African Students Leaving Ukraine Now Face an Uncertain Future

Clavier explains his thoughts. “Let’s be clear, it’s been a very, very tough journey. From exit to entry, the experiences are very uncomfortable. But the truth is, if you really look at it, you understand that everything that happened, happened based on the circumstances under which we are going through, because it’s a difficult time not just for Ukraine, but for the world…So, yes, the experiences were terrible, but let’s not base it on judgment. Let’s base it on the situation we are facing, and I think that if we base it on that, we can have a better way to move forward and also help other people still in this [situation], and not just in Ukraine, but in the world.”

Giselle Frederick, owner of tech startup Sonaaar and worker within the African diaspora has testimony from Black women and children who were pulled off trains and buses in Ukraine. “I also saw a video of a black woman and two-month-old baby being pulled off the train. It was heartbreaking.”

When they finally make it across the border, except for some rare occurrences, they are finding welcoming communities offering food, shelter, donated items, and a soft place to land.

“I’m an African and I’ve been in a war zone but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Tempocole said. “There’s enough food and people can’t even eat it all.” So why don’t we see the same effort and amount of volunteerism to help displaced people in Africa? While Tempocole also wonders this, Clavier offers up his thoughts. “African countries don’t have the resources to help each other.” Giselle Frederick agrees. “Africa is filled with young countries. Compared to Europe, African countries are babies.”

Now safe and looking forward to traveling to Germany, Clavier and Tempocole's journey out of Ukraine was far from easy. A Ukrainian friend advised them not to come to the Polish border because it was “hell.” Waits at some borders were sometimes estimated at up to 80 hours. The trio was able to get a taxi for the 77-kilometer ride from Lviv to the border city of Krakovets, which cost them more than 8,000 Ukrainian Hryvnia (approximately $344 U.S. at the time). "It’s extortion at the highest level,” Tempocole said. “The driver took us to this border because he didn’t want to drive too far and he said it was better this way. But when we got there it was a mess, with a 14-hour wait just to exit the border. It was crazy out there because we saw women with little kids crying. It was freezing out there.”

Bisola Ehi Ogolowa experienced the best and worst of people during this crisis. While trying to leave Dnipro, she and her friends weren’t allowed on a train without tickets but were told at the ticket window that no tickets were being sold to foreigners. They were pushed back by security guards at various stages of their journey. Ogolowa notes that, as she and her fellow students waited in lines blocked by Ukrainian police, white women were brought to the front of the line. These students were also trying to get to Hungary as they, too, had been warned of negative experiences for Black and brown people at some Polish borders.

It’s important to note that experiences at borders and beyond in multiple places have been positive. Miriam Ekiudoko, a Special Mandate Holder at the United Nations Human Group of Experts on People of African Descent says, “Africans who fled Ukraine and are in certain parts of Poland should be careful, but generally the reception by the population is friendly. I’ve also been told that Romanians are very helpful and welcoming. And regarding the Hungarian border, border guards are acting fair and not discriminating. The trains are very full but the community is quite organized.”

As far as finding accommodation when they arrive in their new country, “There are groups of volunteers, including many members of the African diaspora helping them to find accommodation,” Ekiudoko said. “Lots of universities opened their dormitories and many local governments have been very welcoming."

For now, these students face another hurdle. Getting enrolled in a school in another country so they can finish their hard-fought-for education. There are many challenges as transcripts from Ukraine are difficult to obtain at the moment, housing is needed and, of course, students are concerned about tuition fees. Various people and groups are working on this challenge and these students seem to have little doubt that, after coming this far, they will find a way to complete their education.