A Nigerian refugee who was studying in Ukraine has told of having to ‘fight’ onto trains due to racism while fleeing the Russian invasion.
Elizabeth Iloba had been in her final year of a medical degree at an institute in the east of the country when the military offensive began.
The 29-year-old described being told to wait and even to go back by guards as she tried to catch trains on her three-day flight from Dnipro, which was hit by Russian missile strikes at the start of the invasion.
She pleaded to be let through and refused to stand aside while desperate crowds pushed their way onto services heading towards Poland.
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Stuck in limbo at a hotel in Warsaw, the student told Metro.co.uk she feels ‘saddened’ at the discrimination she experienced and is worried about other African students left behind as Vladimir Putin’s brutal offensive intensifies.
She fears returning to her home nation will make it difficult to go back to Ukraine or the EU in order to complete her studies.
‘The racism is saddening but I’m trying not think about it,’ Elizabeth said.
‘I’m just saddened for the people who experienced it more strictly, they suffered a lot. Some people were not able to cross the border to safety.
‘Other students will tell you they had to wait from morning to night, even when a train was empty they were told they couldn’t get on.’
Elizabeth and her 27-year-old brother first travelled to Kirovohrad in central Ukraine on Sunday, staying in the city for two days.
They then joined thousands of refugees trying to flee from a nearby station as the military assault intensified, catching a packed train en-route to the city of Lviv in the west.
‘There’s a lot of discrimination and it was a real struggle to get on the train,’ she said. ‘They lock the doors of the trains and say it’s only for women and children. We had to struggle and fight our way through to get onto the train. It was packed, people had to stand for hours because so many people were trying to leave.’
The pair were again told to stand aside as they tried to catch a connection in Znamyanka en-route to Lviv, which has become a hub for displaced people amid what is fast becoming a humanitarian catastrophe.
‘We had to fight our way in,’ Elizabeth said.
‘The doors and steps were closed, so we had to climb in, it was difficult but we had no choice. I refused to let them stop me, I had to force my way in.
‘I know other people have respected the rules and stood aside but it was discrimination and I could see some spaces were empty.’
Arriving in Lviv the following morning, they went straight into a tunnel to a terminal, where they again found themselves singled out as they tried to catch another train into Poland.
‘It was the same thing,’ Elizabeth said. ‘If you were Black you were being told to wait somewhere. The police and guards were telling us we could not pass.
‘There were so many people that we wanted to ask how many days it would take to get on a train. I was pleading with them to at least have a ratio, such as one foreigner for 10 Ukrainians. It would be better than telling people who were cold, hungry, traumatised and had travelled for days just to wait.’
With no announcements at the station, the brother and sister navigated the tunnel and stairs to the platform as they were told by guards, some of whom were armed, to go back.
‘I refused to look at them and acted like I didn’t know what they were talking about,’ Elizabeth said. ‘I knew if I did what they said, I was not going to leave that place. I was not insulting anybody, I was not pushing anybody.
‘We got to the stairs and there were guards and police and I told them that there should be a ratio.
‘They also said guys had to wait but I told them I wasn’t going to leave my little brother behind and we moved with the crowd.’
Fearing she could even be arrested, Elizabeth threw herself on the mercy of a border guard checking documents.
‘I had to plead with her, saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” please stamp my passport,’ Elizabeth said. ‘She eventually let us pass and get onto the train.’
Having finally boarded a packed carriage, the siblings stood in a vestibule near a door where it was bitterly cold.
Elizabeth was shivering until the train arrived at a station just inside the border in Poland, where she was given tea by a medic to help her warm up. They then caught a connection to Warsaw.
‘Even when we were on the train people were looking at us like “woah you shouldn’t be here”, you should wait until every Ukrainian is out first,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Some of them were saying things but I just ignored it and managed my way.’
Almost a week after leaving Dnipro, and like many other African students, Elizabeth, originally from Abuja, is stuck in limbo at a crucial point in her life.
‘We’re all confused, especially those of us in our final years.’ she said.
‘I want to go home but at the same time my residency pass expires in July and I don’t know what is going to happen next.
‘If I go back to Nigeria, the process for getting a visa is very tedious, and my pass is likely to expire by the time I get a new one.
‘We don’t know if we will be able to return, or transfer somewhere else, get our documents and move on with our lives. For now we are just trying to survive and waiting to see what will happen.’
Concern about the well-being of African students fleeing Ukraine has led Londoner Neega Mustafa to launch a GoFundMe appeal.
Neega said: ‘The students have left their hostels and embarked on a journey, either by foot or train, from Ukraine to Hungary or Poland with little to no money and the bare essentials.
‘Some of the students who have arrived at the new safe neighbouring country have said they were left stranded between borders for hours and have relied on the help of those around them to access food and clothes.
‘They do not have the means to live in a new country so I have set up the page as a way to assist them until their situation is stable.’
More than one million people have left Ukraine since the unprovoked invasion began eight days ago. The UN has said the exodus could become the biggest refugee crisis anywhere in the world this century.
Filippo Grandi, the high commissioner for refugees, said earlier this week that non-European people have faced discrimination when entering neighbouring countries.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has acknowledged the allegations in comments posted on Twitter.
He said: ‘Africans seeking evacuation are our friends and need to have equal opportunities to return to their home countries safely.’
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