Sunday Best: Three million refugees, and counting

But this bleak situation is not without precedents.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 20, 2022 The number of Ukrainians fleeing their country has surpassed three million. "What's happening is a horror, a human travesty. Yet the situation, however bleak, is not without precedents," wrote Peter Gatrell last week. "At the height of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, one million people fled their homes. By the time the war ended in late 1995, half of the population had been displaced, many of them internally." While Poland, among other countries, has welcomed Ukrainian refugees, we shouldn't assume the warmth offered to them will last. Opinion's graphics team explains why through charts. "History has shown that refugee situations almost inevitably last longer than they're expected," they wrote. "The Syrian refugee crisis shows how quickly public sympathy can wane." And Ukrainians aren't the only ones trying to escape. "Russians are fleeing their own country too, at a speed most likely not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union," noted Sophie Pinkham. "They are running not from foreign bombs but from their own government." The question is whether the rest of the world will offer them a safe haven, too. — Jennifer Brown Hans Christiansson Opinion Yes, It Happens in Sweden, #Too The reckoning with a wave of sexual assault revelations has been particularly painful for a country that prides itself on gender equality. By Jenny Nordberg Kriston Jae Bethel for The New York Times Guest Essay How Life as a Trucker Devolved Into a Dystopian Nightmare Trucking used to offer good pay, decent benefits and normal hours. What happened? By Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein Oscar Bolton Green Guest Essay The 9-to-5 Schedule Should Be the Next Pillar of Work to Fall The pandemic changed where many of us work. It should also change when we work. By Emily Laber-Warren Illustration by Mark Harris; photograph by Heide Benser, via Getty Images Guest Essay The Question Juror No. 50 in Ghislaine Maxwell's Trial Should Never Have Been Asked Juror No. 50 in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial withheld his history of abuse. That doesn't make him a bad juror. By Tali Farhadian Weinstein Ping Zhu Guest Essay Asian Americans Have Always Lived With Fear In my decades growing up in New York, survival required constant vigilance. Sadly, very little has changed. By Min Jin Lee Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT EDITOR'S PODCAST PICK Courtesy Mike Ruiz Kathy Griffin Wants the World to Stop Thinking She Did Something Wrong The comedian explains why she "takes umbrage" with the term "cancellation," and how her career still hasn't fully recovered. By 'Sway' Subscribe Today New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider subscribing to The Times with this special offer. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Sunday Best from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018