Whites are not oppressors in all of Eastern Europe (ex-socialist block) and the Middle East. These nations cannot be called oppressors; moreover, often white people in these countries are oppressed by people of color. Conditions of Russians in the Caucasus, TransCaucasus and Central Asian republics is nothing but oppression. Actually, these people are much more oppressed than any racial minority in the United $tates--oppressed by people of color.
Ruling nations deny for them access for jobs and education and harass wimmin on the street. And it's not the persynal attitude of certain individuals -- it's official policy. "In America Blacks work for whites, but here we have different rules: Russian Ivans are our mute slaves" -- is a very common phrase among bosses in some Caucasus republics. Unfortunately, it's not only a phrase. Cases of enslaving and even random executions of white minorities are more and more common in that area.
Another example is trafficking in Eastern European women to Arabic countries and Israel. With the economic breakdown of the socialist block, many women cannot support themselves in their home countries. Rich Arabs who promise marriage, or agents who promise good jobs is the straw for them to catch and not to drown. Eventually, they find themselves in harems in Arabic countries --- or in brothels. They are deprived of any rights; they cannot return home, even if they have a home to return to. Their only privilege is to be considered desirable sex objects by Arabic men --- sex objects who are supposed to enjoy anything - she is white, after all. White women in this context are sex objects without even minimum rights that local women have. Maybe it's hard to imagine here in the United $tates, but this is a matter of fact. It should not be disregarded.
Also, in the area between Europe and Asia the line between whites and people of color is too slurred: it could be interpreted one way or another. For example, Jews historically in Europe were considered not white; however, in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, compared with Arabs they are definitely whites. It proves that the same nation could be considered white or a people of color at different times and in different historical circumstances.
Russians still living in ex-USSR republics should not take the line that it was "not their fault," that the USSR fell apart and now they should not be forced to uproot their lives because of bourgeois divisions amongst nations now. To say it was an older generation's fault is a cop-out, because today's generation could have fought Gorbachev and Yeltsin and put in another Stalin. Since the Russian people did not take up the firmest socialism, they are now even more suspect for harboring "great nation chauvinist" designs. There is no way that the Russians can fail to take up the socialism of the type of Lenin and Stalin and then expect that the smaller nations that have more to lose if revisionism arises will immediately trust them. It's like expecting peaceful co-existence with imperialism to expect such behavior of small nations bordering Russia. The Russian people will have to fight with the most determination for socialism in the tradition of Lenin and Stalin in order to make a viable USSR a matter of choice by the smaller nations.
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