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As the\u00a0Russian invasion of Ukraine\u00a0continues, foreign students attempting to leave the country say they are experiencing racist treatment by Ukrainian security forces and border officials.<\/p>\n
One African medical student told CNN that she and other foreigners were ordered off the public transit bus at a checkpoint between Ukraine and Poland border.<\/p>\n
They were told to stand aside as the bus drove off with only Ukrainian nationals on board, she says.<\/p>\n
Rachel Onyegbule, a Nigerian first-year medical student in Lviv was left stranded at the border town of Shehyni, some 400 miles from Ukraine\u2019s capital, Kyiv.<\/p>\n
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She told CNN: \u201cMore than 10 buses came and we were watching everyone leave. We thought after they took all the Ukrainians they would take us, but they told us we had to walk, that there were no more buses and told us to walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy body was numb from the cold and we haven\u2019t slept in about 4 days now. Ukrainians have been prioritized over Africans \u2014 men and women \u2014 at every point. There\u2019s no need for us to ask why. We know why. I just want to get home,\u201d Onyegbule told CNN in a telephone call Sunday as she waited in line at the border to cross into Poland.<\/p>\n
Onyegbule says she eventually got her exit document stamped on Monday morning around 4.30 a.m. local time.<\/p>\n Allegations of violence<\/strong><\/p>\n Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student from India, also shared her ordeal with CNN Monday via a phone call from Lviv, western Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are three checkposts we need to go through to get to the border. A lot of people are stranded there. They don\u2019t allow Indians to go through.<\/p>\n CNN has been unable to confirm the identities or affiliations of the people who operated the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said they were all wearing uniforms.<\/p>\n Saakshi Ijantkar, a fourth-year medical student from India, also shared her ordeal with CNN Monday via a phone call from Lviv, western Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are three checkposts we need to go through to get to the border. A lot of people are stranded there. They don\u2019t allow Indians to go through.<\/p>\n CNN has been unable to confirm the identities or affiliations of the people who operated the checkpoints, but Ijantkar said they were all wearing uniforms.<\/p>\n They allow 30 Indians only after 500 Ukrainians get in. To get to this border you need to walk 4 to 5 kilometers from the first checkpoint to the second one. Ukrainians are given taxis and buses to travel, all other nationalities have to walk. They were very racist to Indians and other nationalities,’\u201d the 22-year-old from Mumbai told CNN.<\/p>\n She added that she witnessed violence from the guards to the students waiting at the Ukrainian side of the Shehyni-Medyka border.<\/p>\n Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are no longer allowed to leave the country, but that decree does not extend to men who are foreign nationals.<\/p>\n Ijantkar says she saw Indian men were left in queues for long hours along with other non-Ukrainian nationalities.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were very cruel. The second checkpoint was the worst. When they opened the gate for you to cross to the Ukrainian border, you stay between the Ukraine and Poland, the Ukrainian army don\u2019t allow Indian men and boys to cross when you get there. They only allowed the Indian girls to get in. We had to literally cry and beg at their feet. After the Indian girls got in, the boys were beaten up. There was no reason for them to beat us with this cruelty,\u201d Ijantkar said.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw an Egyptian man standing at the front with his hands on the rails, and because of that one guard pushed him with so much force and the man hit the fence, which is covered in spikes, and he lost consciousness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took him outside to give him CPR. They just didn\u2019t care and they were beating the students, they didn\u2019t give two hoots about us, only the Ukrainians,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n CNN contacted the Ukrainian army in light of the allegations of violence, but did not immediately hear back.<\/p>\n Freezing conditions<\/p>\n Ijantkar said many of the students waited for at least a day, but she eventually turned back to Lviv because she was terrified, waiting in freezing temperatures with no food, water, or blankets.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw people shaking so terribly in the cold, they were collapsing because of hypothermia. Some have frostbite and blisters. We couldn\u2019t get any help and (were) just standing for hours,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Border Guard Service of Ukraine told CNN Monday that allegations of segregation at the borders are untrue and that the guards are working under enormous pressure at the borders \u2014 but are working within the law.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the day when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made an attack on Ukraine, the influx of people trying to leave Ukraine and the war zone has increased tremendously. If earlier, people trying to cross the border into the European Union and back amounted up to 50,000 (people) a day, now the amount doubled and continues to increase. There is huge pressure on checkpoints, on border guards.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to speed up the process and allow larger amounts of people to cross, the government has simplified the procedure of the border crossing as much as possible. Due to the increase in the volume of the individuals crossing, people have to stay in long queues. However, I can state that everything happens according to the law. There is absolutely no division by nation, citizenship, or class at the border,\u201d Demchenko said.<\/p>\n Ukraine attracts many foreign students wanting to study medicine because it has a strong reputation for medical courses and tuition \u2014 and other expenses are much lower than in programs in other Western nations.<\/p>\n Another stranded student told CNN on Sunday that border staff on the Ukrainian side of the border were showing prejudice against foreign students.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are depriving the foreigners. They are being very racist with us at the border. They tell us that Ukrainian citizens have to pass first while telling foreigners to stay back,\u201d said Nneka Abigail, a 23-year-old medical student from Nigeria.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult at the moment for Nigerians and other foreigners to cross. The Ukrainian officials are allowing more Ukrainians to cross into Poland. For instance, around 200 to 300 Ukrainians can cross, and then only 10 foreigners or 5 will be allowed to cross\u2026 and the duration of time is too long. It\u2019s really hard.. they push us, kick us, insult us,\u201d Abigail said.<\/p>\n Africans have been sharing their experiences online using the hashtag #AfricansinUkraine. Their stories have prompted an outcry and a number of crowdfunding appeals have been launched to try help those stranded in the country.<\/p>\n One of those who shared their story online is Korrine Sky, a medical student from Zimbabwe who had been studying in Ukraine since September.<\/p>\n She fled the country on Friday but, with the aid of two London-based friends, managed to raise more than \u00a320,000 ($26,800) to help stranded Afro-Caribbean students.<\/p>\n \u201cThis situation we\u2019re in is a life-or-death situation. We need to make sure that all the African students cross the border successfully and safely,\u201d she said, speaking on Instagram Live from the Romanian side of the border on Sunday.<\/p>\n![\"University](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/220228122559-02-international-students-ukraine-hungary-exlarge-169.jpg\")
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