ABUJA —
Nigeria, South Africa, and other
African governments scrambled on Monday to
help their citizens escape the Russian invasion in Ukraine after reports of
racist and unfair treatment of Africans at border crossings.
اضافة اعلان
Africans in Ukraine, many of them students,
are among hundreds of thousands of people trying to flee into Poland and other
neighbors.
Nigeria on Monday urged border officials in
Ukraine and elsewhere to treat its citizens equally.
“There have been unfortunate reports of
Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board
buses and trains heading towards the Ukraine-Poland border,” said presidential
advisor Garba Shehu in a statement.
Shehu referenced a video on social media
where a Nigerian mother with a young baby was filmed being physically forced to
give up her seat.
He said there are also reports of Polish
officials refusing Nigerian citizens entry into
Poland from Ukraine.
“It is paramount that everyone is treated with dignity and without
favor,” said Shehu.
“All who flee a conflict situation have the
same right to safe passage under
UN Convention and the color of their passport
or their skin should make no difference.”
A group of South Africans, mostly students,
were stuck at the Ukrainian-Polish border, the country’s foreign ministry
spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said on Twitter.
The South African ambassador to Warsaw was at
the site trying to get them through, according to Monyela who on Sunday had
said Africans were being “treated badly” at the Polish-Ukraine border.
‘Kept
outside’
Poland’s
ambassador to Nigeria
Joanna Tarnawska dismissed claims of unfair
treatment.
“Everybody receives equal treatment. I can
assure you that I have reports that already some Nigerian nationals have
crossed the border into Poland,” she told local media.
She said Nigerians could stay for 15 days.
Even invalid documents were being accepted to cross the border and
COVID-19restrictions were lifted, she added.
Some Nigerians who made it across the borders
described frightening journeys in the dark to reach traffic-packed frontiers
where they were made to wait as officials gave priority to Ukrainian women and
children.
Stephanie Agekameh, a medical student now in
Poland, said officials at the Medyka border crossing were responding first to
Ukrainians.
“One of the officers came and told us it’s
harder for us foreigners because they have to get in touch with our government
in different countries,” she said by text message.
Speaking from Korczowa in Poland, Nigerian managerial
sciences student Agantem Moshe, said Ukrainian police had pushed Africans out
of the way to make way for women and children.
“From the Polish side it was smooth, they
were professionals. In Ukraine, they kept us outside in the cold,” he said.
The UN said that more than half a million
refugees from Ukraine had so far crossed into neighboring countries.
Nigeria’s embassy in Bucharest said it had
received 130 Nigerians from Ukraine. Another 74 were accounted for in
Budapest,
where 200 more were expected on Monday, the foreign ministry said.
Another 52 had arrived in Warsaw with another
23 being processed.
“We assure Nigerians that all hands are on
deck and arrangements are being put in place to effectively evacuate our
citizens,” Nigerian official Gabriel Aduda said in a statement.
‘Priority
to Ukrainians’
Ghana’s
government said it would meet with parents of students stuck in Ukraine on
Tuesday and sent embassy officials to border points to help.
DR Congo Foreign Minister
Christophe Lutundula said on Twitter he would meet with the Polish ambassador to help with
the passage across the border of about 200 Congolese, mostly students.
Ivory Coast, which according to state media
has 500 nationals in Ukraine, said it was also making arrangements for their
evacuation.
Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry said last
week around 200 Kenyans were safe and accounted for but that some were stuck at
the Polish border because of visa restrictions.
Nigerian accountant Lukmon Busari was
relieved his son, a fourth-year medical student, was already out after waiting
for a day on the Polish border.
“Initially they didn’t allow them to move as
they gave priority to Ukrainians, to women and children. Eventually they
allowed them into Poland,” Busari told AFP by telephone.
“According to him, the Polish authorities did
a marvelous job. He left on Thursday and got to the border on Thursday night,
and he got into Poland on Friday.”
His son was currently resting in Poland
before coming home.
“We are seeing how we can clear a flight for him to come
back to Nigeria.”
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