The choice made by many countries to take in more or fewer refugees fleeing war is tinged with racism, Pope Francis said on Good Friday on Italian television.
People fleeing Ukraine seem to be better received than those from other regions of the world, the Pope noted, according to Belga news agency.
“Refugees are divided into categories - first class, second class – ranked according to their skin colour and country of origin, whether developed or not,” Pope Francis said on the Italian TV channel Rai. “We are racist and that’s bad.”
Similarly, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also stated at a press conference on Wednesday that it believe the world does not treat crises affecting Blacks and Whites in the same manner.
Over 4.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February.
