Compassion Fatigue: New report examines drivers of changing public sentiment toward refugee populations

BRUSSELS — Public sentiment towards refugees is dynamic and susceptible to political winds. Some of the most generous public and policy responses to large-scale cross-border movements of forced migrants — Syrians in Turkey, Venezuelans in Colombia and Ukrainians in Europe — hold lessons both on how public support has been sustained over time and when and why it begins to fade.

A new Migration Policy Institute Europe report, Confronting Compassion Fatigue: Understanding the arc of public support for displaced populations in Turkey, Colombia and Europe, examines the complexities of public sentiment towards refugees. Using a case study approach, authors Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, M. Murat Erdoğan and Lucía Salgado analyze ebbs and flows in public opinion towards displaced Syrians, Venezuelans and Ukrainians and shine important light on the specific factors that can foster solidarity and those that can erode it.

Solidarity tends to coalesce around three factors, the analysts find: Cultural proximity, societal values and a sense of pragmatism and self-interest. They note the fragility of solidarity, observing that "while compassion is extremely powerful, it is also highly vulnerable to fatigue." Factors such as uncertainty regarding future arrivals, perceptions of unfairness in distribution of government resources and anxiety over control of migration can cause compassion fatigue, resulting in societal tensions.

Turkey, for example, initially welcomed displaced Syrians with strong solidarity and a belief that the displacement occasioned by the launch of civil war in 2011 was temporary. This support eroded after 2017, with increasing concerns over issues such as job competition, crime, use of public services and cultural impact. By 2023, pledges to return Syrians to their still troubled country had become a key theme in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

In Colombia — where an influx of Venezuelans arrived starting in 2015 amid economic, security and political turbulence in Venezuela — the government implemented welcoming policies, including offering a 10-year residence permit to an estimated 2.3 million arrivals. Despite a national pro-integration narrative and deep sense of solidarity, increasingly negative attitudes toward Venezuelans are occurring, driven by economic anxieties that were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries, including those historically less receptive to refugees, displayed unprecedented public solidarity and overwhelming support for displaced Ukrainians. The attitudes were influenced by cultural, religious and ethnic affinity with Ukrainians. Although Europeans largely supported welcoming Ukrainians, opinions on government support and the duration of assistance have varied, revealing limitations and challenges on this front.

"Large-scale displacement can trigger instability and feelings of acute threat in host countries unprepared for the arrival of millions of forced migrants, but in certain cases, it can also uncover deep wells of solidarity that create a path for creative, generous policy responses," the report notes.

For policymakers to successfully navigate public sentiment, they must invest in the long-term integration of newcomers while addressing practical community concerns, the authors suggest, outlining four strategies:

1. Invest in community pain points: Proactive investments to alleviate the public’s practical fears, such as around strains on health and education systems or housing shortages, are crucial in addressing anxiety before it turns into resentment.
2. Harness grassroots solidarity in the short term but prepare for fatigue over the longer term: While community support is essential, governments must have a phased plan for the transition to state support, preventing burnout and mitigating perceptions of unfairness in the allocation of resources.
3. Prepare for long-term integration from the outset: Acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding the return of displaced populations and invest in dual-intent policies that balance potential integration and eventual return.
4. Go beyond solidarity messaging: Acknowledge the costs of immigration, but also underscore the benefits, where they exist, for the entire community.

"To maintain solidarity over time, policymakers will need to drum up support and resources to invest in the long-term integration of newcomers and address practical community concerns — even though both of these can be financially and politically costly," the analysts conclude. "However, recent history provides a clear illustration that the cost of not investing can often be much higher."

This report is the latest from MPI Europe’s Integration Futures Working Group, a Robert Bosch Stiftung-supported project that has brought together policymakers and experts, civil-society officials and private-sector leaders to create a platform for long-term strategic and creative thinking around immigrant integration.

Read the report here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/compassion-fatigue-displaced-populations.   

And all of the work from the Integration Futures series can be accessed here: www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/integration-futures-working-group.