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- Thousands of African students in Ukraine found themselves trapped following Russia’s invasion.
- Some have said they have been discriminated against as they try to flee.
- They say they have been prevented from crossing the border as Ukrainian authorities prioritize “Ukrainian people.”
Reports are emerging of African students trapped in Ukraine who say they are being discriminated against as they try to flee amid Russia’s invasion.
Black people are allegedly being prevented from boarding trains and buses taking people to the borders, and some are not being permitted to cross into other countries, according to sources speaking to Insider and social media reports.
Thousands of African students live in Ukraine to study medicine and other technical fields at affordable prices.
Korrine Sky, a student in Ukraine, who helped coordinate escape routes for hundreds of African students trapped in the country, told Insider that some have struggled to get on buses heading to the border.
“Some people have gone to get buses, but they’re not allowing Black people basically onto the buses. They’re prioritizing Ukrainians. That’s what they say,” Sky said.
One African student who reached the Ukraine-Poland border wrote on Twitter that Ukrainian police and army were refusing to let Africans cross.
He shared a video that showed authorities “threatening to shoot” them.
—Nze (@nzekiev) February 27, 2022
“We are currently at the Ukraine-Poland border. Their Police and Army refused to let Africans cross they only allow Ukrainian. Some have slept here for 2 days under this scorching cold weather, while many have gone back to Lviv,” he wrote.
He previously said that he and other Africans had been removed from a train while trying to reach the border.
—Nze (@nzekiev) February 25, 2022
Video from the Ukraine-Polish border appears to show a large group of Black people, including a baby, waiting in the open in the nighttime cold at the border fence.
Other similar reports have emerged on Twitter.
BBC reporter Stephanie Hegarty tweeted a similar account of a Nigerian medical student saying that Ukrainian border guards stopped Black people from crossing into Poland, saying “they have to let ‘Ukrainians’ through first.”
—Stephanie Hegarty (@stephhegarty) February 26, 2022
—NaTHaN!! (@Kachi_Nate) February 25, 2022
Black individuals are not the only ones feeling discriminated against, as reports have emerged about Indian students in Ukraine facing similar issues at the border with Poland.
“We have been standing here in the open since midnight. It’s 8.30 now, the temp has dropped to -5° C at the Ukrainian checkpost is not letting us through, other foreigners are allowed to leave,” an Indian student said.
—Mocking Monk 🇮🇳 (@SachinS45739081) February 26, 2022
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, thousands of people have been trying to flee to neighboring central European nations.
The head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi said in a tweet this weekend that more than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled their country in less than 48 hours, mostly going to Poland and Moldova.
The US has predicted the crisis could lead to up to five million people being displaced, and Poland is preparing to take in up to one million people.
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