As Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, thousands of African students across the country found themselves trapped by the fighting and afraid for their safety.
Korrine Sky, a 26-year-old second-year medical student in Dnipro, told Insider that she has coordinated hundreds of African students across the country as they scramble to find a way out.
“I’m very, very afraid,” Sky said. “We’re not getting any help from any of the embassies. They have pretty much just said, ‘save yourselves.'”
Ukraine is home to thousands of African students who study medicine, engineering, and other technical fields at affordable prices compared with the rest of Europe and the United States.
Ukrainians were accused of racism on social media after clips of African students being denied entry on to a train surfaced amidst the ongoing war with Russia. Several citizens and non-citizens have fled the country following the devastating invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco are among the top 10 countries with foreign students in Ukraine, totaling more than 16,000, as per Ukraine’s education ministry.
#AfricansinUkraine
Africans taking shelter after being left stranded. Waiting for safe harbour to asylum pic.twitter.com/4MJiV24zaQ— Damilare / ViF (@Damilare_arah) February 26, 2022
“While empathetic Black people in America are donating money, advocating against the war, and praying for the people of Ukraine, Racist Ukrainians are blocking Africans from trains to escape the war-torn nation. White supremacy and anti-Blackness are global. #AfricansinUkraine,” Bishop Talbert Swan tweeted.
“Not only wouldn’t they let them on the trains, but the blocked car movement and now many are sitting in fallout shelters,” author Valerie Complex added. “You can hide in fallout shelters but not from racism. So when you pray for Ukraine, also pray that their racism and xenophobia come to an end.”
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“Any form of injustice is injustice,” Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) Secretary-General Stephen wrote. “The #Russian attack on Ukrainians is unacceptable and must stop. The same must be said of any incident(s) of #racism in Ukraine. If Africans are not allowed to board trains to Poland, that is injustice. No one chooses to be born white or black!”
“I feel sorry for Africans in Ukraine. Why block Africans from getting to the train to get out of the country? Pure racism. 😭 💔,” journalist Hesborn Etyang chimed in.
While empathetic Black people in America are donating money, advocating against the war, and praying for the people of Ukraine, Racist Ukrainians are blocking Africans from trains to escape the war torn nation.
White supremacy and anti-Blackness are global.#AfricansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/HuMcxlTLXd
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) February 27, 2022
