Joseph, Eric and Francis were three Nigerian students, among tens of thousands of people who crossed from Ukraine to Poland on Monday.The three students confirmed their journey through Ukraine more difficult because of their skin tone.
In an interview with a DW correspondent in the Polish border town of Korskova, Joseph, a computer engineering student, said: "We have faced a lot of discrimination..In fact, we had to beg for people to take us to the border so that we could find a way to escape..
The three students were not alone who complained of discrimination, as a number of Africans who tried to escape from Ukraine after the invasion of Russia last Thursday said that they faced problems in moving between buses or trains to the borders of Ukraine because they were from blacks.
On social media, a number of people of non -European nationalities have published what they said are positions that they were exposed to that Poland rejected black people with blacks from Africans and even some Arabs fleeing from Ukraine.But the government in Warsaw denied these news and described it as "fake news".
"Racist classification"
Others say that once they reach the border crossings, the Ukrainian border guards give the Ukrainians and send others (the majority of them from African countries), to the back of the waiting list, some of which extend for a distance of kilometers.This was the Cuadia Simyun experience from Ivory Coast.
Simon, a newly graduated young man who was studying in the northeastern city of Kharkif, who was bombed, said that his friends had traveled more than 1000 km west through the country to the Ukrainian city of Lviv and from there to a village about 75 km from the city of Lviv on the border with Poland..
Simyun continued, saying that they were able to ride a bus, but they were only ten kilometers from the town..."We walked more than 65 km in very cold temperatures.".
When they arrived, Ukrainian officials did not allow them to pass to the Polish border center."The situation near the Polish border is very difficult," Simyoun says.."We arrived today, but foreigners are not allowed to cross the borders, which means that we will remain here in the cold," he added..
Nigerian medical student, Sarah Agifa Edatusa, 19, told DW that she and her older sister, who was studying medicine in Ukraine as well, managed to escape from the capital Kyiv and arrived safely to Poland on Sunday.
"During the trip, it was fine until we reached the Ukrainian border.There was a long queue, and we spent a whole day on the border..
She added that when the bus was descended and passed by passports, they were allowed to continue walking to the Polish border.When the Russian military operation began, Idasaba told DW that she and her older sister, who was also studying in Ukraine, were "in a state of panic" because they did not know how they would be able to leave the country and return to the homeland.
Complaints from Arabs and Africans have escalated about the racism of racism with them on the basis of race and nationality on the Ukrainian border
No complaints about racism
Christina Lesnak-Mogazuk is a Polish lady working at the University of Raziszo in the southeast of the country..She says: "We work with universities in Ukraine.So I got immediate information stating that students could not travel to their countries of origin in wartime, so they went to the nearest borders..
She adds: "We know that there are miles of traffic jams on the roads leading to the borders.There are a lot of students who came from very far -long countries, and therefore a whole group was formed, some of whom went 30 kilometers to face new obstacles in front of the border..While the Ukrainians were sometimes allowed to pass without passports, the authorities faced a more difficult situation with foreigners..
Some students told the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborzca that they were forced to leave the queues and insult;While taxi drivers deceived them, and that all of this apparently continued for days, so that students start the border to send their desperate messages to the world via the Internet, to show quickly different stories about the refusal to cross the people of brown and non -Europeans to the borders, which are the stories that the Polish leadership rejectedAs "fake news".
For his part, Polish border guards spokesman Piotr Zikilars said that "all those fleeing the war are allowed to cross the border to Poland..In the case of some foreigners, the border guards must act separately according to their legal duties, but no one is deported to Ukraine."
Lesnak-Mogazuk confirms that none of the students informed her that the problems they were exposed to were on a racist background.But she believes that the authorities have had difficulty dealing with "strangers" - especially since Ukrainian men are not allowed to leave the country at all.According to press reports, there were more problems on the Ukrainian side of the border than they are on the Polish side.
"Racism" comments in the media
The statements of the African students and citizens came at a time when several comments were issued described as racism by European correspondents and journalists in the Russian military operation in Ukraine..
The media and political comparisons between the Middle East, which used to conflicts, and the "civilized" war, did not pass, the honorable passed by Arab commentators on social media, who saw in it a "racist" approach..
There were many examples of these statements in French and American channels and British newspapers, which prompted many known media to publish public apologies to calm anger on the communication sites.
An example of this is a comment made by Charlie Dagata, the special delegate of the American CBS News channel to Ukraine, where he said in a direct message, "With my sincere respect, this is not a place like Iraq and Afghanistan who knew decades of wars.It is a relatively civilized city, relatively European (...Where we are not waiting for a similar order to happen..
However, the next day he expressed his apology and his regret for his words.But the damage had already happened.
The director of the Iraq program in "Atatnik Countsel" wrote in a tweet, "Perhaps (Charlie Dagata) missed the class in which his colleagues learned to the secondary that the other name of Iraq is the cradle of civilizations.".
Al -Jazeera English did not escape from these lapses as well, as it was forced to apologize on Sunday because of the "allergic -free" statements made by a broadcaster about Ukrainian refugees..This broadcaster commented, "The clothes they wear, it was found that they are from an affordable middle class, they are inevitably not refugees fleeing from areas witnessing a war in the Middle East."."They resemble any European family, they may live in your neighborhood," he added..
"We are not talking here about Syrians fleeing the bombing of the Syrian regime, backed by Vladimir Putin....But for Europeans, they run away with their cars that resemble our cars...And they try to survive their lives..
In response to France Presse, the channel said that the journalist formulated "his words in a reckless manner, but he went out of his context on social media, which led to the mistake that he is defending a opposite position for the one who wanted to show, and he is so sorry.".
A number of people who came from African countries complained of racist transactions on the Ukrainian border
The controversial statements not only depended on journalists and media professionals, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine blew up a wave of racist statements made by a number of European officials recently, including what was stated by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kirill Betkov, who said that the Ukrainian refugees are "not the refugees that Europe used to"...These are "smart and educated people, some of whom are specialized in information technology and they are highly qualified.".
African discomfort
For its part, the African Union expressed its annoyance with the reports that African citizens on the Ukrainian side of the border are deprived of the right to cross the safe international borders..
The current president of the African Union and the President of the Republic of Senegal Makki Sal, and the President of the African Union Commission, Musa Faki Mohamed, stressed in a statement that all people have the right to cross international borders during the conflict, stressing the need to enjoy the same rights to cross to the safe international borders regardless of their nationality orTheir ethnic identity.
The statement stated that the reports that Africans targeted a different, unacceptable treatment and represent racism in a shocking way and violated international law, calling on everyone to respect international law and express the same sympathy and support for all people fleeing the war regardless of their ethnic identity.
It is noteworthy that approximately 75,000 foreigners study in Ukraine, a quarter of them Africans, the majority of whom are from Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria and Ghana.Many are attracted to the country's good reputation and technology colleges in the country along with relatively low tuition fees.
welcome everybody"
It is known that Ukraine has a transit system without a visa with the neighboring European Union countries, which means that the Ukrainians can cross the borders without the need to obtain a valid visa or additional documents, and this matter has facilitated the Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of departure.
Usually, people from African countries must apply for a Schengen visa to enter the European Union member states such as Poland, Romania and Hungary.
The European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Elva Johansson, explained that the borders were also open to people from third countries living in Ukraine and want to travel to their countries of origin, adding: "These people must be helped.".
Moreover, those who need protection in the European Union can also apply for asylum.
From Poland- Max Zander/Bon- Mahmoud Hussein