While the situation is becoming increasingly difficult between Russia and Ukraine, African nationals are currently facing a real challenge to their livelihood in Ukraine. Thousands of them are prevented from fleeing to safety and even from crossing the border after the Russian army invaded on February 24. A situation that creates a lot of frustration and a racist tendency.
It is not easy to wake up one morning to the sound of gunfire and cannon fire in a foreign country, far from one’s family, thousands of miles from home.Abandoned to themselves, without any help, Africans living in Ukraine, especially students, manage to find a way to escape military assault. Indeed, tanks, planes and warships launch in Ukraine, the largest invasion since the Second World War. The besieged cities host tens of thousands of African students studying medicine, engineering and military affairs. Countries like Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt are among the 10 countries with more students in Ukraine.
Thus, the number of students from these countries is over 16,000. What makes the situation more difficult now is that the country’s airspace is closed, so flights are not possible. Moreover, there are very few African embassies in Ukraine while attacks are increasing.
Shocking and racist treatments
“There have been unfortunate reports that Ukrainian police and security personnel are refusing to let Nigerians board buses and trains” to Poland, said Nigerian presidential spokesman Garba Shehu. “It is essential that everyone receive dignified treatment and no favors,” he insisted. Meanwhile, many Ukrainians are fleeing to the West. About 50,000 Ukrainians have left the country in less than 48 hours, according to the United Nations. On his Twitter account, Dr. Ayoade Alakija, special envoy of the World Health Organization said, “Black Africans are treated with racism and contempt in Ukraine and Poland. The West cannot ask African nations to stand in solidarity with them if they cannot show us basic respect, even in times of war. Ignored in a pandemic and left to die in war? UNACCEPTABLE”. According to several sources, foreign students are sent by the Polish authorities to the back of the queue, behind the Ukrainians. Border guards reportedly explain to Africans “that they have to let the Ukrainians pass first,” reports a BBC journalist who spoke to a Nigerian woman. “We’ve been here for three days, it’s not fair!” sighed one young man.
Clayson Monyela, a spokesman for the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, said Africans were being “mistreated” at the Ukraine-Poland border and that the South African ambassador had gone there to help a group of stranded South Africans, mostly students, enter Poland. However, Poland’s ambassador to Nigeria, Joanna Tarnawska, denied the accusation, saying: “Everyone receives equal treatment. I can assure you that, according to the information I have, some Nigerian nationals have already crossed the border into Poland,” she told local media. She did not fail to mention that Nigerians have 15 days to leave the country.
So far, more than 260 Nigerians have been received by the embassies. The others are scattered among Romania, Hungary and Poland. “We assure Nigerians that all resources are mobilized and arrangements are in place to effectively evacuate our citizens in safety and dignity,” said Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama
Some states announce measures
The Ghanaian state said it would meet with the parents of students stranded in Ukraine. The government has also sent embassy officials to border crossings to assist its citizens. As for Nigeria, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has communicated the points on the border with Slovakia that were open to Nigerian nationals. Likewise, he passed on telephone numbers of personnel who are to assist hundreds of students who are trying to leave Ukraine for Poland and Hungary. Ivory Coast, which has about 500 nationals in Ukraine according to local media, also said it was making arrangements for their evacuation. With regard to the citizens of Mali, the government affirms its concern to help its compatriots trying to leave Ukraine. This was announced in a statement issued on Sunday. According to the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 201 Kenyans are in Ukraine, mostly students. He said last week that they were all safe, although some are still stuck at the Polish border due to visa restrictions.
The African Union and ECOWAS raise the tone
In addition, the African Union (AU) held a statement on February 28 in Addis Ababa on the situation of African nationals stranded in Ukraine. The AU is “particularly concerned” that Africans “would be denied the right to cross the border from Ukraine. Macky Sall, President of Senegal and the AU, and Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the Commission, together recall that “every person has the right to cross borders during a conflict and should enjoy the same rights regardless of their nationality or racial identity. And therefore it is necessary to recognize this prescription.
A day before the AU statement, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) strongly condemned the Russian military invasion and called on both sides to end the fighting and resort to dialogue. In its statement, the organization called on both sides to ensure the safety of nationals of all its member states living in Ukraine.
