Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

Racism at Ukrainian borders to the surface again

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Global News
  • 6 Mar 2022 23:36
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

Once a racist, always a racist, even in the worst circumstances when you should just be human.

  • x
  • Students at the Ukrainian border
    Students at the Ukrainian border (AFP)

According to the United Nations, more than one million people have fled Ukraine following the Russian special military operation in the country.

It took Adesanya Adedoyin, a Nigerian student, 4 days to try to escape the ongoing situation while facing discriminatory practices.

“I was waiting, waiting, waiting and then we realized we had to leave,” said Adedoyin. “It was crazy. I felt discriminated [against], I felt neglected.”

Nigerians, Ghanaians, and other Africans, many of whom are students, have joined hundreds of thousands of people trying to escape Ukraine across borders into Poland and other nations.

At the Ukrainian border checkpoint, Adedoyin said that he and his Black classmates were pulled aside, where they waited many hours with no movement.

“There were a lot of queues and there were lots of us in it. After a little while we were moved to a different queue with all the Blacks to one side," he said.

Read more: Racist aspects of Ukraine crisis not to be ignored: US civil rights activists

While several countries opened their doors to refugees, some other countries like Bulgaria, noted that they are not to allow Ukrainians to access their borders. It is worth mentioning that Bulgaria's Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has previously said he wanted to keep Syrian and African refugees out, although he had previously rejected the marginalization of minorities, saying his country is open to helping Ukrainian refugees during this time because they are Europeans.

Related News

Rukban Syrian displacement camp near Jordan border shut down

Germany defies court ruling, to continue rejecting asylum seekers

“There is not a single European country now which is afraid of the current wave of refugees,” Petkov said, taking back his anti-migration stances.

Bulgaria has for years rejected refugees, who are often Black, or Middle-Easterns, according to Oxfam. Petkov welcomed Ukrainians because they “are not the refugees we are used to … these people are European.” He did not stop there but even described Ukrainians as being more intelligent and educated than the usual migrants who try to enter his country.

“This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even terrorists,” he added.

Adedoyin’s sister, Adesanya Idowu, guided him throughout the journey from her home in Toronto about where to go and helped fund his trip.

Adedoyin said that one evening, crowd control measures like pepper spray were used against them. The reason for such a measure was not known, but he noted that the big crowds were attempting to gain entry.

“I almost choked to death,” he said.

Another student tells how they are stuck and how safe passage is not guaranteed, as some students have returned after several failed attempts to leave Ukraine.

“There was one student who was sent back and they pointed a gun at him and told him to go back,” he said.

On Thursday, European interior ministers reached an agreement that permits any Ukrainian national and long-term Ukrainian resident to stay in the European Union for up to a year. However, the agreement excluded foreign students, who are short-term residents. While students will be accommodated, the agreement said they will be sent back to their home countries.

Ukraine has long met an influx of students and immigrants from around the world, as HRW reported that 2020 government data revealed that 80,000 international students were in the country, many of which came from India, Morocco, and Nigeria, and now, after spending years in Ukraine, the Kiev authorities are discriminating against them.

Ukraine itself has a neo-Nazi issue, which prompted Russia to launch a military operation with the intent of "denazifying" its western neighbor following sabotage attacks by Ukrainian armed forces and ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Donbass.

  • Ukraine
  • Russia
  • Bulgaria
  • Refugees
  • immigrants
  • European Union
  • Black Lives Matter

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS