[40]
SELECTIE AAN DE POORT: LIEVER EEN VLUCHTELING MET
BLAUWE OGEN EN BLOND HAAR
JOKE KAVIAAR
27 FEBRUARI 2022
Eerder verschenen bij Konfrontatie
De manier waarop met vluchtelingen uit Oekraïne wordt omgegaan bewijst nogmaals dat het Europese, dus ook het Neederlandse, ‘asiel’beleid racistisch is. Dat geldt ook voor de berichtgeving.
Om te beginnen dit: aan de grens tussen Polen en Belarus wordt op dit moment een 180 kilometer lange muur gebouwd, vijfenhalf meter hoog, om vluchtelingen tegen te houden [1]. Aegon en Nationale Nederlanden profiteren daarvan door te beleggen in de bouwbedrijven die dat onding neerzetten [2]. Tegen die vluchtelingen wordt ook geweld gebruikt. Er zijn al veel vluchtelingen omgekomen aan de grens Polen – Belarus. Ze komen uit landen ver hiervandaan. Ze komen niet uit Europa en dat is toch wel het minimale vereiste waaraan een vluchteling moet voldoen als het aan de Europese politiek ligt. Want ze lijken niet op ons. Ze hebben een andere huidskleur, heel eng: ze zijn niet zo bleek als wij. Empathie: nul. Berichtgeving: Mwah.. Meeleven? Stuur ze toch terug naar Afrika of het Midden-Oosten, ze horen hier niet.
De ene oorlog is de andere niet. Het ene geweld is het andere niet. Zo is geweld tegen mensen uit islamitische landen bij voorbaat toegestaan. Sommige mensenlevens zijn meer waard dan andere. Voor al die politici met kilo’s boter op hun hoofd: ga het maar eens uitleggen aan de veertienjarige Tiba uit Irak, die vastzit aan de grens Polen-Belarus, die de kapotgeschoten lijken van twee schoolvriendinnetjes zag na een bombardement [3].
Hoe anders is de omgang met (potentiële) vluchtelingen uit Oekraïne! Hoe anders reageert nu Polen, en andere omringende landen, zelfs Orban van Hongarije die vluchtelingen eerder ‘gif’ heeft genoemd, op de komst van vluchtelingen uit buurland Oekraïne: van harte welkom! [4]. U kunt nog wel ergens de grens over waar we geen muur aan het neerzetten zijn. En dat geldt voor meer lidstaten van de EU. Overigens geldt dan wel: alleen mensen uit Oekraïne! Studenten uit Afrikaanse landen komen het door oorlog getroffen Oekraïne niet uit [5]. Dat begint al als Oekraïners hen ervan weerhouden om op de trein te stappen [6]. Een student die samen met anderen, roepend “We are students!” probeert de grens over te steken vanuit Oekraïne naar Polen, filmde hoe het er aan toe gaat. “They threatened to shoot us!” TW: Heftige beelden. [7]
Hier in het veilige Neederland, ver van al het oorlogsgeweld (zolang Poetin niet daadwerkelijk met atoombommen begint te gooien [8] ) , wierp ik vanmorgen een korte blik op een TV zender waar een praatprogramma gaande was van een van die rechtse omroepen waar we mee opgezadeld zijn. Er werd gesproken over het helpen van vluchtelingen uit Oekraïne. Wat dapper en wat goed! Veel sympathie was er voor burgerinitiatieven om mensen eigenhandig op te halen. Dubbele moraal? Nogal. Ik roep even in herinnering het initiatief ‘We gaan ze halen’ die mensen van Lesbos uit Griekenland op wilden halen na de brand in kamp Moria [9]. Daarvan kon natuurlijk geen sprake zijn! Het initiatief werd ronduit neergesabeld en bespot in diezelfde media die nu zoveel waardering tonen voor al wie mensen uit Oekraïne wil bevrijden.
Je raadt het al: die mensen op Lesbos in die kampen komen niet uit Europa, het centrum van de wereld, het heiligdom van de Euro. Onze veilige haven, waar nu ineens een oorlog woedt!
Op diezelfde TV, en ook op internet trouwens, wordt je gebombardeerd met oorlogsbeelden, uit Oekraïne dus. Huilende mensen die hun huis hebben moeten verlaten. Kapotgeschoten gebouwen. Mensen die langs de weg lopen, ontredderd. Snel een camera en een microfoon erbij om een reportage te maken.
Natuurlijk moet er aandacht zijn voor zulke ellende van mensen in oorlog. Maar net zo natuurlijk kun je met je cameraploeg in Palestina gaan filmen hoe de Israëlische bezetter hetzelfde doet, of hoe Erdogan de Koerden aanvalt. Je kunt ook in Jemen de ellende van mensen gaan filmen. In Irak. Misschien was gaan filmen toen de VS tijdens al die imperialistische oorlogen huizen van mensen plat bombardeerde ook een goed idee geweest, al is het alleen maar om te laten zien dat oorlogsgeweld niet uitsluitend het domein van Poetin is. Ik roep maar wat hoor….
Maar de slachtoffers van al die andere oorlogen zijn geen mensen waarvoor de media al te veel sympathie willen wekken: stel je voor dat de ‘eigen’ bevolking de vluchtelingen die daarvandaan komen ook bereid is te verwelkomen en zich massaal gaat verzetten tegen militarisering van de grenzen, mensonterende opvang, opsluiting en deportaties. Nee, het privilege van de empathie is er alleen voor door ‘ons’ uitgekozen, liefst witte westers ogende vluchtelingen. De media doen er met graagte aan mee de geschikte vluchtelingen uit te kiezen voor mededogen. Een BBC analist * wist zijn racisme als volgt te verwoorden: “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed.” [10]
En dan waren er nog de Afghaanse vluchtelingen. Nou vooruit, wie voor ‘ons’ het leven in de waagschaal heeft gesteld, mag hier komen. We maken alleen geen haast en de opvang hier is om te janken. Dat wordt goed onder de pet gehouden maar sijpelt toch naar buiten via twitter [11], waar te lezen valt: “Afghaanse families die in 1 kamp zijn gezet met grote groep alleenstaande mannen, zonder privacy, zonder basisvoorzieningen. (…) De psychische problemen nemen toe bij zowel de kinderen als de ouders. (…) Opvang in een in onbruik geraakte test/prik-tent langs de afrit van de snelweg. (…) Een Afghaanse tolk is naar een ander land vertrokken, waar hij ook voor had gewerkt, omdat hij zo teleurgesteld was over hoe hij in Nederland behandeld werd: “There so many times I was insulted by COA staff”. En dit zijn dan nog vluchtelingen waar tenminste nog naar omgekeken werd, uit schuldgevoel of plichtsbesef weliswaar. Dit zijn mensen die hierheen gehaald zijn. Het gros van de vluchtelingen die proberen Europa te bereiken verdrinkt echter in de Middellandse Zee, zit in nog veel ergere kampen aan de buitengrenzen van Europa of is een ander akelig lot beschoren. Verschil moet er zijn, zo oordelen Mark ‘Wat-zijn-we-toch-een-gaaf-land’ Rutte en zijn Europese medeplichtigen die maar blijven investeren in grensagentschap (lees: leger) Frontex en alleen mondjesmaat vluchtelingen verwelkomen als ze verwachten dat het uit te leggen valt. Tenslotte moet er rekening gehouden worden met het ‘draagvlak’ onder de bevolking die aldus het racisme met de paplepel ingegoten krijgt.
We wisten al dat ‘asielbeleid’ geen asielbeleid is. Maar het is nog erger: het is de tactiek van verdeel en heers ook nog eens toepassen op vluchtelingen onderling. Het is racisme van het allerzuiverste water. Had ik al gezegd dat al die muren en hekken en grenzen weg moeten? Overal, en voor iedereen. En ga maar rustig slapen hoor. Indien witte, westerse Neederlanders op de vlucht moeten omdat de oorlog ook hier komt, kunnen we gerust zijn. Wij hoeven het kanaal naar Engeland in elk geval niet in rubber bootjes over te steken. Ze sturen vast wel een cruiseschip om ons op te halen…
Joke Kaviaar, 27 februari 2022
[3] https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/02/15/tibas-letter-to-the-people-of-europe/
[4] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/26/european-countries-open-borders-for-ukrainian-refugees
[6] https://twitter.com/Damilare_arah/status/1497654141350522880
[7] https://twitter.com/nzekiev/status/1497805019311218689
[9] https://wegaanzehalen.nl/terugblik-we-kunnen-niet-zwijgen-noch-opgeven/
* Dit betreft David Sakvarelidze, former Ukrainian deputy prosecutor. (Dank aan reactie op facebook)
[11] https://twitter.com/KatiPiri/status/1496574143688593411
EINDE ARTIKEL JOKE KAVIAAR
ALJAZEERA
THE NIGERIAN STUDENTS CAUGHT IN THE RUSSIAN UKRAINE WAR
27 FEBRUARY 2022
Lolade Lawal’s life has been turned upside down in a way she never imagined.
The third-year medical student from Nigeria is coming to terms with the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started last week.
“It is scary, very scary. I’m very worried. People are running for their lives. We are hiding in groups so we can keep an eye on each other,” Lawal told Al Jazeera over the phone as she sheltered with other students at a safe bunker in the northeastern city of Sumy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered what he said was a “special military operation” against Ukraine on Thursday. A full-scale invasion followed, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declaring martial law, saying his country would defend itself.
On Saturday, fighting reached the streets of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv as Russian troops pressed ahead.
According to the US military, Russia now has at least 50 percent of its estimated 150,000-strong invasion forces in Ukraine.
The conflict has so far killed more than 200 civilians, including three children. Nearly 1,100 have been injured in the conflict, including 33 children, according to Ukraine’s health ministry.
The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have been displaced within the country since the conflict started.
“There’s no escape. Trains have stopped working. Most supermarkets are closed and those that are opened are running very low on food stocks. ATMs are not working and everyone is desperately looking for money,” Lawal said, as sirens went off in the background.
There are no official figures on the number of African students currently studying in Ukraine but Lawal said “there are hundreds of us in our city”.
“At my university, there are about 100 Nigerian students. I’m sheltering with some of them,” Lawal added.
Some students have managed to cross the border into Poland.
“I live in Kyiv. I have been living here since March last year,” Somto Orah, a student at State University of Telecommunications in Kyiv, told Al Jazeera.
“We have received no support from any government authorities. The school only gave us bomb shelter to hide when the air raid siren is on. The sirens came on and off for about five times yesterday before I left,” Orah, a Nigerian national, added.
“There is little food. I couldn’t access cash for two days now. Every ATM on the road has no cash.”
Others have had even less luck.
Samuel George, a first-year software engineering student, fled Kyiv after the shelling and sirens got too much for him to handle.
“I drove from Kyiv. We are trying to survive. We don’t want to die in a foreign country,” George said.
As he neared the Polish border, Samuel’s luck ran out. He said he had a minor road accident with a vehicle carrying Ukrainians because the road was narrow.
He said they took his money and stopped him from driving any further.
“They are not officials, police or military. They are normal citizens who stopped us Africans from driving to the border. They let Ukrainians pass through but not us,” George said.
“I’m now walking to the border. I have no other option. I don’t know how much further the border is. They even took our money. It is like they are not human beings,” George said, adding that he could no longer talk on the phone because his hands were freezing in the sub-zero temperature.
On Saturday, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs said more than 115,000 people had crossed into Poland from Ukraine, adding that everyone from Ukraine was allowed to enter, even those without a valid passport.
But for Somto and several other students, crossing the border into Poland has not been easy.
“I will be heading to Nigeria from Poland if I’m able to cross. But if I see a school offer around Schengen, I will take it up because I don’t want my school life to be disrupted,” he said as he joined the queue at the border gate.
EINDE AL JAZEERA ARTIKEL
”People from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia recounted how Ukrainian forces and staff repeatedly prevented them from boarding trains towards Poland in Lviv train station. They were told that there was a need to give priority to women and children, but African and South Asian women were reportedly also not allowed to board trains in some instances.”
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: REFUGEES FACE CHAOS, RACISM AND RISK
OF TRAFFICKING AFTER FLEEING UKRAINE-NEW RESEARCH
Recent mission to border found evidence of chaotic and racist response to people fleeing Ukraine
‘Racism, hate speech and attacks must not be tolerated and perpetrators must he held accountable’ – Nils Muižnieks
UK government must step-up response to support refugees as the Nationality and Borders Bill back in Commons today
‘We urge MPs to accept amendments made by peers to moderate the dreadful impact the Bill will have on people’ – Steve Valdez-Symonds
The Polish authorities must address the chaotic and dangerous situation in Poland to ensure those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine do not face further suffering, Amnesty International said today after a 10-day visit at the border of Poland.
The number of people fleeing within Europe is unprecedented since World War Two, with Poland receiving the majority of those escaping Ukraine and the primary responsibility for assisting them largely falling on ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and municipalities, resulting in enormous challenges.
The mission also noted the Polish Government’s much more open approach to people fleeing Ukraine, in stark contrast to the push back and lock up policies they have been applying to people fleeing other conflicts entering Poland through Belarus. The life-saving assistance that NGOs and volunteers are now providing to people fleeing Ukraine was previously obstructed and criminalised on the border with Belarus.
Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, said:
“Solidarity shown by volunteers in Poland has been remarkable, but without central authorities taking responsibility and concerted action, people in need of protection and assistance risk falling through the cracks.
“People fleeing Ukraine are anxious to get reliable information about shelter, transportation and their legal status, but without coordination, people risk being deprived of such essentials, and being harassed or preyed upon by criminals.
“Many non-Ukrainian people, including those in need of international protection, are unsure of their status in Poland. Everyone fleeing the conflict must be treated with humanity and offered opportunities to carry on with their lives, regardless of their passport.
“The Polish authorities must ensure that all people who have fled Ukraine are treated with the same level of respect to protect their human rights and dignity. Racism, hate speech and attacks must not be tolerated and perpetrators must he held accountable. The government must now step up to meet these challenges and keep people safe.”
Volunteers taking the lead to support refugees, but critical gaps remain
Thousands of volunteers have provided assistance to people at the Polish borders with Ukraine, and in train stations. This has included food, housing, interpretation, and offering free transport across Europe.
Volunteers were far more visible and active than government authorities in all the places Amnesty visited, including the reception points in the immediate proximity of Medyka, the main border crossing point used by people fleeing Ukraine, and Korczowa (Hala Kijowska), and in reception centres and train stations in Przemysl and Warsaw.
However, it is not sustainable to rely on volunteers in the long term and the central government must act quickly to provide proper registration, longer-term accommodation, psycho-social support, transport and other assistance.
Despite the commendable efforts of volunteers, critical gaps remain, including the provision of information on people’s legal status. The lack of such information creates significant anxiety, particularly among non-Ukrainian nationals, and the government should provide information to all people fleeing Ukraine regarding their legal status in Poland or possibilities to move regularly to other EU countries.
People at risk of predatory crimes and violence
People fleeing Ukraine are at risk of violence and trafficking. Amnesty visited several temporary reception facilities, including in Przemysl (“Tesco centre”) and Korczowa (Hala Kijowska), close to the borders with Ukraine. These were organised to facilitate further transportation as soon as possible, often relying on private individuals to offer transport or accommodation.
Volunteers have struggled to register new arrivals. Without formal procedures to register and track them, women, men and children who have fled Ukraine – especially those who do not speak Polish or English – are potentially at risk of abuses by people or criminal gangs looking to exploit the chaotic situation.
Amnesty observed first-hand how people arrived in Poland and immediately sought assistance from anyone willing to help. Emerging reports of gender-based violence against women and girls are of particular concern. It has been reported that the Wroclaw police arrested a 49-year-old Polish man who allegedly sexually abused a Ukrainian woman whom he had offered to host in his apartment after she had fled Ukraine.
Polish human rights organisations also said that they are receiving reports of additional cases of sexual violence, which remain confidential. They are concerned that people fleeing Ukraine, including unaccompanied children, may become victims of trafficking.
Irena Dawid-Olczyk, President of La Strada, a local organisation in Poland supporting victims of human trafficking, said:
“Children are entering Poland from Ukraine, but authorities are not registering with whom many of them are staying. In some cases, parents send them to relatives in Poland. In one case, an 11-year-old was travelling with her uncle, but the uncle was stopped at the border, so she travelled alone.”
Karolina Wierzbińska from Homo Faber a human rights organisation in Poland reported to police that a woman was approaching women and children arriving at Lublin’s train station, offering money if they gave her their passports. Staff from Homer Faber also observed men in Lublin aggressively approaching women coming from Ukraine and offering them transport and accommodation.
Amnesty is calling for the introduction of a standardised, institutional registration system of the whereabouts, family composition and destination of those fleeing, and the identities of the people offering them transport or accommodation.
Discrimination in Ukraine
Ukraine’s martial law prohibits men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. People leaving Ukraine are therefore overwhelmingly women and children, as families are being separated.
These limitations have especially problematic effects on disabled men, and men with sole responsibility for their children. Some men with disabilities and in possession of certain documentation have been allowed to leave the country. However, in practice, this isn’t always happening.
Sofia, a hairdresser from Dnipro, said:
“My son lost one arm and his hearing in the previous conflict area. We were in the same car with him and my husband, but Ukrainian border officers only let women through. My son is officially [recognised as] a person with disabilities caused by the war, he officially cannot work, still they didn’t let him through.”
Sofia and two women travelling with her also recounted seeing many other men being stopped by Ukrainian border guards.
“One man was travelling with his two children, maybe about 5- and 1-year old, and was turned down. He looked like he didn’t have a wife, maybe he was a widower. The Ukrainian border guards said they [the border guards] could take the children, but not him.”
Racism in Ukraine and at the border
Amnesty also spoke to 27 non-Ukrainian nationals who fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion, including many international students and people who had been living in Ukraine for up to 20 years. Racialised people, in particular Black people, reported suffering discrimination and violence by Ukrainian forces when trying to leave Ukraine.
Many reported discriminatory treatment both when trying to board trains or buses and near border check points, while some detailed physical and verbal aggressions by Ukrainian forces and volunteers.
People from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia recounted how Ukrainian forces and staff repeatedly prevented them from boarding trains towards Poland in Lviv train station. They were told that there was a need to give priority to women and children, but African and South Asian women were reportedly also not allowed to board trains in some instances.
Bilal, a 24-year-old student from Pakistan, said: “Some face racism, some don’t, it’s based on colour of skin and gender. My friend who is black faced racism… There is a line, if you are Ukrainian, it’s easy to get across, if not, it takes a long time. The border guards used a stick on my friend, he was hurt.”
While Poland and other European countries have opened their borders to people from Ukraine, Poland has a dismal record in its treatment of people coming from other conflict areas, focusing on policies and infrastructure to deter and contain people at borders.
Foreigners have already been subjected to hatred and violence, as vividly demonstrated by an attack reported in Przemysl on 1 March, when a group of nationalist men assaulted three Indian students who had just arrived from Ukraine, in what appears to be a hatred-motivated attack.
UK government’s response to refugees
The desperate plight of people from Ukraine highlights the inadequacy and injustice of the UK’s asylum and immigration system, which is slow to respond to the current crisis. With the Nationality and Borders Bill back in the Commons today, Amnesty is calling for MPs to accept amendments made by peers to moderate the Bill because it will have a significant impact on people fleeing persecution and survivors of human trafficking.
Despite over 3.5 million refugees fleeing danger, violence and war in Ukraine, the UK government is not doing enough to step up efforts. Even more concerning is that if the Bill passes, many people seeking asylum will be criminalised.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, said:
“Similar to what we’ve seen in Poland, the authorities in the UK lack the commitment and welcome shown by so many members of the public towards refugees.
“With the Nationality and Borders Bill back in the Commons today, we are concerned about ministers’ refusal to recognise the terrible damage and cost the Bill is set to do – particularly as it affects refugees and victims of modern slavery.
“We urge MPs to accept the amendments made by peers to moderate the dreadful impact the Bill will have on people fleeing persecution and survivors of human trafficking.
“If ministers ultimately overturn these defeats, no one could possibly regard the UK as anything, but a State deeply and intentionally committed to undermining international law and harming people most in need of protection.”
Anonymity
Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the people seeking asylum interviewed by Amnesty.
END OF THE ARTICLE
ONE WORLD
ZWARTE VLUCHTELINGEN IN OEKRAINE: ”MENSEN SCHELDEN ONS UIT”
1 MAART 2022
Mensen van kleur die de oorlog in Oekraïne proberen te ontvluchten, krijgen te maken met racisme van zowel burgers als grenswachten. ‘We snappen dat de Oekraïners in paniek zijn, maar wij zijn ook mensen.’
We moesten duwen en trekken om eindelijk een trein naar Lviv in te komen.” De Zuid-Afrikaanse Amahle*, een kleine vrouw met krullend haar van begin twintig, staat met een vriend en een vriendin op het station van de Oekraïense stad Lviv, in het westen van het land op zo’n 80 kilometer van de Poolse grens. Ze hopen op een trein die hen het land uit kan brengen. Ze hebben al een reis van bijna 1000 kilometer achter de rug vanuit de oostelijke stad Dnipro. “Die reis duurde 17 uur”, vertelt Amahle. En behalve lang was de reis ook onprettig, vult een vriendin aan: “Mensen schreeuwden naar ons en scholden ons uit.”
Op sociale media circuleerden de afgelopen dagen berichten van zwarte mensen in Oekraïne die het land proberen te ontvluchten en daarbij te maken krijgen met racisme. De Brits-Zimbabwaanse arts in opleiding Korrine Sky deed op Twitter bijvoorbeeld uitvoerig verslag van haar vlucht naar Roemenië, waar zij inmiddels is aangekomen. Onderweg werd Sky onder meer met een vuurwapen bedreigd en door Oekraïense militairen weggestuurd bij een grenspost. Ook de Sierra Leoonse Rabi hield haar volgers op de hoogte van haar vlucht. Zij kwam maandagochtend met tien vrienden uit Sierra Leone aan in Polen.
VECHTEN VOOR EEN PLEK OP DE TREIN
Het station van Lviv slaapt niet om 5 uur ’s ochtends op maandag 28 februari – vier dagen na het begin van de Russische invasie. De stationshal zit vol mensen die hopen op een plek op een trein naar Hongarije of Polen. Tussen de vluchtelingen zijn ook Afrikanen. Al zijn het er niet veel. “Weet je hoe dat komt?” vraagt een jonge zwarte man met een baardje. “Omdat het voor Afrikanen uiterst moeilijk is om hier te komen. Je moet vechten voor een plek op de treinen.” De jongen stelt zich voor als Albert* uit Kameroen.
Albert doelt op de treinen waarmee mensen het wapengekletter in het oosten van Oekraïne proberen te ontvluchten. Zij trekken naar de westelijke grenzen, met Moldavië en de EU. Vrouwen en kinderen krijgen voorrang. Oekraïense mannen tussen de 18 en 60 mogen het land officieel überhaupt niet verlaten, omdat de staat van beleg is uitgeroepen. Dat moeders voorrang krijgen zegt Albert helemaal te begrijpen. “Maar die regel lijkt niet voor Afrikaanse moeders te gelden.
POOLS MIGRATIEBELEID: ‘GEBASEERD OP XENOFOBIE’
Amahle, die in het vijfde jaar van haar studie geneeskunde zit aan de universiteit in Dnipro, snapt dat de Oekraïners in paniek zijn. “Maar wij zijn ook mensen. We wonen hier al vijf jaar. Ze moeten toch ook rekening met ons houden?” Toch vindt Amahle de discriminatie die zij en haar studiegenoten ervaren niet het grootste probleem op het moment. “De wereld moet troepen sturen. Humanitaire hulp is niet voldoende. Ik neem het de Oekraïners niet kwalijk dat ze ons zo behandelen; ik heb medelijden met ze.”
Ook als het ze lukt de Poolse grens te bereiken, ervaren zwarte vluchtelingen discriminatie van grenswachters aldaar, zegt Marysia Zlonkiewicz. Zij is woordvoerder van het collectief van Poolse ngo’s Grupa Granica. “Poolse grenswachters houden niet-Europeanen regelmatig tegen. Pas als Poolse vrijwilligers hen daarop aanspreken, laten ze mensen binnen.” Een zo’n vrijwilliger laat een bericht op haar telefoon zien van een man uit Nigeria, die uren vast had gezeten aan de Oekraïense zijde van de grens. De man schrijft: ‘Mijn vrouw is Oekraïens, ze hebben haar snel laten gaan. Maar ik bracht de hele nacht door opgesloten in een kantoor, samen met andere Afrikanen. We mochten pas in de ochtend naar buiten.’
Volgens Zlonkiewicz ligt het maar net aan de grenswachter die je voor je hebt of je als zwarte vluchteling goed wordt behandeld. Aanhoudingen zoals die van de Nigeriaanse man zijn geen onderdeel van het beleid, maar vinden wel plaats. De willekeur waarmee dat gebeurt ziet ook Witold Klaus, hoogleraar aan het Instituut voor Rechtenstudies aan de Poolse Academie van Wetenschapper, die ook onderzoeker is in het Centrum voor Migratieonderzoek aan de Universiteit van Warschau. “Het migratiebeleid van de (conservatief-rechtse, red.) Poolse regering is gebaseerd op xenofobie en afkeer tegenover mensen van kleur”, zegt Klaus.
Maar Klaus ziet ook een positieve ontwikkeling: “Er is een verschuiving in de houding van politici. De retorica is veranderd. Eerst sprak de Poolse regering van ‘vluchtende Oekraïners’. Nu hebben ze het over ‘mensen die Oekraïne ontvluchten’.” Het leek een kwestie van tijd voor de politici begrepen dat er ook mensen zonder Oekraïens paspoort probeerden het land te ontvluchten.
Klaus merkt wel dat niet alle Polen meegaan in die beweging. Sommigen blijven met argwaan kijken naar niet-Oekraïense vluchtelingen uit Oekraïne. “Op het busstation in Warschau zien we al dat bepaalde vrijwilligers weigeren zwarte mensen te vervoeren. Ze maken onderscheid tussen ‘echte’ en ‘neppe’ vluchtelingen. Zelfs ambtenaren zie ik dat doen. Dat is gevaarlijk, zo’n onderscheid nestelt zich in de publieke opinie. En dan gaan mensen zelf bepalen wie recht heeft op humanitaire hulp en asiel, en wie niet.”
NIET DE EERSTE POGING
De Kameroense Albert zorgt dat hij samen met drie vrienden – allen twintigers – dicht bij de ingang naar het perron blijft. Twee van hen zijn aan de telefoon, de ander zit op een koffer. Ze zullen vandaag niet voor het eerst een poging ondernemen Oekraïne uit te komen. Een paar dagen eerder waren ze al aan de grens met Polen. Ze probeerden die te voet over te steken, omdat de auto’s vastzitten in kilometerslange files. Maar zonder succes. Nu proberen ze met de trein te vluchten.
Albert begint net te vertellen dat veel van zijn kennissen uit Senegal, Nigeria en Kameroen in dezelfde penarie zitten. Maar dan zegt een van de vrienden die aan de telefoon hing iets en rennen de vrienden met hun rugzakken en koffers weg, het perron op.
EINDE ARTIKEL
NOS
AFRIKANEN, DIE OEKRAINE ONTVLUCHTTEN:
”WE ZIJN WEGGEDUWD, GENEGEERD EN MISHANDELD”
1 MAART 2022
Studenten van kleur zeggen dat het voor hen heel moeilijk is om Oekraïne te verlaten. Onder de hashtag #AfricansinUkraine delen ze hun verhalen. Bijvoorbeeld hoe ze vaak worden geweigerd in treinen en bussen, en hoe lastig het kan zijn om de grens over te komen.
Patricia Daley is een Keniaans-Britse advocaat en activist die de studenten probeert te helpen. Ze spreekt van een patroon van discriminatie. Haar team heeft contact met duizenden studenten op de vlucht. “Ik kwam er snel achter dat veel buitenlandse studenten het erg moeilijk hebben. Niet alleen Afrikanen maar alle mensen van kleur, ook uit bijvoorbeeld India, hebben veel problemen om weg te komen en krijgen niet dezelfde toegang tot transport of accommodatie.”
Bij de grens wordt er volgens haar met twee maten gemeten. “Er is sprake van segregatie: alle mensen van kleur moeten in aparte rijen. En ook als ze hun paspoorten en studentenvisa op orde hebben, wordt het ze heel moeilijk gemaakt, vooral aan de Poolse grens.” Ook de Nigeriaanse president Buhari uitte gisteren daarover zijn ongenoegen.
De NOS sprak met Afrikaanse studenten die uit Oekraïne zijn gevlucht.
Emmanuel Wills (27), internetondernemer
De Ghanees Wills is gisteren in Boedapest aangekomen met zijn twee zussen (studenten geneeskunde) en broer (student bouwkunde). Emmanuel, zelf al afgestudeerd, heeft een website voor studenten die ook in Oekraïne willen studeren.
“De ergste plek op aarde”, noemt Emmanuel het treinstation in Charkov. “Op het station liep gewapende politie rond die Oekraïners naar vertrekkende treinen begeleidden. Niemand gaf ons informatie, dat was heel bewust. Buitenlanders werden overgeslagen.”
“Op het perron werden we weggeduwd. Ze sloegen andere buitenlanders met de achterkant van hun wapen en gebruikten tasers. Ik bleef maar herhalen ‘we willen geen problemen’.”
’s Nachts lukt het Emmanuel en zijn familie alsnog om Lviv te bereiken. Daar moesten ze overstappen. “Militairen en politie zeiden dat vrouwen en kinderen voorrang hadden, maar toen ik probeerde mijn zussen aan boord te krijgen duwden ze ons weg. Het ging om Oekraïense vrouwen en kinderen. Pas als er op het laatst een plek over was, namen ze zwarte vrouwen mee. We hebben 24 uur gewacht in de kou.”
Het laatste obstakel was de grens met Hongarije, aan de Oekraïense kant. “We hadden allemaal geldige documenten bij ons maar het was niet makkelijk. Voor buitenlanders waren er aparte rijen. We zijn nu veilig, maar alles waar we zo hard voor hebben gewerkt zijn we kwijt.”
Cynthia Iwueke (22), student bedrijfskunde
Iwueke studeerde in Charkov. Ook zij ging naar Boedapest, waarvandaan ze terugvliegt naar Nigeria. Het is dat Cynthia deze zomer zou afstuderen, anders was ze al eerder vertrokken. Ze moest dringen voor een plekje in de trein naar Kiev. “Het was survival of the fittest“, schrijft ze via WhatsApp.
Een treinconducteur hield haar tegen: “Ze wilde me niet binnenlaten. Oekraïners moesten voor. Ze duwde en schopte me.” Een Oekraïense man schoot Cynthia te hulp en zorgde dat ze op de trein kwam. “Ik heb nog altijd pijn op de borst.”
En toen moest de reis nog beginnen. “Het was de langste reis van mijn leven.” In Kiev gingen de lichten in de coupé uit en draaiden passagiers de raampjes open. De schoten waren hoorbaar. “Het was heel eng. Dit wens ik zelfs mijn vijanden niet toe.”
Een overstap naar de stad Oezjhorod bracht Cynthia dicht bij de grens. Daar heeft ze tot haar opluchting weinig problemen ondervonden: “De Hongaren zijn aardig.”
Siméon Vagne (30), student Landbouweconomie
Vagne komt uit Ivoorkust en studeerde Landbouweconomie in Charkov. Hij is met een bus onderweg naar de Ivoriaanse ambassade in Berlijn. Siméon mocht de grens met Polen oversteken. Toch is hij verdrietig: zijn vrienden liet hij achter in Oekraïne. Vanwege het haastige vertrek hadden ze geen papieren bij zich.
Vier dagen eerder begon zijn reis vanuit Charkov. Een lange treinreis, busrit en tientallen kilometers te voet brachten de vriendengroep naar het westen van het land. Maar nog voor ze de grenspost bij Polen bereikten, zagen ze op hun weg Afrikaanse mensen die rechtsomkeert hadden gemaakt. “Ze waren helemaal ontmoedigd, ze vertelden ons dat zwarte mensen niet werden doorgelaten.”
Bij de grens was het chaotisch, zegt Siméon. “Daar begon de ellende. We werden van de ene naar de andere rij gestuurd. We hebben acht uur gewacht – het was echt heel koud.”
EINDE ARTIKEL
PUSHED BACK BECAUSE WE’RE BLACK: AFRICANS
STRANDED AT UKRAINE: POLAND BORDER
28 FEBRUARY 2022
Nigeria and South Africa have expressed alarm at reports that their nationals are being stopped from leaving war-torn Ukraine. At Lviv train station, in western Ukraine, FRANCE 24 met several African students who say they were pushed back at the Medyka border crossing with Poland.
African governments on Monday were scrambling to help their nationals escape the Russian invasion in Ukraine as reports emerged of racist and unfair treatment of their citizens at the border with Poland.
The reports, denied by both Polish and Ukrainian officials, have cast a pall on the massive evacuation effort that has already seen half a million civilians cross into the European Union.
While some Africans have been able to leave Ukraine, FRANCE 24 spoke to several students on Sunday at Lviv train station in western Ukraine who said they were turned back by Ukrainian border guards while attempting to cross into Poland
They stopped us at the border and told us that Blacks were not allowed. But we could see White people going through,” said Moustapha Bagui Sylla, a student from Guinea. He said he fled his university residence in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, as soon as the bombing began.
Like thousands of Ukrainian civilians scrambling for the border, the young Guinean said he walked for hours in freezing temperatures heading for the Polish frontier village of Medyka – only to be ordered to turn back.
Another student from Nigeria described similar scenes at the border crossing. He said his group, which included women, was shut out of the border post even as White people were let through.
“They won’t let Africans in. Blacks without European passports cannot cross the border (…). They’re pushing us back just because we’re Black!” said the Nigerian student, who gave only his first name, Michael. “We’re all human,” he added. “They should not discriminate against us because of the colour of our skin.”
According to Bagui Sylla, the Ukrainian border guards said they were merely following instructions from their Polish counterparts – a claim denied by officials in Warsaw.
Anna Michalska, a spokesperson for the Polish border guards, said she had spent “the past two days denying such allegations”.
“I don’t know what is happening on the Ukrainian side of the border, but we let everyone in regardless of nationality,” she told FRANCE 24.
In a later communiqué, Polish officials confirmed that no visas were required to cross the border and that identity cards and passports would be accepted, even when expired.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian border guards also denied reports of discriminatory practices. He stressed that only Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 – who are required to join the war effort – were barred from leaving the country.
Regarding the numerous complaints by Africans who said they were pushed back, Andriy Demchenko said “perhaps they attempted to jump the queue”.
Civilians fleeing the war face increasingly dire conditions at the Medyka border crossing, as FRANCE 24 has previously documented. According to a report by the European Commission, the crossing can now take up to 70 hours.
For African students lured to Ukraine by the prospect of jobs and university degrees, being treated like economic migrants – rather than refugees displaced by war – is a devastating blow.
Nigeria’s government has advised its citizens leaving Ukraine to head for Hungary or Romania, instead of Poland. That is precisely what the students stranded at Lviv station said they planned to do.
Since the publication of this article, the Polish embassy in Paris contacted FRANCE 24 to deny the reports.
The embassy wished to “reiterate and emphasise that Poland accepts all refugees at the Ukrainian border, regardless of their nationality”. According to the head of the embassy’s communication and public diplomacy service, 1.2 million people representing more than 150 nationalities have crossed the Polish border seeking refuge since the start of the Russian invasion.
EINDE ARTIKEL
BBC
INDIAN STUDENTS STRANDED IN UKRAINE DESPERATELY
NEED HELP
1 MARCH 2022
Indian students stranded in Ukraine’s big cities and at the border are frantically sending messages asking their government to evacuate them.
“We are hoping the Indian government will do something for students like us who are stuck in Kyiv and Kharkiv, either by arranging flights or by the embassy helping us get to the border,” one student told BBC Punjabi.
India has evacuated hundreds of students since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. Students who crossed the border into Romania and Hungary have left on special evacuation flights arranged by the Indian government.
India’s air force is likely to deploy its C-17 Globemaster aircraft from Tuesday to bring back stranded students and citizens, sources told the BBC.
This comes as the Indian embassy in Ukraine advised Indian nationals and students to leave Kyiv “urgently today preferably by available trains or through any means available.”
Some students have praised the government’s efforts, saying embassy officials provided them with food and water when they were finally able to make it to evacuation points. But others say the government needs to do more to help them leave Ukraine, and to prevent the harassment they say they are facing at border checkpoints.
Some students have alleged that they were harassed at the border with Poland by Ukrainian guards. They say the guards beat them with rods and even pulled the hair of female students and stopped them from crossing over.
A video circulating on social media shows a guard kicking a man’s suitcase, although it is unclear if the man was of Indian origin.
A large number of students from India go to eastern Europe, including Ukraine, to study medicine.
Yashavi, a student of Vinnitsa National Medical University, told BBC Hindi she made it to the Romania-Ukraine border to be evacuated according to the Indian embassy’s instructions. However, once at the border, she found she was among thousands who were stranded.
“We are not getting any help or information. I don’t know why our government isn’t doing anything. When will we be able to leave? The temperature is so low, we’re freezing here.”
Yashavi said they could hear occasional gunfire.
Reeti, a student from India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is sheltering at a hostel at the Kyiv Medical University with hundreds of others. They were running short on food and water and have sporadic electricity even as temperatures dropped below zero, she told BBC Punjabi.
“We don’t know how long we’ll be here or what the Indian embassy is or is not doing. The students at cities near the border are able to go but we are in the middle of Kyiv. The embassy is not picking up calls. They say they are making efforts but what these efforts are we don’t know,” Reeti said.
“Even if we try to leave for the border it will take us at least one day to get there. But it’s so dangerous at night, you don’t even know if you’ll make it out alive,” she added.
Shivani from Haryana state, who is also sheltering at the same hostel, said they could hear the fighting just a few kilometres away.
According to Shivani, there are approximately 350-400 students at the hostel, most of them Indian.
“We go into the bunker in the evening and come out of it early in the next morning. The warden and guards who were at the hostel have run away. It’s only students here,” she said. “It’s frightening to hear the sound of shelling and blasts.”
The students say they have been sending messages to the Indian embassy, the Indian government and their state governments but no help has reached them yet.
“We’ve been asked to get to the border on our own but how can we do that if the embassy doesn’t help?” Shivani asked.
About 3,000 Indian students are believed to be in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, one of the major cities where Russian troops have clashed with Ukrainian forces.
A video shared with BBC Marathi by a student in Kharkiv shows tanks on a road outside her window.
Another student, who is sheltering in a bunker in the city, told BBC Hindi they were running out of food and struggling to keep warm but trying to keep each other’s morale high with music.
EINDE ARTIKEL
BNN VARA JOOP
RACISME TEGEN ZWARTE MENSEN DIE OEKRAINE
WILLEN ONTVLUCHTEN
28 FEBRUARI 2022
Zwarte mensen die proberen het oorlogsgeweld in Oekraïne te ontvluchten, krijgen te maken met racisme waardoor ze niet of nauwelijks het land kunnen verlaten. Dat blijkt uit een stroom berichten op sociale media. Onder meer de president van Nigeria en de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken van Jamaica hebben hun zorgen geuit.
Ongeveer 20 procent van alle buitenlandse studenten in Oekraïne komt uit een Afrikaans land. Uit de berichten die op Twitter onder de hashtags #AfricansinUkraineen #BlacksinUkraine worden gedeeld, valt op te maken dat witte mensen voorrang krijgen op de vluchtwegen. Zo worden er videobeelden gedeeld waarop te zien is dat zwarte mensen de toegang tot een trein wordt ontzegd, terwijl een witte vrouw wel aan boord mag. Ook circuleren er video’s waarop zwarte mensen over het spoor lopen omdat ze de trein niet in zouden mogen, en zwarte studenten die aan de grens onder schot gehouden worden door militairen. Verschillende mensen vertellen ook dat ze uit bussen richting de grens met Polen zijn gehaald.
Hoewel de authenticiteit van de video’s vooralsnog niet vastgesteld is, evenals waar ze zijn opgenomen, hebben meerdere politici hun afkeuring kenbaar gemaakt. Zo heeft de Nigeriaanse president Muhammadu Buhari opgeroepen volgens het VN-vluchtelingenverdrag ‘iedereen met waardigheid en zonder voorrang’ te behandelen: ‘De kleur van hun paspoort of van hun huid mag geen verschil maken. Volgens de BBC zijn er nog zo’n vierduizend Nigerianen gestrand in Oekraïne. Veel Afrikanen zouden vanwege het racisme aan de Poolse grens nu proberen de grens met Hongarije of met Roemenië over te steken, anderen zijn gedwongen achter te blijven in Oekraïne.
Ook de Jamaicaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Kamina Smith maakt zich zorgen om 24 Jamaicanen die in Lviv de bus naar Polen niet in mochten en gedwongen werden te lopen.
In Nederland heeft BIJ1-partijleider Sylvana Simons zich uitgesproken tegen het racisme richting en aan de Poolse grens. Op Twitter schreef zij:
“De afgelopen dagen werd m’n hart verwarmd door de goed georganiseerde hartelijkheid waarmee Polen vluchtelingen verwelkomde. Nu komt de harde werkelijkheid weer binnen: zwarte levens tellen niet mee. The bottom line is always racism.”
Behalve zwarte mensen, zouden ook mensen met een Aziatisch of Midden-Oosters uiterlijk te maken krijgen met racisme bij het ontvluchten van Oekraïne, zo blijkt uit ooggetuigenverslagen. Daarnaast heeft de Oekraïense Nationale Garde beelden gedeeld van het rechtsradicale Azovbataljon dat in de strijd met militairen uit het islamitische Tsjetsjenië, hun kogels eerst insmeren met varkensvet. Azov is een extreemrechtse vrijwilligersmilitie die een neonazi- en witte supremacistische ideologie aanhangen. Ze vochten voor het eerst samen met het Oekraïense leger in het oosten van het land in 2014 tegen pro-Russische separatisten en maken sindsdien deel uit van de reguliere strijdkrachten.
EINDE BERICHT
THE GUARDIAN
PEOPLE OF COLOUR FLEEING UKRAINE ATTACKED
BY POLISH NATIONALISTS
Non-white refugees face violence and racist abuse in Przemyśl, as police warn of fake reports of ‘migrants committing crimes’
Police in Poland have warned that fake reports of violent crimes being committed by people fleeing Ukraine are circulating on social media after Polish nationalists attacked and abused groups of African, south Asian and Middle Eastern people who had crossed the border last night.
Attackers dressed in black sought out groups of non-white refugees, mainly students who had just arrived in Poland at Przemyśl train station from cities in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. According to the police, three Indians were beaten up by a group of five men, leaving one of them hospitalised.
“Around 7pm, these men started to shout and yell against groups of African and Middle Eastern refugees who were outside the train station,” two Polish journalists from the press agency OKO, who first reported the incident, told the Guardian. “They yelled at them: ‘Go back to the train station! Go back to your country.’”
Police intervened and riot officers were deployed after groups of men arrived chanting “Przemyśl always Polish”.
“I was with my friends, buying something to eat outside,” said Sara, 22, from Egypt, a student in Ukraine. “These men came and started to harass a group of men from Nigeria. They wouldn’t let an African boy go inside a place to eat some food. Then they came towards us and yelled: ‘Go back to your country.’”
Following the incident, police in Poland warned that groups linked to the far right are already spreading false information about alleged crimes committed by people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing war in Ukraine.
Przemyśl police said on Twitter: “In the media, there is false information that serious crimes have occurred in Przemyśl and the border: burglaries, assaults and rape. It’s not true. The police did not record an increased number of crimes in connection with the situation at the border. #StopFakeNews.”
According to the news website Notes From Poland, one Facebook group, named Przemyśl Always Polish (Przemyśl Zawsze Polski), has been spreading false claims that “economic migrants from the Middle East” were committing crimes, “including a knife attack on a young woman and numerous thefts from shops”.
The attacks on people fleeing the war come amid efforts by some African governments to evacuate their citizens who have passed into countries bordering Ukraine after reports of racist abuse and discrimination.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s foreign ministry said it planned to start airlifting more than 1,000 Nigerians stranded in countries neighbouring Ukraine.
Many of the foreign nationals fleeing the Russian attacks are students. About 16,000 African students were studying in the country before the invasion, Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa said this week.
Reports and footage on social media in the past week have shown acts of discrimination and violence against African, south Asian and Caribbean citizens while fleeing Ukrainian cities and at some of the country’s border posts.
In an interview with the Guardian, a 24-year-old medical student from Kenya, who did not want to be named, said she spent hours waiting for Ukrainian border guards to let her enter Poland because they were prioritising Ukrainian nationals.
After eventually crossing the border, she boarded a free bus, organised by an NGO, to a hotel near Warsaw that was offering free board to Ukrainian refugees. But the hotel refused to take her and her Kenyan friends in, even after she offered to pay for a room.
However, other foreign nationals interviewed by the Guardian said that they had been treated well by the Polish authorities, with many of the reports of racial abuse occurring on the Ukrainian side of the border.
The Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, said on Monday: “All who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under the UN convention and the colour of their passport or their skin should make no difference,” citing reports that Ukrainian police had obstructed Nigerians.
“From video evidence, first-hand reports, and from those in contact with … Nigerian consular officials, there have been unfortunate reports of Ukrainian police and security personnel refusing to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading towards Ukraine-Poland border,” he said.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, acknowledging the allegations, said: “Ukraine’s government spares no effort to solve the problem.”
“Africans seeking evacuation are our friends and need to have equal opportunities to return to their home countries safely,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
Ghana, South Africa and Ivory Coast are also among a growing number of African countries seeking to evacuate their citizens in response to reports of discrimination and violence that have sparked widespread outrage.
In Nigeria, Gabriel Aduda, permanent secretary for the ministry of foreign affairs, said three jets chartered from local carriers would leave the country on Wednesday, with the capacity to bring back nearly 1,300 people from Poland, Romania and Hungary.
Rights groups have welcomed the efforts by Poland to help, but some drew comparisons with the treatment of other refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Kurdish Iraqis in the country, where the populist rightwing government has often played on anti-refugee sentiment.
Last year, after the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, organised the movement of refugees with the promise of a safe passage to Europe, thousands of people from the Middle East were caught by Polish border guards in the forests near the border and illegally and violently pushed back to Belarus.
EINDE ARTIKEL THE GUARDIAN
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: REFUGEES FACE CHAOS, RACISM AND
RISK OF TRAFFICKING AFTER FLEEING UKRAINE -NEW RESEARCH
22 MARCH 2022
Recent mission to border found evidence of chaotic and racist response to people fleeing Ukraine
‘Racism, hate speech and attacks must not be tolerated and perpetrators must he held accountable’ – Nils Muižnieks
UK government must step-up response to support refugees as the Nationality and Borders Bill back in Commons today
‘We urge MPs to accept amendments made by peers to moderate the dreadful impact the Bill will have on people’ – Steve Valdez-Symonds
The Polish authorities must address the chaotic and dangerous situation in Poland to ensure those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine do not face further suffering, Amnesty International said today after a 10-day visit at the border of Poland.
The number of people fleeing within Europe is unprecedented since World War Two, with Poland receiving the majority of those escaping Ukraine and the primary responsibility for assisting them largely falling on ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and municipalities, resulting in enormous challenges.
The mission also noted the Polish Government’s much more open approach to people fleeing Ukraine, in stark contrast to the push back and lock up policies they have been applying to people fleeing other conflicts entering Poland through Belarus. The life-saving assistance that NGOs and volunteers are now providing to people fleeing Ukraine was previously obstructed and criminalised on the border with Belarus.
Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, said:
“Solidarity shown by volunteers in Poland has been remarkable, but without central authorities taking responsibility and concerted action, people in need of protection and assistance risk falling through the cracks.
“People fleeing Ukraine are anxious to get reliable information about shelter, transportation and their legal status, but without coordination, people risk being deprived of such essentials, and being harassed or preyed upon by criminals.
“Many non-Ukrainian people, including those in need of international protection, are unsure of their status in Poland. Everyone fleeing the conflict must be treated with humanity and offered opportunities to carry on with their lives, regardless of their passport.
“The Polish authorities must ensure that all people who have fled Ukraine are treated with the same level of respect to protect their human rights and dignity. Racism, hate speech and attacks must not be tolerated and perpetrators must he held accountable. The government must now step up to meet these challenges and keep people safe.”
Volunteers taking the lead to support refugees, but critical gaps remain
Thousands of volunteers have provided assistance to people at the Polish borders with Ukraine, and in train stations. This has included food, housing, interpretation, and offering free transport across Europe.
Volunteers were far more visible and active than government authorities in all the places Amnesty visited, including the reception points in the immediate proximity of Medyka, the main border crossing point used by people fleeing Ukraine, and Korczowa (Hala Kijowska), and in reception centres and train stations in Przemysl and Warsaw.
However, it is not sustainable to rely on volunteers in the long term and the central government must act quickly to provide proper registration, longer-term accommodation, psycho-social support, transport and other assistance.
Despite the commendable efforts of volunteers, critical gaps remain, including the provision of information on people’s legal status. The lack of such information creates significant anxiety, particularly among non-Ukrainian nationals, and the government should provide information to all people fleeing Ukraine regarding their legal status in Poland or possibilities to move regularly to other EU countries.
People at risk of predatory crimes and violence
People fleeing Ukraine are at risk of violence and trafficking. Amnesty visited several temporary reception facilities, including in Przemysl (“Tesco centre”) and Korczowa (Hala Kijowska), close to the borders with Ukraine. These were organised to facilitate further transportation as soon as possible, often relying on private individuals to offer transport or accommodation.
Volunteers have struggled to register new arrivals. Without formal procedures to register and track them, women, men and children who have fled Ukraine – especially those who do not speak Polish or English – are potentially at risk of abuses by people or criminal gangs looking to exploit the chaotic situation.
Amnesty observed first-hand how people arrived in Poland and immediately sought assistance from anyone willing to help. Emerging reports of gender-based violence against women and girls are of particular concern. It has been reported that the Wroclaw police arrested a 49-year-old Polish man who allegedly sexually abused a Ukrainian woman whom he had offered to host in his apartment after she had fled Ukraine.
Polish human rights organisations also said that they are receiving reports of additional cases of sexual violence, which remain confidential. They are concerned that people fleeing Ukraine, including unaccompanied children, may become victims of trafficking.
Irena Dawid-Olczyk, President of La Strada, a local organisation in Poland supporting victims of human trafficking, said:
“Children are entering Poland from Ukraine, but authorities are not registering with whom many of them are staying. In some cases, parents send them to relatives in Poland. In one case, an 11-year-old was travelling with her uncle, but the uncle was stopped at the border, so she travelled alone.”
Karolina Wierzbińska from Homo Faber a human rights organisation in Poland reported to police that a woman was approaching women and children arriving at Lublin’s train station, offering money if they gave her their passports. Staff from Homer Faber also observed men in Lublin aggressively approaching women coming from Ukraine and offering them transport and accommodation.
Amnesty is calling for the introduction of a standardised, institutional registration system of the whereabouts, family composition and destination of those fleeing, and the identities of the people offering them transport or accommodation.
Discrimination in Ukraine
Ukraine’s martial law prohibits men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. People leaving Ukraine are therefore overwhelmingly women and children, as families are being separated.
These limitations have especially problematic effects on disabled men, and men with sole responsibility for their children. Some men with disabilities and in possession of certain documentation have been allowed to leave the country. However, in practice, this isn’t always happening.
Sofia, a hairdresser from Dnipro, said:
“My son lost one arm and his hearing in the previous conflict area. We were in the same car with him and my husband, but Ukrainian border officers only let women through. My son is officially [recognised as] a person with disabilities caused by the war, he officially cannot work, still they didn’t let him through.”
Sofia and two women travelling with her also recounted seeing many other men being stopped by Ukrainian border guards.
“One man was travelling with his two children, maybe about 5- and 1-year old, and was turned down. He looked like he didn’t have a wife, maybe he was a widower. The Ukrainian border guards said they [the border guards] could take the children, but not him.”
Racism in Ukraine and at the border
Amnesty also spoke to 27 non-Ukrainian nationals who fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion, including many international students and people who had been living in Ukraine for up to 20 years. Racialised people, in particular Black people, reported suffering discrimination and violence by Ukrainian forces when trying to leave Ukraine.
Many reported discriminatory treatment both when trying to board trains or buses and near border check points, while some detailed physical and verbal aggressions by Ukrainian forces and volunteers.
People from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia recounted how Ukrainian forces and staff repeatedly prevented them from boarding trains towards Poland in Lviv train station. They were told that there was a need to give priority to women and children, but African and South Asian women were reportedly also not allowed to board trains in some instances.
Bilal, a 24-year-old student from Pakistan, said: “Some face racism, some don’t, it’s based on colour of skin and gender. My friend who is black faced racism… There is a line, if you are Ukrainian, it’s easy to get across, if not, it takes a long time. The border guards used a stick on my friend, he was hurt.”
While Poland and other European countries have opened their borders to people from Ukraine, Poland has a dismal record in its treatment of people coming from other conflict areas, focusing on policies and infrastructure to deter and contain people at borders.
Foreigners have already been subjected to hatred and violence, as vividly demonstrated by an attack reported in Przemysl on 1 March, when a group of nationalist men assaulted three Indian students who had just arrived from Ukraine, in what appears to be a hatred-motivated attack.
UK government’s response to refugees
The desperate plight of people from Ukraine highlights the inadequacy and injustice of the UK’s asylum and immigration system, which is slow to respond to the current crisis. With the Nationality and Borders Bill back in the Commons today, Amnesty is calling for MPs to accept amendments made by peers to moderate the Bill because it will have a significant impact on people fleeing persecution and survivors of human trafficking.
Despite over 3.5 million refugees fleeing danger, violence and war in Ukraine, the UK government is not doing enough to step up efforts. Even more concerning is that if the Bill passes, many people seeking asylum will be criminalised.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director, said:
“Similar to what we’ve seen in Poland, the authorities in the UK lack the commitment and welcome shown by so many members of the public towards refugees.
“With the Nationality and Borders Bill back in the Commons today, we are concerned about ministers’ refusal to recognise the terrible damage and cost the Bill is set to do – particularly as it affects refugees and victims of modern slavery.
“We urge MPs to accept the amendments made by peers to moderate the dreadful impact the Bill will have on people fleeing persecution and survivors of human trafficking.
“If ministers ultimately overturn these defeats, no one could possibly regard the UK as anything, but a State deeply and intentionally committed to undermining international law and harming people most in need of protection.”
Anonymity
Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the people seeking asylum interviewed by Amnesty.
EINDE STATEMENT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL