As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, foreign students trying to leave the country say they have been subjected to racist treatment by Ukrainian security forces and border guards.
Rachel Onegbule, Nigeria’s first year in medicine in Lviv, told CNN that she and other foreigners had been ordered to get off a public transport bus at a checkpoint between the Ukraine-Poland border. They were told to stay away while the bus left with only Ukrainian citizens on board, she said.
It remained stranded in the border town of Shekhini, about 400 miles from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
“More than 10 buses came and we watched everyone leave. We thought that after they took all the Ukrainians they would take us, but they told us we had to walk, there were no more buses and they told us to walk,” she said. . . “My body was numb from the cold and we haven’t slept in about four days. Ukrainians have given priority to Africans – men and women – at all times. No need to ask why. We know why. I just want to go home. “
Onyegbule said it eventually received a stamp of its release document Monday morning around 4:30 a.m. local time.
Charges of violence
Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student from India, also shared his test with CNN on Monday over a phone call from Lviv, western Ukraine.
“There are three checkpoints we have to go through to get to the border. Many people are blocked there. They do not allow Indians to cross,” she said.
CNN was unable to confirm the identity or affiliation of the people who ran the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said they were all in uniform.
“They allow 30 Indians only after 500 Ukrainians enter. To reach this limit, you must walk 4 to 5 kilometers from the first checkpoint to the second. Ukrainians are given taxis and buses to travel, all other nationalities must walk. They were very racist towards Indians and other nationalities, “the 22-year-old from Mumbai told CNN.
She added that she had witnessed security violence against students waiting on the Ukrainian side of the Shekhini-Medica border.
“I saw an Egyptian standing in front with his hands on the rails, and that’s why one of the guards pushed him so hard, and the man hit the fence, which is covered with spikes, and he lost consciousness,” she said. . “We took him outside to resuscitate him. They just didn’t care and beat the students, they didn’t deal with us, only the Ukrainians. “
CNN contacted the Ukrainian military in light of allegations of violence, but did not receive an immediate response.
Ukraine attracts many foreign students who want to study medicine because it has a strong reputation for medical courses and training – and other costs are much lower than in programs in other Western countries.
Read on full report here.