It has been reported that only seven out of over 1000 stranded Nigerian students studying at various institutions in Ukraine have made it to Poland on their own.
Hundreds of others are still stranded between Kiev and the Polish borders. The President, Nigerian Students Union, Anjolaoluwa Ero-Philips, who made it to Poland informed the Sun Newspaper.
This is the situation of not only Nigerian students but thousands of other African students in Ukraine
There have been accusations that some Polish and Ukrainian Immigration Officers deny some Africans and Nigerians students from crossing the borders
A lot of African students have also accused the Ukrainian authorities of Racism and double standard in the evacuation process as they usually remove all blacks and Africans from trains heading to Poland
Samuel George, a Nigerian and first-year software engineering student and his friends got all their money stolen by Ukrainian authorities who were meant to protect them
Some Ukrainian Citizens are reported to have been on the road preventing Nigerians and other black Africans from driving to the border. They let Ukrainians pass through but not Africans
Anybody crossing into Poland from Ukraine requires a vehicle to convey them to the entry border points. You can’t cross by foot. Ukrainian officials are making it very difficult for Nigerian Students to access these vehicles
Many Nigerian parents have complained bitterly that some of their children were being turned back at some entry border points in Poland simply because they are Africans
In view of the above situation and to ensure the protection of more than 800 Nigerian students still stranded at the Ukraine – Poland borders, we concerned Nigerians call on the EU and the United Nations to immediately activate the principles of the International Humanitarian Law enshrined in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and that of 1977 to fix these problems
This law stipulated guidelines and protocols to follow in times like this. Here we find rules regulating the manner in which evacuations must be effected: It stated that transfers must be carried out in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition; during displacement, persons must be provided with appropriate accommodation and members of the same family must not be separated.
The Law guarantees a continued entitlement to basic protections and rights to which aliens had been entitled to before the outbreak of hostilities.
……But Ukrainians have already started denying some African students the above rights
The news coming from both Ukraine and Poland suggest actions of discrimination, racism, robbery, preferentialism against Nigerians and Black African students. We believe this may not be entirely accurate. There must have been a communication gap, We call on both the EU and the UN to find the remote causes to these problems and fix them
In situations of war, safety and protection of people comes first. It is therefore strange that while Ukraine asks for help from the West and NATO, the same Ukraine is making things difficult for other nations and Africans living in Ukraine
We also call on the Polish Immigration Services to seriously frown on the activities of some uninformed Polish immigration agents who repeatedly deny some Nigerians and Africans entry into Poland through some of the land borders
Pharm Ike Chinedu
A Concerned Nigerian
pharmchinedu.com 
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