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Boston considers how to welcome Ukrainian refugees, local Russian-Americans share experiences
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This is the rundown for Radio Boston for Wednesday, March 9. Tiziana Dearing is our host.
- We spend the hour today checking in on our Ukrainian and Russian communities here in Greater Boston, and we start with preparations to welcome Ukrainian refugees here in the commonwealth. The Biden Administration has stated that the U.S. is prepared to take in refugees from Ukraine and has granted temporary protections to Ukrainians already in the US. But they haven't yet authorized new arrivals of refugees from Ukraine. Lawmakers and communities here want the administration to give that green light, and are preparing to welcome new neighbors who might arrive in the coming months. Elizabeth Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy coalition, and Marwa Alnaal Director of Government Affairs at the Ascentria Care Alliance, join us to talk about what it will take to welcome new refugees to the commonwealth.
- We also check in with our local Russian-American neighbors to find out how they're doing as they watch the deadly crisis unfold 4500 miles away. There's a movement in the state to divest businesses and investments of anything Russian, and then there are the emotional challenges to consider, too. Professor Maxim D. Shrayer, a Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College, and Sam Klebanov, whose family owns Petropol, a Russian language bookstore in Newton, join us to share a bit of their personal perspective.
- Tuesday night, WBUR CitySpace hosted a town hall on the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The goal was to learn more as we try to understand exactly what's happening and what may be coming next. Our expert guests were Monica Duffy Toft, professor of international politics at the Tufts University Fletcher School, and Emily Channell-Justice, Director of the Temerty contemporary Ukraine program at Harvard University. We bring you some highlights from that conversation.
This program aired on March 9, 2022.