Foreign students fleeing Ukraine face racism and segregation

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, foreign students trying to leave the country say they are experiencing racism from Ukrainian security forces and border officials.

An African medical student told CNN that she and other foreigners were forced to get off the public transport bus at a checkpoint between the Ukrainian and Polish border.

They were told to stand aside as the bus departed with only Ukrainian nationals on board, she says.

Rachel Onyegbule, another Nigerian first-year medical student in Lviv, was stranded in the border town of Shehyni, about 643.7 kilometers from Ukraine’s capital Kiev.

she told the CNN: “more than 10 buses arrived and we were watching everyone leave. We thought that after they took all the Ukrainians they would take us, but they told us that we had to walk, that there were no more buses and they told us to walk.”

“My body was numb from the cold and we haven’t slept in about 4 days. Ukrainians were prioritized over Africans – men and women – at every point. There is no need to ask why. We know why. I just want to get home,” Onyegbule said as he waited in line at the border to cross into Poland.

She stamped her exit document on Monday morning around 4:30 am local time.

allegations of violence

Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student from India, also shared his annoyance with the CNN on Monday by phone from Lviv, western Ukraine.
“There are three checkpoints we need to go through to get to the border. A lot of people are stuck there. They don’t allow the Indians to pass.

THE CNN was unable to confirm the identities or affiliations of the people who operated the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said they all wore uniforms.

“They allowed 30 Indians only after 500 Ukrainians entered. To reach this border, it is necessary to walk 4 to 5 kilometers from the first checkpoint to the second. Ukrainians are given taxis and buses to travel, all other nationalities have to walk. They were very racist towards Indians and other nationalities,” said the 22-year-old from Mumbai.

She added that she witnessed the violence of guards towards students waiting on the Ukrainian side of the Shehyni-Medika border. Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave the country, but this decree does not extend to foreign men.

Ijantkar says he has seen Indian men being left in lines for long hours along with other non-Ukrainian nationalities.

“They were very cruel. The second checkpoint was the worst. When they opened the gate for you to cross the Ukrainian border, you are between Ukraine and Poland, the Ukrainian army does not allow Indian men and boys to cross… they only allow Indian women to enter. We had to literally cry and beg at their feet. After the Indian women entered, the boys were beaten. There was no reason for them to beat us with such cruelty,” said Ijantkar.

“I saw an Egyptian man standing in front with his hands on the tracks, and because of that a guard pushed him so hard and the man hit the fence, which is covered in thorns, and he lost consciousness,” he added. we took him outside for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They just didn’t care and were hitting the students, they didn’t give a damn about us, just the Ukrainians.”

THE CNN contacted the Ukrainian army in light of allegations of violence but had no immediate response.

freezing conditions

Ijantkar stated that many of the students waited at least a day, but she ended up returning to Lviv because she was terrified, waiting in freezing temperatures without food, water or blankets.

“I saw people shivering so terribly in the cold, they were passing out from hypothermia. Some have frostbite and blisters. We couldn’t get help and were on our feet for hours,” she said.

Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, told CNN on Monday (28) that the allegations of segregation at the borders are false and that the guards are working under enormous pressure at the borders – but they are working within the law.

since the day that [o presidente russo Vladimir] Putin attacked Ukraine, the flow of people trying to leave Ukraine and the war zone increased tremendously. up to 50 thousand [pessoas] per day.

“To speed up the process and allow more people to cross, the government has simplified the border crossing procedure as much as possible. However, I can say that everything happens according to the law. There is absolutely no division by nation, citizenship or class at the border,” Demchenko said.

Ukraine attracts many foreign students who want to study medicine because it has a strong reputation for medical courses and tuition – and other expenses are much lower than programs in other Western nations.

Another retained student told the CNN on Sunday that border officials on the Ukrainian side of the border were showing prejudice against foreign students.

“They are depriving foreigners. They are being very racist to us at the border. They tell us Ukrainian citizens have to pass first while they tell foreigners to stay behind,” said Nneka Abigail, a 23-year-old medical student from Nigeria.

“It is very difficult at the moment for Nigerians and other foreigners to cross. Ukrainian authorities are allowing more Ukrainians to cross into Poland. For example, about 200 to 300 Ukrainians can cross, and then only 10 foreigners or 5 will be able to cross… and the time duration is very long. It’s very difficult… they push us, they kick us, they insult us,” Abigail said.

Africans have been sharing their experiences online using the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine. Their stories sparked protests and several crowdfunding appeals were launched to try to help those stranded in the country.

One of the people who shared her story online is Korrine Sky, a medical student from Zimbabwe who has been studying in Ukraine since September. She fled the country on Friday, but with the help of two friends from London, she managed to raise more than €20,000 ($26,800) to help stranded Afro-Caribbean students.

“This situation we are in is a life or death situation. We need to ensure that all African students cross the border successfully and safely,” he said on Instagram Live from the Romanian side of the border on Sunday.

Some 500,000 refugees from Ukraine have so far crossed into neighboring European countries, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday.

Are home countries doing enough to help their citizens?

Some of those with whom CNN spoke said they do not blame the Ukrainian authorities for prioritizing their citizens, but blame their own governments for failing to take steps to help them leave the country.

The “Nigerian government is being its usual disinterest,” Onyegbule said.

“There are many of us in Ukraine. They can’t leave us like this. It is very sad, but we are used to bad governance in Nigeria. Is very sad.” Onyegbule acknowledged that there were Nigerian officials waiting to meet her and others as she crossed into Poland.

“It would have been so helpful in Ukraine, we were looking for someone to speak on our behalf there.”

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Twitter that Ukrainian authorities had assured him that there were no restrictions on foreigners wishing to leave Ukraine.

“The problem is the result of the chaos at the border and the checkpoints leading to them,” he said, adding that he “is personally coordinating our missions in Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Romania and Hungary to ensure that we get our citizens out of Ukraine and bring back to Nigeria those who are ready to return while supporting those who remain in Ukraine.

THE CNN contacted Onyeama to comment on allegations that the Nigerian government has not done enough to help its citizens leave Ukraine.

African nations on the UN Security Council on Monday condemned discrimination against African nationals on the Ukrainian border during a UNSC meeting at UN Headquarters in New York.

“We strongly condemn this racism and believe it is harmful to the spirit of solidarity that is so urgently needed today. The ill-treatment of African people at the borders of Europe must stop immediately, whether for Africans fleeing Ukraine or for those crossing the Mediterranean,” Kenyan UN Ambassador Martin Kimani said on Monday.

Onyegbule, the first-year medical student, said she was drawn to study in Ukraine because she was looking for a “safe and cheap option outside Nigeria”.

“Usually, living in Ukraine has been peaceful, it’s a beautiful country. Sometimes on trams people don’t want to sit next to you and stare at you, but usually Ukrainians are nice people,” she said.