By JOSEPH K. MBOYA
Ukraine is a country located in Eastern Europe and the second-largest country by area after Russia in Europe. It borders Russia in the east and the northeast, also shares borders with Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the south. With a coastline along the Sea of Azov and the Black sea. As the eighth-most populous state in Europe and the nation’s largest capital is Kyiv.
This territory of modern Ukraine has been of the East Slavic culture with the loose tribal federation.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has showcased racism been a recurring part of Europe.
A study of social attitudes conducted at Harvard University from 2002 t0 2015 has mapped the countries in Europe with the highest incidents of racial bias. And the strongest racial bias was found in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Malta, Moldova, Italy, Slovakia, and Portugal.
Footages of the war and the ill attitudes melted out to blacks serve as an eye-opener to the racism discrimination meted out to black students who refuse safety from a war front by some Europeans. Thousands of African students travel to the East European country to study because of its affordable education in medicine, engineering, and other technical-related fields.
Ghanian-born Percy Ohene-Yeboah, an engineering major student told Reuters that he is currently stuck in the basement of a church in the country with nowhere to go. In which must of other Africans are facing similar suffering of the conflicts and racial discrimination by some Europeans by refusing blacks students who are legit to study in Ukraine fleeing in seeking refuge as refugee status to save their lives. Footages showing how blacks are treated are inhumane and are uncalled for under the international law to restrict people fleeing war and crises like such.
John MACDOUGALL-AFP
Statement of the African Union on the reported ill-treatment of Africans to leave Ukraine as the current Chair of the Africa Union, H.E Macky Sall, and the Chairperson of African Union Commission, H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat is following closely the development of Ukraine and are perturbed by reports that their citizens on the Ukrainian side are being refused to cross the border to safety. Commending the efforts by African Union Member State Countries and their embassies in neighboring countries to receive and orientate African citizens.
The Russia/ Ukraine war has thought the Africans that they will never be fully accepted wherever you will go. Ultimately, your full acceptance is back home. We need to work on ourselves because there’s nowhere else we will be fully accepted.
