Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, almost 1.8 million refugees have fled the war. According to UNHCR, 14,000 have arrived in Italy. Compounding the already desperate situation were complaints of discriminatory treatment of foreigners living in Ukraine by the Ukrainian and Polish authorities. The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch has collected the testimonies of hundreds of foreigners in Ukraine, mostly from international students.
According to the complaint, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly blocked the escape route to African, Indian and Asian foreigners trying to cross the border to Poland
“The police got on the train and pulled and pushed me. He asked me if I was going to Lviv or Poland. I said Poland and they told me to get out,” testifies a Nigerian student who, along with 20 other foreign people, was forced to get off the train by Ukrainian law enforcement.
People seem to be prevented from escaping on the basis of physical characteristics, such as skin color. Rugiatu Faith Maxey is an African American citizen who was in Ukraine to visit her boyfriend. She reported the abnormal behavior of the driver of the bus on which she was traveling, who announced “All blacks must get off the bus.” She was able to stay on the bus thanks to the protests of passengers, both Black and Ukrainian: “In the end we managed to pass through together with the Ukrainians,” she says. “But we really had to fight for it, and it was helpful that I was American because I was able to get the embassy involved.”
Ukraine has long been a destination for students and migrants from all over the world. According to government data, in 2020 there were 80 thousand international students present in the country, mainly from India, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Nigeria. These students now find themselves in a desperate situation, looking for a way out of a war zone.
African Union and United Nations concerned about discriminatory treatment in Ukraine
On 28 February, the African Union issued a statement expressing concern and disturbance at discrimination against African citizens fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. The African Union calls the different treatment of African citizens “outrageously racist and in violation of international refugee law.”
On March 3, the United Nations also admitted discriminatory treatment of black and foreign people at the Polish border. The UN declares:
Several individual and media complaints report that the operation of trains, buses, as well as the borders themselves, aims to deny or delay freedom of movement to people of African descent until all white migrants and asylum seekers have been rescued. Others have pointed to ongoing measures to force people of African descent to go to the end of the queues [of fleeing people forming at the borders]
The statements of the Nigerian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers
On March 1, Nigerian Foreign Minister Onyeama said he had contacted the Ukrainian and Polish authorities about the need to ensure Nigerians in Ukraine cross the border. Ukrainian Minister Kuleba said: “Africans seeking evacuation are our friends and need equal opportunities to return to their country safely. The Ukrainian government spares no effort to resolve this issue.” He added that Ukraine is aware of the problems at the border and that it has taken steps to ensure that foreign residents leave the country. For this purpose, an emergency telephone line has been set up for foreign students who want to leave Ukraine.
A new international coalition of lawyers against racism
Due to numerous complaints of segregation, racism and abuse in Ukraine, such as the forced removal of Black women and children from trains to Poland, an international coalition of human rights activists and lawyers announced on Wednesday that it had filed an appeal with the United Nations on behalf of African refugees suffering racial discrimination in Ukraine and Poland. Civil rights lawyer Jasmine Rand, representative of George Floyd’s family and a member of the coalition, told the press:
Foreign refugees in Ukraine face a war caused by Russia and a second war provoked by racism because of the color of their skin. We are here today because Black Lives Matter is valid both in times of war and in times of peace
India’s statements and the EU’s silence
During a session of the UN General Assembly, the Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations said: “We call for safe and uninterrupted passage for all Indian citizens, including our students, especially from Kharkiv and other conflict zones.”
In all this, the silence of the European Union is deafening , as it has made no statement regarding the serious discriminatory treatment carried out on its territory. Human Rights Watch insists on the need for the European Commission to make it clear to the Ukrainian authorities that all non-Ukrainian citizens have the right of access to EU territories to benefit from temporary protection, including for safe passage or repatriation to their countries of origin.
Translated by Adam Clark
