LOS ANGELES (KNX) – As Ukrainians evacuate amid the second week of Russia’s unprovoked assault on their country, Nigeria and South Africa scrambled to help Black residents they say were left stranded or barred from boarding transportation in favor of white residents.
Poland, where many evacuees are headed, and Ukraine have both denied the reported racism. The outcry has specifically come from the African community, with many sharing their situation on social media and with news outlets.
The situation is unfolding under the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine. One of the videos, posted by John Mwipili, shows an officer shoving a Black woman to allow another woman – who appeared to be white – to board.
In a series of tweets, Damilare Arah shared several videos of the alleged behavior. In the threads, the actions seemingly against Africans range from blocking them from boarding trains to large groups left behind, huddled together awaiting transport.
One woman in Kharkiv interviewed on eNCA Today said she’s struggling to get to Poland for “visa free entry.”
“We are not given any form of transportation. All the forms of transportation available right now are prioritizing Ukrainian citizens which leaves us at an imposition where we can’t even get transportation for ourselves," she told the network.
Korrine Sky, a British-Zimbabwean medical student who lives in Ukraine, fled to Romania and shared the segregation she says she witnessed on Instagram.
“There’s been a lot of segregation and racism from the people who’ve managed to actually get to the passport control. It seems there is a hierarchy of Ukrainians first, Indians second, Africans last,” Sky explained.
Across her social media, Sky shared a video from the Romanian border where she said a man continuously circled her car. The Black expat also alleged local Ukrainians threatened to hurt them for attempting to pass. The British Embassy helped her, contacting the Ukrainian Embassy to allow them to enter the Romanian border.
Aljazeera, an international news outlet, interviewed multiple African students, including a Nigerian medical student named Lolade Lawal, who said she was sheltered in a bunker with other students in Sumy.
“It is scary, very scary. I’m very worried. People are running for their lives. We are hiding in groups so we can keep an eye on each other,” she told the outlet.
Another student, Somto Orah told the outlet they’ve received “no support from any government authorities,” while Samuel George said he tried to evacuate Kyiv when he got into an accident with a car carrying Ukranians. George said the people in the other car “took his money” and stopped him.
“They are not officials, police or military. They are normal citizens who stopped us Africans from driving to the border. They let Ukrainians pass through but not us,” he told the outlet.
France24 interviewed multiple people regarding this situation, including Moustapha Bagui Sylla, a student from Guinea.
“They stopped us at the border and told us that Blacks were not allowed. But we could see White people going through,” he told the outlet.
That same outlet spoke with spokespeople for both Ukrainian and Polish border guards after Bagui Sylla told the outlet that he had been told by Ukrainian border guards that they were following orders from the Polish. The spokespeople on both sides denied this, as well as allegations of racial discrimination.
Many African officials have weighed in, including Geoffrey Onyeama, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria. Onyeama wrote in a series of tweets Sunday that he spoke with Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine, and “expressed concern at the news of Ukrainian border guards hindering the exit of Nigerian citizens.”
Onyeama went on to say that Kuleba replied, saying he would investigate. But when he reached back out to Onyeama, he simply said "It’s official: no restrictions for foreign nationals to leave the country exist. Problem is the result of chaos on the border and check points leading to them.”
Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s Head of Diplomacy also weighed in on Twitter, saying South African students and other Africans have been “badly treated” at the Poland border of Ukraine.
Monyela said at least two ambassadors are working to support South African Nationals as the crisis continues.
As of right now, Ukrainian officials have not publicly addressed the situation.
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