Ukrainian refugees’ reception in Swedish sports clubs: ‘deservingness’ and ‘promising victimhood’

ABSTRACT

An emergent discourse along with a small, but growing, body of empirical research scrutinises how Ukrainian refugees are being treated differently compared to other refugee populations and how western societies construct ‘hierarchies of victims’. For social work, a discipline designated to combat inequity, there is a strong incentive to understand if these hierarchies exist within welfare-providing organisations. This paper explores the Swedish sports movement’s reception of Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis other refugee populations through semi-structured interviews with sports representatives. The theoretical lens used is the perspective on ‘promising victimhood’, where refugees are framed as more or less worthy of the nation-state’s protection and welfare benefit. The results show two themes. Ukrainian refugees are perceived to be culturally- and economically better ‘performers’; they share Swedish values and are perceived as willing to contribute to Swedish society, whereas other refugee groups are depicted as lazy and culturally deviant. Second, the perception of Russia as a threat to Europe makes respondents sympathise to a greater extent with Ukrainian refugees. This sympathy is increased when representatives consider Ukrainian refugees’ demographic characteristics: most are women and children. The results show that social work needs to be vigilant, and challenge, these ideas to not facilitate inequalities in refugees’ reception.

ABSTRAKT

Det finns en begynnande debatt via media och anekdoter om hur västerländska samhällen konstruerar ’hierarkier av offer’ genom den till synes bättre behandlingen som ukrainska flyktingar får jämfört med andra flyktinggrupper. Liten, men växande, empirisk forskning på allmän opinion och media visar att detta verkar stämma. För socialt arbete, en disciplin dedikerad till att bekämpa olikheter, finns det ett starkt incentiv till att förstå om dessa hierarkier existerar inom organisationer med välfärds-funktioner. I denna artikel undersöker jag svenska idrottsrörelsens mottagande av ukrainska flyktingar, jämfört med andra grupper. Inspirerad av perspektiv på ’deservingness’ visar resultaten på två teman. Ukrainska flyktingar beskrivs som mer kulturellt- och ekonomisk presterande; dom delar svenska värden (arbetsetik), och är villiga att bidra till svenska samhället, medan andra grupper målas upp som lata och kulturellt avvikande. I tillägg betraktas Ryssland som en gemensam fiende, vilket stimulerar mer förståelse för ukrainska flyktingar. Den här sympatin förstärks med ukrainska flyktingars sårbarhet, där majoriteten är kvinnor och barn. Resultaten visar att socialt arbete – både professionellt och i civilsamhälle – måste vara vaksamma och utmana dessa idéer för att inte förstärka ojämlikheter i flyktings mottagande.

KEYWORDS:

• Ukraine
• sports clubs
• integration
• migrants
• deservingness

NYCKELORD:

• Ukraina
• idrottsföreningar
• integration
• migranter
• flyktingar

Introduction

Professional migrants, to a great extent Muslim men […] who may perhaps have been refugees due to war earlier, is a completely different thing than women and children who arrive through the ferry through Poland only one, or a couple of days, after they have left their homes in a Christian and, in many aspects, a western country in our proximity. (Åkesson, 2022)

These words are taken from the leader of Sweden’s currently second-largest political party, Jimmie Åkesson, during the beginning of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine, starting on the 24th of February in 2022, has caused a large-scale mass-migratory movement where 7 million Ukrainians have been externally displaced. The conflict keeps causing humanitarian, economic, social, and political turmoil, however, the responses from the western world to the war have been critically illuminated in a comparative fashion vis-à-vis previous ‘refugee crises’ (De Coninck, 2022; McCloskey, 2022). In the above quote, Åkesson (2022) outlines explicitly why Ukrainian refugees should be treated differently compared to other refugee groups, and effectively taps into a discursive repertoire where some refugees are constructed as worthy of the nation-state’s protection and welfare benefits, whereas some are not. Conceptually, ‘deservingness’ exists in numerous (sub)disciplines, such as in how disabled individuals are framed as deserving welfare benefits (Geiger, 2021), how crime victims are considered more or less ‘ideal’ (Christie, 1986), or, in this paper’s case, how refugees are conceived of as deserving of protection, empathy and welfare benefits. In the context of illegality- and migration studies, Chauvin and Garcés-Mascareñas (2014) have been at the forefront of applying, and developing this perspective, and other scholars have subsequently continued this theoretical development (Welfens, 2022). This theoretical lens seeks to interrogate the phenomenon of differentiated treatment that is at display in the current conflict. In Sweden, parallel to the increasingly strong political anti-migrant rhetoric, and segregated urban landscapes, welfare provision is increasingly outsourced to civil society. One major factor here is the Swedish sports movement, which has attempted to provide a link for refugees and migrants into Swedish mainstream society. This paper explores the narratives of 20 Swedish sport club representatives and federation employees who currently engage with Ukrainian refugees, guided by the research question: how do these sports clubs representatives frame Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis other refugee populations?

For social work, a discipline at its core concerned with social justice, the current crisis is a powerful illuminator of racialised and systemic injustices that can spark different responses to groups who share critical denominators: a salient vulnerability coupled with the loss of homes, family and friends. This paper shows how Ukrainian refugees are positioned vis-à-vis other refugee groups and constructed as more agentic, strong-minded, willing to contribute to the receiving society, and therefore more deserving. As a result, two contributions are highlighted here. First, this paper makes a timely empirical contribution to the scholarly literature on ‘promising victimhood’ by scrutinising the case of Ukrainian refugees. Second, a theoretical contribution is made by bringing forth the theoretical framework to that of alternative welfare-providing organisations. Migrants’ deservingness has been conceptualised in the broader social work literature about accessing social services (Ratzmann & Sahraoui, 2021a, 2021b), and in Sweden, there are clear markers of who are conceived of as ‘illegitimate’ receivers of social benefits, such as Muslims (Eliassi, 2015). Nowadays, sports organisations are increasingly involved to attend to refugees’ physical-, mental-, and social health (Spaaij et al., 2019), and, in Sweden, often framed as an ‘authentic’ and ‘genuine’ social work compared to a (perceived) bureaucratic and rigid state-centred social work (Ekholm, 2017). However, as shown here, some sports organisations are reproducers of a ‘deservingness’ discourse that contradicts their intended ‘genuine’ nature and this paper thus contributes to the body of knowledge on welfare provision outside of social services.

This paper will proceed as follows. First, Ukrainian refugees will be situated into the study’s theoretical framework of ‘deservingness’ to situate the analytical point of departure. Second, a background on the Swedish context will be provided, accounting for immigration attitudes, and recent political changes. Here, the role of Swedish sports clubs in terms of refugee reception will be outlined. Subsequently, method and material will be accounted for, consisting of 20 key informants from Swedish sports clubs- and federations. Results will be presented and discussed, and a call to action is made for the social work discipline to be vigilant of how other refugee groups risks further marginalisation and exclusion.

Ukrainian refugees, deservingness and differentiated treatment across levels

In late February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Shortly after, millions of Ukrainians, mostly women, children, and elderly, had fled to neighbouring countries. At the time of writing, nearly eight million Ukrainian refugees have been externally displaced (UNHCR, 2022). Naturally, at the outbreak of the conflict, reports emerged, calling for host societies and health services to address the situation of Ukrainian refugees (Spiegel, 2022; Übleis et al., 2022), referring to it as a ‘public health crisis’ (Su et al., 2022). However, a vividly different facet, which this paper is concerned with, is the seemingly different treatment Ukrainian refugees are given vis-a-vis other refugee populations (De Coninck, 2022).

To understand how this treatment may come about, it is important to outline the demographic composition and the facets of Ukrainian refugees that may provoke favourable receptions. Following a sex-selective martial law, preventing men between 18 and –60 to leave Ukraine, most of the Ukrainian refugees are women, youths, or elderly. In addition, most are white. Other important features are that Ukraine is predominantly a Christian country and geographically close to western Europe (De Coninck, 2022).

How this differentiation looks like has caught the attention of several researchers, and there is a small but (rapidly) growing body of empirical research that interrogates the subject matter. Importantly, this research shows that a different view exists at multiple levels; through media constructions, individual attitudes, in important institutions such as healthcare and universities and at border controls to mention a few. McCloskey (2022) analyses statements made by Polish reporters at the Ukrainian border, who frame Ukrainian refugees as more closely resembling Europeans through notions of ethnicity, proximity to Europe and thus more deserving of sympathy. Similarly, through media reports, speeches and statements, Rosstalnyj (2022) scrutinised how Ukrainian refugees were indeed conceived of as more ‘deserving’ compared to other refugee groups. Indeed, media coverage in Poland has systematically painted refugees from the Middle East and Africa as potential terrorists, while Ukrainians are referred to as ‘war refugees’, thus legitimising their stay in Poland (Zawadzka-Paluektau, 2022). Pepinsky et al. (2022) explored public opinion in Hungary through a set of survey experiments. Hungary, a country with strong anti-migrant rhetoric, rejected refugees from the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015, but has now received over 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees (Pepinsky et al., 2022). Pepinsky et al. (2022) find their explanation in terms of perceived ‘civilisational’ characteristics; Hungarians are more willing to receive Ukrainian refugees since they are ‘ … white European Christians driven from their home country by conflict’ (p. 1).

The state level, with its legislative power, affects responses at multiple levels; for instance, Polish civil society organisations mobilised and responded swiftly when Ukrainian refugees sought shelter in Poland (Byrska, 2022), but were mainly reluctant to refugees in 2015 (Narkowicz, 2018). Narkowicz (2018) also makes several accurate references to how refugees in 2015 were stigmatised and de-humanised by political authorities because they posed a perceived security threat; a security discourse not present in the current conflict, as noted by the several media articles previously cited. In other work, Cukier and Vogel (2022) illuminate how Canadian healthcare systems have prioritised Ukrainian refugees, reducing waiting time and fees, while other refugee groups have to wait for several months. Viczko and Matsumoto's (2022) policy analysis of universities’ initiatives aimed at Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian refugees found that Afghan and Syrian refugees were spoken about as experiencing difficulties external to the universities, while Ukrainian refugees are situated in a context where the current humanitarian crisis affects everyone globally. Finally, although not an exhaustive list of empirical examples of this differentiated treatment, border controls have been reported to discriminate against people attempting to flee Ukraine who are not ethnic Ukrainians (e.g. Indian students), allegedly by unjustly forcing people to the back of lines, and more (Cénat et al., 2022).

What this brief exposition shows is what Paré (2022) calls ‘selective solidarity’ and what McCloskey (2022) refers to as the construction of a ‘hierarchy of victims’. Importantly, as briefly highlighted through these empirical illustrations, this selective solidarity exists at multiple levels. As should be clear by now, these are matters that conceptually tie into framings of how ‘deserving’ a particular individual is, which is the paper’s theoretical framework. Specifically, the works of Chauvin and Garcés-Mascarenas on migrants’ deservingness in conjunction with their legal status (Chauvin et al., 2013; Chauvin & Garcés-Mascareñas, 2014) has been crucial in advancing the perspective. The essence of this perspective is centred around how people, institutions and policies make distinctions between refugees based on ethnic, cultural, social, political, and economic factors, thus carving out a perception of a particular refugee’s deservingness (Sales, 2002). This analytical framework and process of distinguishing between refugees are highly relevant when considering, for instance, how McCloskey (2022) argues that Ukrainian refugees are placed at the top of the ladder in a victim hierarchy.

This paper takes inspiration from Welfens (2022) refinement of ‘promising victimhood’. Welfens (2022) tease out three tensions in how authorities construct deservingness, based on the levels of conceived assimilability and vulnerability. Here, assimilability is analysed in terms of (i) security, i.e. how much of a perceived threat a refugee is to the host society; (ii) economic performance, i.e. how much a refugee can contribute financially to the host society and (iii) cultural ‘fit’, i.e. whether, and to what extent, the refugee’s cultural values are conceived of as fitting to that of the host society (Welfens, 2022). These factors are then examined in relation to refugees’ vulnerability, which is influenced by age, sex, ethnicity, etc., where this paper’s initial quote is illustrative. These tensions may furthermore be briefly illustrated in the Swedish context, where ‘deservingness’ is attributed to different groups at different times in Sweden.

As Wernesjö (2020) notes in the context of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015, there was initial widespread support and organisation to accommodate refugees; however, this support changed in favour of restrictive migration policies and suspicion, where unaccompanied youth males were targeted as especially problematic. After restrictive migration policies were put in place, unaccompanied youths in Sweden have been consistently framed as deviant, and as a potential threat due to ‘problematic masculinities’ (Wernesjö, 2020), although they, paradoxically, also are considered a vulnerable group given their young age (Çelikaksoy & Wadensjö, 2017; Hedlund, 2016). As Herz (2019) notes, these youths became a central focus where their culture of origin and views on gender were framed as dangerous and in opposition to Swedish values. Here, Welfens (2022) three tensions are illustrated in how these youths are perceived from both security- and cultural perspectives. Simultaneously, these perceptions are not static, but change at different points in time, going from initial widespread support to general reluctance.

Moreover, how refugees are situated within these tensions likely incentivise and pressure refugees to act. As Wernesjö (2020) shows, attempts to become ‘deserving’ can entail striving for typical perceived Swedish values, such as diligence and work ethic. Deservingness at multiple levels will likely be awarded based on refugees’ ability and willingness to display what is discursively framed as typical Swedish values and ways of living. As Welfens (2022) argue, in contexts where such values are conceived of as inherent to the civic culture, cultural- and economic performance becomes inseparable.

These framings about different refugee groups exist within social policy and institutions with functions relevant to social work. While the above-referenced examples refer to youths from primarily Afghanistan, Runfors et al. (2021) interviewed policy experts on the perceptions and effects of migration from Central- and Eastern European countries. The discourses presented here are not threat, or culture-based, but embedded within economic arguments, pointing to the danger of welfare chauvinism. Here, welfare is conceived of as appropriate resources refugees can draw from if they (i) need it, and (ii) contribute to host society, where Runfors et al. (2021, p. 469) noted that migrants from ‘ … newer Eastern Europe member states were framed as potentially burdening the welfare systems […] whereas EU migrants from older member states in Western Europe were rarely, if ever, spoken of in this way’. Moreover, as discussed by Gustafsson and Johansson (2018), different policy categories of refugees impinge on how social workers approach and support refugees, often in conjunction with discourses on ‘true’ or ‘false’ refugees.

The Swedish context

Sweden has historically been a strong welfare state, coupled with the notion of ‘Swedish exceptionalism’ (Dahlstedt & Neergaard, 2019). These concepts entailed strong public welfare arrangements, with inclusive migration policies that focused on multiculturalism and human rights. These fundamental values and policies have been reconfigured during the last two decades and replaced by restrictive migration policies.

Sweden has a tumultuous history of migration, including labour migration from Finland in the 70s, refugees from Bosnia in the 90s and, recently, a large influx of refugees from the so-called ‘refugee crisis’. Here, over 160,000 refugees sought asylum in Sweden, placing Sweden only second to Germany in terms of how many refugees were received. In the immediate aftermath of this event, stricter migration policies were put in place along with a tougher political immigration rhetoric. National security versus human, and refugees’ rights, have subsequently been positioned against each other, and manifested itself through new laws that made it harder to gain permanent residence (Gustafsson & Johansson, 2018).

These ideological and political changes have affected social workers’ practices and day-to-day business. While previous legislation focused on refugees’ social- and psychological well-being (Jönsson & Scaramuzzino, 2022), current political notions centre around, for example, structural integration, such as entering the labour market (Gustafsson & Johansson, 2018). By accepting this neoliberal turn, social workers risk imposing ‘administrative violence’ on refugees, treating them as neutral cases and systematically de-humanising refugees (Elsrud & Lalander, 2022).

This ideological turn continues to grow in strength, as the political election in Sweden saw a right-wing coalition emerge victorious in October 2022. Critical to this further development is that this right-wing coalition is supported by the Sweden Democrats; a populist radical right party, that received the second most votes in the entire election. The first propositions this government, backed by the Sweden Democrats, presented are found in the ‘Tidö Agreement’. The agreement contains a series of suggested policy changes, primarily directed at the areas of migration and crime; both explicitly and implicitly assumed to have a strong correlation. For example, suggestions include enabling easier deportation of migrants, visitation zones in disadvantaged areas (where households are predominantly of migrant background), and more. This turn in Swedish politics is the most radical one yet, and one which understands migration and migrants as key issues.

Policy frameworks for Ukrainian refugees in Sweden

Ordered by the Council of the European Union, the Temporary Protection Directive came into effect for the first time in history. Sweden is bound by this legal framework, and this directive means that Ukrainian refugees are offered family reunification, access to social welfare, the labour market, education, and basic healthcare. Ukrainian refugees have 90 days free stay wherever they wish to go in Europe, can apply for temporary stay according to the mass-influx directive, and cannot currently be deported back to Ukraine due to the current conflict (Migrationsverket, 2022). Currently, approximately 50,000 Ukrainian refugees reside in Sweden, and due to Ukraine’s sex-selective martial law, most are women (62%) and youths (33%). They tend to live in private accommodations, as opposed to municipality- or state-facilitated housings (Berlina, 2022). According to Berlina (2022), civilians have been critical actors in solving housing issues.

The implementation of this directive is a disruption to the increasingly restrictive migration policies that have been put in place during the last two decades. Re-configuring migration policies that aimed to keep the ‘other’ out, in favour of helping Ukrainians could potentially be a signifier from the authorities that these people are more worthy of help compared to other refugee populations. Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that Sweden offers the weakest refugee reception amongst the Nordic countries (e.g. lowest financial assistance; Berlina, 2022).

Swedish sport clubs

Globally, sports interventions occupy social policies and are conceived of as powerful vehicles to address social issues (Lawson, 2005) and a particularly strong subfield has appeared within the context of sports and refugees’ integration (Spaaij et al., 2019). Although sports have for a long time been assumed to bring about positive development, there is only recently that a distinct sport social work has emerged in diverse geographical areas. In the USA, sport social work emerged during the last decade with its symposiums, and journals (Sport Social Work Journal), is situated within ecological systems theory (Newman et al., 2021). In Europe, more critical- and diverse approaches to sports as social work have emerged simultaneously, embedded in critical governance studies (e.g. Ekholm, 2016), and connected to community work (Mickelsson, 2022a).

In Sweden, the sport movement is, participant-wise, the largest ‘classic’ popular movement (Stenling & Sam, 2020), meaning the sports movement is inherently embedded within the voluntary sector. Despite this, the sports movement has for a long time held an important position amongst Swedish political stakeholders, and during the last two decades, sports clubs have been increasingly used as social policy implementers. Sports clubs exist under the umbrella of the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) and other sub-federations within the SSC (Fahlén & Stenling, 2016). The SSC has almost a monopoly on voluntary organised sports in Sweden, and they have intensified cooperation with the state during the last two decades (Norberg, 2011). Historically, sports have been used to address youths’ antisocial behaviour (Österlind & Wright, 2014), to facilitate social cohesion within disadvantaged, areas (Höglund & Bruhn, 2022), and to ensure democratic ideals are instilled. The abovementioned cooperation entails increased, and extensive funding, often earmarked towards specific policy goals. The SSC’s intensified involvement with the state is also symptomatic of the retreating welfare state, where civil society actors are mobilised for welfare-provision purposes.

In 2015, during the so-called ‘refugee crisis’, the SSC received governmental funding to accommodate refugees’ integration into Swedish mainstream society. Out of approximately 18,000 sports clubs, 2773 were funded and carried out initiatives aimed at including refugees (Arnoldsson et al., 2019). Arnoldsson et al. (2019) note that, although almost 3000 sports clubs carried out initiatives, we know little about the initiatives’ quality. In further inquiries, researchers have shown several different factors that warrant caution. Hertting and Karlefors (2021) found that many sports clubs conceived of the Swedish sports bureaucracy as rigid and exclusive to individuals with little knowledge of organised sports. Carlman et al. (2020) substantiated these findings, showing how coaches frame refugees as ‘culture-bound’, and lacking essential knowledge to partake in Swedish sports.

In light of the above, the sports movement has embarked on an (intended) transformative journey, attempting to look inwards to change structures and norms (Arnoldsson et al., 2019). These are ongoing projects, but a critical feature concerns the SSC's task of educating sports clubs and providing them with the right resources to accommodate diverse individuals (Stenling & Fahlén, 2021). Unsurprisingly, the SSC's efforts have been aimed at individuals with migrant backgrounds and in disadvantaged areas (Stenling, 2015). Although the Swedish sports movement has been occupied with sport delivery for refugees and attempting to re-structure themselves to accommodate diverse individuals, post-socialist migration seems to present both new unique barriers and opportunities for sports clubs (Mickelsson, 2022b). An important step further is to understand how sport clubs reason and justify their reception of Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis other groups; this could mean that the SSC's transformative journey might need to be revisited and adjusted.

Method and material

Sample and recruiting

This study considered Swedish grassroots sports clubs, involved with Ukrainian refugees, as its target population. Three strategies were employed in the recruitment phase. First, all 21 regional SSC federations, and all 70 national sports federations were contacted to inquire about potential participants. Second, Google searches were done using the search terms ‘Ukraine’ and/or Ukrainian refugees combined with different sports. The third strategy was developed during the data collection and connected to how sports-specific themes emerged. These themes pertained to ‘rhythmic’ gymnastics; a branch of gymnastics, highly popular in Ukraine, and also one where ideas of ‘early specialisation’ has been prevalent (globally). Accordingly, all Swedish rhythmic gymnastics clubs (n = 18) were contacted. These themes are, however, beyond the scope of this paper.

In summary, 72 sports clubs were contacted and 17 consented to their participation. The two main reasons for not participating were that the sports club did not reply to the invitation or that they did not host Ukrainian refugees. Finally, three interviews were conducted with key personnel at the SSC districts, all of which engaged with Ukrainian refugees through reception centres, sports clubs and generally coordinating work. The recruitment occurred between May and June 2022. The participants had different roles (coaches, board members, managers) and the clubs self-selected who they believed were the most fit (i.e. knowledgeable) to be interviewed about the subject matter. The sample is displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Participant characteristics.

	Age	Sex	Sport	Role
1	57	Female	Karate	Volunteering coach and main coordinator
2	46	Female	Multisport	Partially paid, head of integration work
3	67	Male	Soccer	Volunteering coordinator of integration initiatives
4	39	Male	Soccer	Volunteering head coach and main initiator of initiatives
5	47	Female	Wrestling	Volunteering chairman
6	45	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman
7	38	Male	Judo	Volunteering chairman
8	48	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman
9	46	Female	Boxing	Volunteering chairman
10	32	Female	Multisport	Volunteering board member
11	58	Male	Boxing	Paid sport manager
12	56	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman
13	41	Male	Gymnastics	Volunteering board member
14	48	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering vice chair (but other paid positions in the VSC)
15	50	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering board member
16	51	Female	Gymnastics	Volunteering head coach
17	29	Male	Multisport	Paid coach
18	34	Male	NA	SSC district employee
19	26	Male	NA	SSC district employee
20	32	Male	NA	SSC district employee

Data collection

An interview guide was constructed, covering three themes: the organisation’s structure, visions, philosophy; the engagement with Ukrainian refugees, including the practical arrangements, purposes, definition of integration, and the organisation’s engagement with Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis their engagement with other refugee populations. The questions started broadly, e.g. ‘Please tell me about yourself and your organisation’, and then became more fine-grained inquiries. The questions were semi-structured, allowing the representatives to steer the direction of the conversations. The open-ended nature of the questions allowed respondents to engage in various depth about specific issues. Online interviews were conducted and recorded (n = 13) or over the phone with handwritten notes (n = 4). The interviews lasted between 40 min to 1.5 h. The study followed conventional academic ethical standard and was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Participants were offered transcripts, should they wish (one participant requested this).

Data analysis

The data was analysed with a critical realist-inspired thematic analysis (Wiltshire & Ronkainen, 2021). The first transcript was inductively read, and nascent themes were noted. The remaining transcripts were deductively analysed. In the deductive analysis, notes were made to make clear whether subsequent transcripts corroborated, rejected, or presented new themes vis-à-vis previous transcripts’ themes. Wiltshire and Ronkainen’s (2021) spreadsheet was used, where each participant represented a column. Nascent themes were noted vertically per each participant. The next column, consisting of the subsequent participant, was coded deductively with existing themes guiding the analysis, and new themes being noted again. Here, results relevant to how the representatives frame Ukrainian refugees’ reception vis-à-vis other refugee populations are presented.

Results

Two themes emerged when the respondents discussed Ukrainian refugees in general and Ukrainians vis-à-vis other refugee groups. These were (i) the economic and cultural performance displayed by Ukrainian refugees, embedded in their ability to show agency and work hard and (ii) the construction of a collective consciousness, where Russia as a commonly experienced aggressor elicits more empathetic responses in addition to the perceived vulnerability of Ukrainian women and children. There is an overlap between these themes and how they connect to Welfens (2022) concept of promising victimhood, however, for pedagogical purposes, these themes will be presented separately.

Economic and cultural performance: agency and willingness to ‘get their hands dirty’

One theme that was mentioned by either comparing Ukrainian refugees to other refugee groups or framed as general comments about the Ukrainian refugees was that of agency and their sense of responsibility. These were noted in part with how Ukrainian refugees came in contact with the sports clubs- and districts, and the efforts they displayed to integrate into sports clubs, and in general, society. As shown below, these examples differed vividly but always pointed toward Ukrainian refugees as most deserving.

For instance, a significant difference was noted by the representative (1), in how they got in contact with Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees in 2015. Whereas this sports club visited reception centres, and ‘escorted’ refugees to the sports club's soccer pitch in 2015, Ukrainian refugees were perceived as acting with more agency, finding, and navigating Swedish society themselves without being attended to in the same manner. Similar examples were found at the district level, where an SSC coordinator (18) explained the work in progress from 2015 and onwards. This work had been allocated to reception centres in 2015, but took a slightly different turn now, as he explained that he, for example, received emails from Ukrainian youths who sought out sports they did back home in Ukraine.

Other examples included the perception of Ukrainians’ sense of responsibility and their willingness to meet ends. Impressed by the effort, one representative (1) highlighted how the Ukrainian youths travelled from Uppsala to southern Stockholm by train and bus (a journey of approximately 1.5 h) twice a week, only to participate in specific sessions. Such examples were accompanied by a very positive sentiment about how the sports club appreciated their efforts, and how they ‘ … really contribute to our sports club, we're so happy … ’ (representative 1).

However, while previous examples rather diplomatically highlighted perceptions of Ukrainians without really explicating an ‘othering’ view on other refugee groups, other examples were more radical. Representative (3) had been involved with both Syrian and Ukrainian refugees, but chose to reference an anecdotal example from his daughter’s work at the language school for immigrants: ‘ … I mean they [Somalis] sit at SFI [Svenska för invandrare], throwing orange kernels at the floor […] a complete disrespect […] but the Ukrainian refugees, they are here, they are ready to work […] they are willing to get their hands dirty … ’. In a similar vein, representative (10) talked about prior experiences with other refugee groups to illuminate problematic differences:

… we have a family home [and] we had a guy from Afghanistan placed here. He told us about [city]. Afghans in groups, mosques, they have their stuff. If you come here, you’ll have to accept things and become Swedish […] they build their mosques, they build this and that, no it's not okay … 

In other examples, the framing was a bit more careful, instead attempting to highlight the deservingness of Ukrainians instead of the undeservingness of other refugee groups:

You should never say there are differences between refugees and refugees, but I have never encountered such grateful people […] they are like ‘no we want to help, we can help painting, cleaning […] and a completely different … pride, over their country, you know they want to return. (representative 11)

Examples such as the above were typical, where representatives were initially reluctant to spell out whether they conceived of Ukrainians as any different, but where anecdotal cases were presented, in which Ukrainian refugees displayed work ethic and gratefulness. In further reasoning about the contrasts between different groups of youths, the same representative further added:

I can't yell or scold a Swedish youth … I can’t reprimand a Swedish youth, I mean, not by force, but I have to talk Swedish youths into their senses, but I mean these [Afghan] guys who came and trained … I mean there was this one guy, he was so tough […] he had been laying in a barrel with a straw to breathe and went through whole god damn Europe […] and when they step into a boxing club […] I mean, that’s nothing to them, they arrive from war, they’re born in the trenches […] I had to be much tougher with them […] so it was a challenge to integrate them into our culture in the club […] and they had a real tough time with that […] they wanted to show that they’re tough

One interpretation here is that, while Ukrainian refugees are acknowledged to endure hardship and have earned people’s empathy, the Afghan youths are considered ‘tough’ and hardened because of their difficult life experiences, ultimately requiring representative (11) to discipline them in different ways.

This notion of Ukrainian refugees’ strong agency and willingness to contribute can be linked to Welfens (2022) notions of cultural- and economic perceived ability to integrate. As framed by the representative (3), Ukrainian refugees’ are conceived of as willing to ‘getting their hands dirty’; a fitting analog to typical Swedish values which emphasises work ethic and diligence (Wernesjö, 2020). By displaying these kinds of characteristics, Ukrainian refugees are conceived of as both ‘culturally fitting’, and eager to contribute to society, earning them the grace of sport club representatives. In contrast, other migrant populations were here depicted as lazy, lacking respect for established institutions and their staff, and culturally deviant, which required different pedagogies. Additionally, by further dissecting the statements made by representative (2), agency is not only framed as a positive thing. When agency is used to reinforce existing cultural practices and engage with people from the same ethnic group, agency is framed as something that risks threatening Swedish values and society. In summary, there is a pattern where sport club representatives conceive of Ukrainian refugees as agentic, strong-minded, and with a willingness to interact with Swedish society. In more radical examples, these are positioned against other refugee groups’ lack of such.

Geographical closeness and vulnerability

As argued by De Coninck (2022), one factor that can explain the heartfelt welcome of Ukrainians by western societies is that of Russia as a commonly experienced aggressor. De Coninck’s suggestion was a consistent finding; most respondents argued that the geographical proximity of Ukraine spurred emotional responses:

… I think the biggest reason is the closeness […] you react a different way if your neighbor gets shot compared to someone down in Malmö […] I think that’s how people tick, the closer you get the more you will be affected […] they are our neighbors, both the attacker and the vulnerable in some way […] and of course, there’s so much reporting on this war, you get fed with information and it’s easy to understand that […] there’s a bad guy and a good guy … (representative 4)

Being geographically close to the conflict and sharing a perception of Russia as ‘the bad guy’ seemed to be a theme that facilitated more sympathetic responses to the Ukrainian refugees. In this regard, many of the representatives seemed to form a collective consciousness with Ukrainians, sometimes reflected in (more overt) expressions such as representative 1: ‘I mean, everybody wants to put a potato in Putin’s head!’. The immense media coverage of the conflict also made representatives cognisant of how they had been less in tune with previous conflicts, and that one was, in general, more engaged in the current events.

Other findings pertained to the vulnerability of women and children, which was framed as another distinctive feature of the current conflict:

… I also know there has been discussion since the prior crisis […] a lot of people argue that, then, it was like 90% men, and now you know for a fact that it’s like 99% women and children, and that the men stay too, and that can affect public perceptions … (representative 4)

These discussions were sometimes complemented by narratives on the vulnerability and hardship that youths and mothers endure, while heart-breaking news about fathers and husbands eventually reached them: ‘ … he’s [13-year-old] on the bus for three days with his mother and brother, arrives to Sweden, only to know his father has been killed in the war … ’ (representative 9). In contrasting narratives, age and sex became vital components in framing ‘the other’: ‘ … when that wave came, people just got pissed. Because only young [Afghan] males arrived, saying they were 14 but really were 25 […] where did the women and children go?’ (representative 3). Here, sex and age became central features in shaping Ukrainian refugees’ vulnerability, combined with the addition that Ukrainian men still reside in Ukraine, while, for instance, unaccompanied Afghan minors were often male. The gendered dimension on who ‘should’ be externally displaced, as evident in some representatives’ narratives, also tie into questions on masculinity, which is a factor that becomes magnified during armed conflict (Wojnicka, 2023). While refugee women and youths’ vulnerability are stressed as something worth emphasising, there is also an implicit notion that Ukrainian men are heroic by defending their country. By contrasting this with Afghan males, representative (3) frames them as sly in their attempts to ‘trick the system’, and furthermore questions why the men have left, but not women or children. By questioning, and contrasting, this gender balance, there is a certain reproduction of the discourse on who should not only be deserving of refugee reception, but also on who should ‘stay’ in the conflict (Wojnicka, 2023).

Finally, in making one further distinction, some respondents framed Ukrainians as ‘like us’ and as a part of Europe: ‘ … but these are people who look like us. That could have an effect, you know like, they look Swedish … ’ (representative 14). Such statements were often made in conjunction with the framing of Ukrainians as close to Europe, both geographically, and culturally, while other refugee groups rarely seemed to share features with Sweden in general.

Discussion

The conflict in Ukraine is a large-scale humanitarian crisis, destroying the lives of millions of people. As shown here and elsewhere, a significant, and unfortunate, additional effect of the conflict is that it has seemingly exposed a double standard in refugee reception where one can be a ‘good’ and ‘deserving’ refugee, and vice versa (Gallant, 2022). Before briefly discussing this, it should be stated that the entirety of this paper is not intended to take away, or downplay, the suffering of Ukrainians.

One important question for (sport) social work in this context is whether the sports movement accommodate for refugees according to structural versus individual approaches. As has been extensively noted (Ekholm, 2016, 2017), individual adaptation is often encouraged within sports-based interventions. The Swedish sports movement embarked on a transformative journey, attempting to introspectively examine themselves, and changes norms and practices to accommodate diverse individuals in the wake of the ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015 (Arnoldsson et al., 2019). In short, the sports movement re-directed their attention from individuals’ health-related behaviour and started scrutinising structural factors instead, that impeded refugees’ inclusion. However, by bringing forth the perspective of deservingness into the context of welfare-providing sports clubs, some possible problematic crossroads in this journey can be discerned. Ukrainians are consistently referred to as more culturally ‘fitting’, thus invoking a notion of how Ukrainians might better ‘fit’ into Swedish sports clubs with their perceived work ethic, integrity, and shared experiences of sports with Swedes (Mickelsson, 2023). These factors put less pressure on sports clubs to re-assess their norms and structures. In the case of Ukrainian refugees, where similarity is time and time again emphasised, less attention might be directed at oppressive and inequal structures. Moreover, these factors could potentially make sports clubs more inclined to work with Ukrainians, at the expense of other refugee groups, who, in general, are more stigmatised (De Coninck, 2022). In short, the focus might increasingly shift from a structural to an individual perspective, likely disfavouring other refugee groups the most.

Some avenues for further research, linked to this paper’s limitations, are suggested here. This paper has provided a snapshot of perceptions of Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis other refugee groups in the early stages of the current conflict. These perceptions need to be explored longitudinally, to further understand the dynamics of host reception(s) and Ukrainian migration, and how such perceptions may be fluid within welfare-providing organisations. There is also a need to understand how Ukrainian refugees experience, and position themselves, amidst this emerging discourse that this paper touches upon. When doing so, there are ethical aspects that will be important to consider, so as to not perpetuate an already atrocious situation for Ukrainian refugees. Other aspects worthy of further investigation is a potential biproduct of this paper’s theme. Preliminary reports suggest that integration expectations are higher for Ukrainian refugees in some Nordic countries (Berlina, 2022), thus postulating the question how Ukrainians cope with such expectations.

Conclusion

This paper adds to the work on Ukrainian refugees’ differentiated treatment by exploring such framings in one type of welfare-providing organisations. A call to action is made to the social work discipline to combat the construction of these hierarchies. In the paper’s context, where social work is increasingly outsourced to civil society actors, there is a pertinent need to control for the quality of these initiatives since sports coaches in Sweden are not guaranteed to be educated to deal with social issues. The governing sport bodies that are working with education on equity and inclusion at the sports club level (Mickelsson, 2022b) will need to consider how their educative elements are taking the current events and consequences into consideration, to prevent indirect (or direct) exclusion of other refugee groups. This call to action is tied to the sports community but also encourages other social work-related professionals and areas to introspectively examine how different refugee groups are constructed in their respective field and in the current context.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tony Blomqvist Mickelsson

Tony Blomqvist Mickelsson is a PhD candidate in social work and does research on sports, migration, and psychosocial well-being. Tony’s research is multidisciplinary and moves in between the individual and the organisational levels.