Fleeing Ukraine:first the children, then the white women and men and finally the Africans

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ValigiaBlu

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A further tragedy has been added to the drama of the war in Ukraine and of those fleeing from the bombings of the Russian army which are devastating the country and causing civilian victims.That of those who cannot escape and remain stuck.Or those who succeed but with extreme difficulty and suffering abuse.The reason?The color of the skin.Racism knows no reasons, not even during conflicts.

First the children, then the white women, then the white men and finally the Africans.It seems like a story from another time.Instead, it is the racial hierarchy that must be respected in order to get on a train at the station in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and leave as quickly as possible to reach safety.As if some lives are worth less than others.As if children and women with dark skin were not recognized as children, much less women.

Yet those who, for various reasons, left Africa and lived in Ukraine until a few days ago say they have had no problems with its inhabitants who have always been friendly.He tells it to CNN a Cameroonian woman who had settled with her husband and son for ten years now.Ukrainians have always been welcoming and helpful, he says.However, when the family arrived at the station and tried to get on a train to leave the horror of the bombs behind them, they were pushed out.There were others who had to find shelter before them, their skin color was the wrong one.

Osarumen, a Nigerian father of three who moved to Ukraine in 2009, had the same experience.TO The Independent he said that he was almost at the border with Poland when he was asked to get off a bus.“No blacks,” it was said.To him and other migrants on the journey.Despite resisting, they were thrown out of the vehicle.

«In many years I have never seen anything like it.When I look into the eyes of those who push us away, I see blood-soaked racism.They want to save themselves and in doing so they lose their humanity."

Because Osarumen just cannot imagine a scenario in which Ukrainians are denied the right to asylum and for this reason there is no explanation why they are behaving like this.«It's unjustified.It's unfounded.We are all running away, we have the same goal", he continues, without yet knowing what his next move will be to escape the danger and not take any risks.

«But it's not just happening to blacks – he specifies – also to Indians, Arabs and Syrians, while it shouldn't happen to anyone».

On Twitter, stories of incidents of racism and segregation at the hands of Ukrainian security forces and border officials are multiplying, reported with the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine by African citizens and in particular by students who attend universities in large numbers Ukrainian schools – especially medical schools which enjoy a good reputation – where fees are more accessible than the average in other countries.

Rachel Onyegbule, a first-year Nigerian student at Lviv Medical University, was left stranded in the border town of Shehyni, about 650 kilometers from Kyiv.

In a telephone interview released at the CNN he said he saw more than ten buses leaving with Ukrainian citizens on board.When she imagined her turn had finally come, they told her to head towards the border on foot because there were no longer any vehicles available.

«My body was now numb and I didn't sleep [along with my colleagues] for about four days.Ukrainians were given priority over people of African nationality, both women and men.There's no need to ask why.We know it.Now I just want to go home,” he said while queuing to cross the border with Poland, which he crossed after hours of waiting.

Among the people interviewed by the US broadcaster there are also those who attribute the responsibility for not having helped the Africans not so much to the Ukrainian authorities for having given escape priority to their fellow countrymen, but to the respective governments for not having made arrangements to assist them outside the own borders.

«There are many Nigerians in Ukraine.They can't abandon us like this.It's sad but we are used to bad governance in Nigeria.It's very sad,” said Onyegbule who knew she would meet officials from her country once she entered Poland.

“It would have been very useful to meet them in Ukraine, when we were looking for someone to speak on our behalf,” he added with regret.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama he declared on Twitter that the Ukrainian authorities had assured him that there would be no restrictions for foreigners who wanted to leave the country and that he was personally coordinating missions in Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Romania and Hungary to bring his compatriots to safety and allow those who wanted to return to Nigeria or support those who decided to stay.

Even the President of the Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, he showed disappointment at what happened in recent days:“Everyone fleeing a conflict situation has an equal right to safe passage under the UN Convention and the color of their passport or skin should not make a difference,” he said.

“From video evidence, first-hand information and from those in contact with Nigerian consular officials, deplorable cases have emerged of Ukrainian police officers and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains headed to the border between Ukraine and Poland,” he underlined.

“A group of Nigerian students who were repeatedly refused entry into Poland had no choice but to turn back and attempt to exit the country via the border with Hungary.”

But the words of the Nigerian authorities were not enough for their compatriots in Ukraine who condemned the lack of rapid assistance and timely intervention which should have been coordinated in the weeks preceding the start of the war to prevent incidents from happening. like those that are still published on social media today.

Nneka Abigail, Nigerian medical student, he said that she was blocked by border personnel on the Ukrainian side of the border.

«They are limiting foreigners.At the border they proved to be racist.They say that Ukrainian citizens should go first and we foreigners should stay behind.It is very difficult for Nigerians and other foreigners to cross the border.Ukrainian officials allow more nationals to enter Poland.For example, for every group of Ukrainians (200 to 300) that enters, five to ten foreigners cross the border.And the wait is very long.It's really difficult...they push us, they kick us, they insult us,” Abigail explained.

The stories shared on social media, but especially on Twitter, by young Africans have sparked huge protests.

The African Union and the African Union Commission they expressed upset over the treatment of Africans fleeing Ukraine.

African member countries of the United Nations Security Council have condemned discrimination against their fellow citizens at the Ukrainian border.

“We strongly condemn racism and believe it is harmful to the spirit of solidarity that is so urgently needed today.The mistreatment of African peoples at Europe's borders must stop immediately, both for Africans fleeing Ukraine and for those crossing the Mediterranean." he said Kenya's ambassador to the UN, Martin Kimani.

Numerous crowdfunding appeals have been launched to try to help those stuck in Ukraine.

Korrine Sky, a medical student from Zimbabwe, who had moved to Ukraine in September 2021, described on social media what she called 'an apocalyptic film'.The young woman was also threatened with gunfire by Ukrainian 'vigilantes' who claimed to support the army.

For the black community, being stopped by people with firearms is terrifying in itself.In this situation – stated Sky – it is even more dramatic.

“Some locals are 'prioritizing' Ukrainians and blacks struggle to get on buses, facing hostility or being rejected at the border,” he had said to The Independent before managing to cross the border into Romania.

While he was still in Ukraine, Sky organized a fundraiser to help Afro-Caribbean students in financial difficulty get to the border by taxi.

https://twitter.com/korrinesky/status/1497589436904660992?s=20&t=-EXf_wVyzG6w_IpdX7qFQA

In the same hours, twenty-four Jamaican students who arrived in Lviv from Kharkiv by train were forced to walk twenty kilometers to the border with Poland.The country's foreign minister, Kamina Smith, said the young people had been prevented from boarding the bus that was transporting the students to Poland.

“This is a life-or-death situation we're in.We need to make sure all Afro-Caribbean students cross the border safely,” Sky said in an Instagram live broadcast from Romania.

To date crowdfunding which he launched together with two friends from London raised more than 24,000 euros.

Some of the African refugees who tried to cross the border reported that Poland refused them asylum, while some who managed to enter Polish territory said they were denied hospitality in hotels that are reserved exclusively for Ukrainians.

“Black Africans are treated with racism and contempt in Ukraine and Poland.The West cannot ask African nations to stand in solidarity if it fails to show us respect, which is essential even in times of war.Ignored during the pandemic and left to die in war?It's unacceptable." he wrote on Twitter Ayoade Alakija, special correspondent of the World Health Organization (WHO).

But government officials and officials of Ukraine and Poland they said all refugees were welcome, denying reports of pushbacks, adding that Border Police were working on hundreds of thousands of cases.

Poland's ambassador to the United Nations, Krzysztof Szczerski, he said that his country is willing to welcome all foreign students who attended universities in Ukraine and invited them to continue their studies in Poland.

Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashenko denied this – as reported by the New York Times – that your country is hindering the departure of foreigners.

“It's very simple,” he specified.«First let's let the women and children go.Foreign men have to wait for them to pass first.Then we will get them all out without problems," he added.“The same reasoning applies to blacks.”

A Nigerian doctor, Chineye Mbagwu, who managed to reach Warsaw by crossing the border after spending more than two days stuck at the Polish-Ukrainian border in the town of Medyka, while guards let Ukrainians in and blocked foreigners, gave a 'other version.

«They say to give priority to women and children and then they let the Ukrainian men pass.And every time a black woman tried to do it, they said, "Our women first."AND he continued:«The Ukrainian border guards wouldn't let us in.They beat people with sticks and tore their jackets.They slapped them, beat them and pushed them to the back of the line.It was terrible."

Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the Border Guard Service of Ukraine, he declared at the CNN that allegations of border segregation are not true and that guards are working under enormous pressure but within the law.

«Since the day (Russian President Vladimir) Putin attacked Ukraine, the flow of individuals trying to leave the country and the war zone has increased enormously.If previously up to 50,000 people attempted to cross the border with the European Union a day, now the figure has doubled and continues to increase.There is enormous pressure at checkpoints, on border guards.To speed up the process and allow more people to pass through, the government has simplified the procedure as much as possible.Due to the increase in the number of people crossing the border, long queues form.However, I can say that everything happens according to the law.There is absolutely no division by nation, citizenship or class,” he said.

Indian students who are treated similar to that of their African colleagues also deny what was claimed by the Ukrainian authorities.

Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student from India, he shared his ordeal in a phone call from Lviv.

The girl explained that she had to pass through three checkpoints before arriving at the border with Poland and that many people had been blocked.The Indians were barred from passing.

There CNN was unable to verify who was running the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said those who were there were wearing uniforms.

Like Africans, Indians are not allowed to ride buses to the border.
Like Africans, Indians queue for hours together with citizens of other nationalities.

«They were very cruel.The second checkpoint was the worst.When the gate is opened to cross the Ukrainian border, it remains between Ukraine and Poland and the army does not allow Indian men and boys to cross it.They only allowed Indian girls to enter.We literally had to cry and beg them.After the Indian girls entered, the boys were beaten.There was no reason to beat them so cruelly,” Ijantkar said.

The student originally from Mumbai said that many students remained waiting in the open for at least a day.

«I saw people shivering so much from the cold that they were about to collapse from frostbite.Some had chilblains and blisters.We couldn't get any help and were left standing for hours,” he said.

In the end Ijantkar chose to return to Lviv because she was terrified and exhausted, no longer able to bear the too low temperatures.Without food, water and blankets even bombs are less scary.

Preview image:Al Jazeera video frame via YouTube

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