years. There is also the recent influx of Afghanis (~800 families) that are in the process of settling in the area thanks in large part to Jewish Family Services and several other local nonprofits. It's also worth noting that communities that accept and support refugees prosper as well (a win-win-win).

Having personally experienced war, near-death explosions, and the loss of fellow Marines, I have this acute empathy and depth of understanding for what these Ukrainian families are experiencing as well as recognizing my own military experience does not even remotely compare to the vulnerability and atrocious nature of what is unfolding upon civilians...I have to do something.

The current efforts underway, particularly by locals, governments and NGOs, are quite remarkable but nowhere near sufficient to keep up with the daily influx of new refugees. Even when donating to an NGO (non-governmental organization = nonprofit), there is always going to be a lag when those resources come in and when they reach people. This is something I'm well aware of because even organizations like CAN experience it. There are systems and processes in place to better ensure resources are used appropriately. However, these same systems although sometimes subtle can cause significant choke points in quickly developing crises.

Thank you CAN community for being a growing force for positive change! You rose to the challenges set forth by the pandemic by equipping CAN with the resources to double its food security options overnight. Your generosity helped CAN sustain operations for an unprecedented demand 2 years later despite $0 COVID-related government program support dollars.

Help us step up to the challenge again! We have incredible opportunities to invest big into our under-resourced communities and the dividends truly benefit us all. It is at the core of why Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County are considered one of the top places to live.

Stay tuned for updates from Poland!

Derrick Miller, MPA, CMPH-AS

dmiller@canwashtenaw.org / 734.994.2985 ext. 101

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