I’m from Ukraine and I was forced to move to Austria. I speak German at a B1 level, which I learned in about six months (I also had some basics from school).
What I keep noticing, quite often, is a kind of “white racism” toward Eastern Europeans, especially Ukrainians. Online and in the news there is a lot of sympathy for Ukrainians. In real life, however, we are often treated as if we were mentally backward natives. In one conversation, an Austrian seriously asked me whether we even have the internet in Ukraine. A friend of mine, who already has a child, told me that her child gets bullied at school because of their background, sometimes even indirectly by teachers. Situations like this are not rare.
I’m not here just to complain. I’m genuinely trying to understand why this happens. Why are we treated this way? Is it because Eastern Europe is seen as less economically developed? Yes, salaries are higher here, but not everyone here is a millionaire. I also see many homeless people on the streets who clearly look European, most likely Austrians.
Another friend once told me a story about an Austrian guy she dated. He seemed to come from a wealthy family, with parents working in a big bank. He openly talked about Ukrainian women as prostitutes and Ukrainians in general as homeless people, and his friends supported these views. I’ve also lived in Germany for some time and saw similar attitudes there.
For example, Ukrainians are very often pushed toward jobs like elderly care, as if that’s all we are fit for. Meanwhile, most Ukrainians I know who are now doing hard physical work here actually have higher education. Back in Ukraine they were lawyers, business owners, doctors.
I’m really interested in hearing thoughts on why this perception exists and where it comes from.
I think there are a multitude of factors at play here.
For one, as with any country, it's different from community to community. There are communities that are more accepting and communities that are less accepting. Unfortunately, you seem to have run into there latter.
I think that's one of the reasons. I think a further reason is the iron curtain, I've noticed that still influences the thinking of a number of people. For quite a while, there was barely any exchange across that border - that allows stereotypes and prejudices to fester. I've noticed in a number of communities that actually having regular contact with the affected people is the best way to break down barriers. The Iron curtain did the exact opposite of that.
Then, I have the impression that for many there is a certain visual similarity between a number of East block countries and Sinti and Roma, where there are a lot of stereotypes present, which comes on top.
I think the fact that there is a war going on there also changes things. I've noticed a tendency to look down on war torn countries (and to be fair, I don't think it's a stretch to say that wore torn countries are worse off - you've left Ukraine for a reason, after all, as difficult a decision as that must have been). That compounds the whole situation, regardless of why that war is happening.
I don't know if that's directly a result of the discrimination. I don't know about the specifics on Austria, but I do know that getting diplomas recognized is a huge can of worms, which will definitely make things more difficult.
Then comes the language barrier, which can add quite a level of difficulty. Learning a new language is no easy feat, and I feel like even that is an understatement. From that perspective, your reaching B1 within a half a year is an impressive accomplishment - congratulations! Unfortunately, the occupations you mentioned are mostly occupations where communication is extremely important. In the position of a doctor, for instance, a miscommunication can lead to serious consequences. I've worked in a safety critical domain and have had to work with people who didn't speak the language too well, and I've definitely contemplated sending people away. Better someone being insulted about their language skills than a misunderstanding leading to, well, in the worst case scenario, serious injuries and deaths, to put it bluntly. Hard labor generally involves less complicated communication and less communication in the first place, making the language barrier less of an issue.
I don't know the details of your situation, but try to see if you can't get your German to at least a B2 or even better, a C1. While it won't change the other factors I've mentioned, it should significantly reduce the language barrier. And since you've managed B1 within a half a year, something tells me that at least from a skills perspective, you should be able to do it.
EDIT: I forgot, the "Ukrainians are Nazis" propaganda definitely doesn't help, either.
I have better chances here, because I still plan to complete higher education, as I have some opportunities for this and the age to do so. I should note that I already have a higher education degree, which I obtained in Ukraine. I understand that I mentioned examples of professions that are difficult to integrate into society. But believe me, in many cases language is not the problem, because all these people, regardless of age, learn the language well. They all have B2 or C1.
I should also say that Austria does not allow us to complete language courses at B2 level or higher for free; those have to be paid for out of pocket. In addition, we are not allowed to train for professions where there are many locals.
I’ll give an example. My best friend, after graduating from university in Ukraine, went to her caseworker, who asked her what she wanted to work as here. She said she wanted to work as a Bürofrau. She was told that this was impossible because only Germans work there. She didn’t just face resistance — she was effectively pushed into becoming a caregiver for the elderly. Her diploma was completely ignored. And these stories are the same for almost all Ukrainians.
Ouch, OK, that's pretty extreme. I've heard things are worse in Austria - I didn't realize they were that bad, at least in the area you're in. Sorry to hear that.
Maybe it's worth looking for a more accepting area? I have a colleague who's from Egypt and a number of distant colleagues from all around the world including Ukraine who are working here in Germany - and as academics, not as caregivers or manual labor jobs (mind you, I don't mean it as putting down those jobs - they can also have be really fulfilling, just obviously not if that's not what you're after). I obviously can't say that there's absolutely never any discrimination, but they obviously managed to get into those positions, which is a lot better than what you're experiencing.
I understand that it's much more easily said than done, but it might be something at least worth exploring.
Oh, and
I'm pretty sure that's illegal unless the laws in Austria are that different. Might be worth reporting that. Might not yield any direct results, but if it even just increases the statistics, it might be worth it. If just to have a counterweight to some people claiming foreigners don't want to work so that one can point at that statistic and say "see, they are being prevented from working".