African, Jamaican and Black Ukrainians are reporting difficulties and discrimination as they attempt to flee Ukraine as the Russian invasions continue, according to social media reports and London-based newspaper The Independent.
Videos and stories began appearing on social media late last week, depicting Black people being left off of trains leaving the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv.
A video posted Saturday purporting to show Africans being left off of trains has been viewed 7.5 million times.
Visuals from the day #AfricansinUkraine pic.twitter.com/AdWoQz5B5I
— Damilare / ViF (@Damilare_arah) February 26, 2022
Some speculated that the videos were Russian propaganda meant to sow division and discredit the Ukrainian government. However, journalists such as BBC’s Stephanie Haggerty began confirming reports over the weekend.
Hearing from another student in Lviv this morning who says Africans are not being allowed to board trains to the border are being left on platform. Too many testimonies now to discount. #AfricansinUkraine
— Stephanie Hegarty (@stephhegarty) February 27, 2022
One African man told The Independent he was forced off of a bus just before it crossed the border and told “No Blacks.”
Medical student Korrine Sky took to Instagram live to describe the difficulty she and her associates were having in getting to Romania.
View this post on Instagram
The Jamaican Gleaner reported that 24 Jamaican students were forced to walk more than 12 miles to the Polish border after being forced off of a bus.
Twenty-four Jamaican students who yesterday arrived in L’viv, Ukraine from Kharkiv by train are now forced to walk 20 kilometres to Poland. Foreign Affairs Minister @kaminajsmith says the bus that was carrying the students to Poland was blocked by angry people. More details soon. pic.twitter.com/FANH1bwgWB
— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) February 27, 2022
Reports indicate that since Russian airstrikes began last Wednesday, more than 400,000 people have left Ukraine to neighboring Poland, Slovakia and Romania.
