As the Russian invasion rages in Ukraine, many people, including Africans, continue to flock to the borders in a desperate attempt to leave the war-ravaged country, with the African Union deploring their mistreatment.
This is an “unacceptable” attitude towards African nationals, according to Macky Sall and Moussa Faki Mahamat, respectively current Chairman of the AU and Chairman of the Commission of the pan-African organization.
Closely following developments in Ukraine, they said they were “particularly concerned about reports that African citizens on the Ukrainian side of the border are being denied the right to cross the border to safety.”
According to the Burkinabe daily Wakatsera, thousands of Africans, mainly from South Africa, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, to name but a few, are “trapped” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also by “discrimination in attempting to cross” to neighboring countries to escape rockets, shells and other heavy artillery. If they manage to cross Ukraine under the rain of bombs, it is “disillusionment” that awaits them at the borders they must cross to get away from the scene of conflict.
Faced with these reports on the “unacceptable different treatment” of Africans, the Senegalese head of state and the Chadian diplomat believe that they “would be shocking and racist and would violate international law.”
On Tuesday, the Rwandan newspaper The New Times gives a strong testimony on the hellish situation of Africans in Ukraine.
It tells “the sad story of two Rwandan sisters,” Emmanuella Kanyana and Aline Uwamahoro.
The two students are “trapped” in the town of Soumy, in northeastern Ukraine, less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border, not far from Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city and the scene of intense fighting.
“When you try to leave the city, you meet Ukrainian or Russian forces and they just tell you to go home,” says Uwamahoro.
On top of that, she is just afraid “that some racist people in Ukraine will take advantage of such a period of chaos to mistreat black people.”
“We have racist people here. And the funny thing is that a lot of people have been given weapons to fight the Russians. So there is also a risk of getting shot by racists,” she says.
As a result, Macky Sall and Moussa Faki Mahamat urge “all countries to respect international law and to show the same empathy and support for all people fleeing war, regardless of their racial identity.”
Furthermore, “the two AU top officials recall that all persons have the right to cross international borders during conflict and, as such, should have the same rights to cross the border to safety from the conflict in Ukraine, regardless of their nationality or racial identity.”
ODL/cgd/fss/as/APA