As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, foreign students who try to leave the country say they face discrimination against Ukrainian security forces and border officials.
An African medical student told that he and other foreigners were ordered to board a public bus at a checkpoint between the Ukraine-Poland border.
They were told to stand on the sidewalk as the bus was traveling only for Ukrainians, he said.
Rachel Onyegbule, a Nigerian student who is doing her first year of medical school in Lviv, has been left stranded in the border town of Shehyni, about 250 miles [400 km] from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
“More than 10 buses arrived and we watched everyone go. We thought that after taking all the Ukrainians would take us, but they told us we had to go on foot, they said there were no more buses and they told us to go on foot.”
“My body was numb from the cold and we haven’t slept for about 4 days now. The people of Ukraine are always ahead of Africans – men and women – all the time. We don’t have to ask why. We know why. I want to get home,” he said. Onyegbule told CNN on the phone Sunday as he waited for a line at the border to cross over to Poland.
Onyegbule said he was finally stamped with his exit letter on Monday morning at around 4.30am local time.
Allegations of violence
Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student in India, also shared his grief with CNN on Monday by phone from Lviv, western Ukraine.
“There are three checkpoints we have to go through to get to the border. Many people are trapped there. They do not allow Indians to pass.
CNN could not confirm who or what the organizations were working on the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said they were all wearing uniforms.
They allowed only 30 Indians after the entry of 500 Ukrainians. To get to this border you need to walk 4 to 5 miles from the first to the second checkpoint. Ukrainian people are provided with taxis and buses to travel, all other nations have to travel on foot. They were very prejudiced against Indians and other tribes, ‘”the 22-year-old from Mumbai told CNN.
He added that he had witnessed violence from security guards at students waiting near the Ukrainian border at Shehyni-Medyka.
Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave the country, but the law does not extend to foreign men.
Ijantkar says he saw Indian men left in long lines with other non-Ukrainian tribes.
“They were very cruel. The second checkpoint was very bad. When they opened the gate for you to cross the Ukrainian border, you live between Ukraine and Poland, Ukrainian soldiers do not allow Indian men and boys to cross when you cross. “Once the Indian girls have come in, the boys have been brutally beaten. There is no reason for them to beat us so badly,” said Ijantkar.
“I saw an Egyptian standing in front of me with his hands on the track, so a security guard pushed him hard, the man hit a fence full of nails, and he fainted,” he said. .
“We took him out to give him CPR. They just ignored him and beat the students, they didn’t give me two hoots, only the people of Ukraine,” he added.
CNN contacted Ukrainian troops about allegations of violence, but did not respond immediately.
Cold conditions
Ijantkar said many students waited for at least a day, but eventually returned to Lviv because of a panic attack, waiting in the cold for food, water, and blankets.
“I saw people shivering in the cold, falling due to hypothermia. Some had snow and blisters. We couldn’t get help and (then) stood for hours,” he said.
Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, told CNN on Monday that allegations of border discrimination were untrue and that security guards were working under heavy pressure at the border – but within the law.
“Since the day when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin invaded Ukraine, the influx of people trying to leave Ukraine and the war zone has increased dramatically. Up to 50,000 (people) a day, now the number has doubled and continues to grow. large checkpoints, border guards.
“In order to speed up the process and allow more people to cross, the government has simplified the cross-border process as much as possible. Due to the increase in cross-border population, people have to stay longer. Queues. , or sections at the border, “Demchenko said.
Ukraine attracts many foreign students who want to study medicine because it has a strong reputation for medical and study – and some costs are much lower than in other Western programs.
Another needy student told CNN on Sunday that border officials on the Ukrainian side showed discrimination against foreign students.
“They reduced the number of foreigners. .
“It is very difficult at the moment for Nigerians and other foreigners to cross. Ukrainian authorities allow more Ukrainians to cross into Poland. For example, about 200 to 300 Ukrainians can cross, and then 10 or 5 immigrants “They will only be allowed to cross… and for a very long time. It ‘s really hard.
Africans have been sharing their experiences online using the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine. Their stories have prompted an outcry and a number of crowdfunding appeals have been launched to try help those stranded in the country.
One of those who shared their story online was Korrine Sky, a Zimbabwean medical student who had been studying in Ukraine since September.
He fled the country on Friday but, with the help of two London-based friends, was able to raise more than £ 20,000 ($ 26,800) to help needy Afro-Caribbean students.
“The situation we are in is a state of life or death. We need to make sure that all African students cross the border successfully and safely,” he said, speaking on Instagram Live from the Romanian side of the border on Sunday. .
About 500,000 migrants from Ukraine have so far crossed into neighboring European countries, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday.
Are local countries doing enough to help their citizens?
Some of CNN’s spokespersons said they did not blame the Ukrainian authorities for putting their citizens first but rather their governments for not making arrangements to help them leave the country.
“The Nigerian government is a reckless person,” Onyegbule said.
“There are many of us in Ukraine. They will not just leave us like this. It is very sad but we have become accustomed to mistreatment in Nigeria. It is very sad.”
Onyegbule admitted that Nigerian officials were waiting to meet him and others after he crossed into Poland.
“It would be very helpful in Ukraine, we were looking for someone to speak for us there.”
Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Twitter that Ukrainian authorities had assured him that there were no restrictions on foreigners seeking to leave Ukraine.
“The problem is the result of unrest at the border and the checkpoints that lead to it,” he said, adding that he “directly links our work to Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Romania and Hungary to ensure that we deport our citizens to Ukraine again.” in Ukraine. “
African countries in the UN Security Council have condemned the discrimination against African citizens at the Ukrainian border at the UNSC summit at UN HQ in New York City.
“We strongly condemn this discrimination and believe it undermines the spirit of unity that is urgently needed today. he said on Monday.
Onyegbule, a first-year doctoral student, said he was attracted to study in Ukraine because he wanted a “safer and cheaper way outside of Nigeria.”
“Usually living in Ukraine was peaceful, a beautiful country. Sometimes on trams, people don’t want to sit next to you and stare at you but in general, the people of Ukraine are good people,” he said.