NEW YORK (Dispatches) - Non-European refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have faced discrimination when trying to enter neighboring countries, the United Nations has said
Claims that Black, south Asian and Mediterranean people escaping intensified shelling were blocked from crossing the border to Poland by security officials were initially dismissed as ‘Russian disinformation’ on social media.
But videos shared on Twitter showed African and Caribbean students and families being pushed away from boarding buses and trains heading out of Ukraine.
Filippo Grandi, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, confirmed ‘there has been a different treatment’ during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Independent reported.
He said: ‘You have seen reports in the media that there are different treatments – with Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians.
‘Now our observations, and we possibly cannot observe every single post yet – but our observations is that these are not state policies – but there are instances which it has happened.
‘There should be absolutely no discrimination between Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, Europeans and non-Europeans. Everyone is fleeing from the same risks.’
The latest figures show that 520,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries – but that number is rising by the hour.
The UN said earlier that more than 280,000 have fled to Poland, 94,000 to Hungary, nearly 40,000 in Moldova, 34,000 in Romania, 30,000 in Slovakia and tens of thousands in other European countries.
Foreign students, mainly Indians and Africans, attempting to leave Ukraine have also said they are experiencing racist treatment by Ukrainian security forces and border officials. One African medical student said she and other foreigners were ordered off the public transit bus at a checkpoint between Ukraine and Poland border. They were told to stand aside as the bus drove off with only Ukrainian nationals on board, she said.
The treatment of many non-European refugees has received global condemnation from figures like Sadiq Khan and Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Buhari revealed that one group of Nigerian students, who had been repeatedly refused entry into Poland, were forced to travel again across Ukraine and attempt to exit the country via the border with Hungary.
‘There is a long history dating back to decades of Nigerians and other Africans studying in Ukraine, particularly medicine’, the president said in a lengthy thread on Twitter.
‘The majority of Nigerian citizens in the country today are university-enrolled students.