The war in Ukraine has forced thousands of people to leave the country. Among them, some have experienced scenes of unbearable racism.
Nationals of African countries settled in Ukraine have denounced the treatment to which they have been subjected. Indeed, at a time when thousands of people living in Ukraine are fleeing a country at war, the authorities of certain countries discriminate against refugees based on their skin color. Videos sourced by French media show black people grouped together and told to wait for white people to pass first. Some refugees say they were insulted by Ukrainian nationals who refused to allow them to board government trains evacuating women and children.
France Info reported the testimonies of several students, two Nigerians and two anonymized people, who relate scenes of racism where whites and blacks are treated differently.
Racism in the midst of war in Ukraine
In addition to these testimonials, many people pointed out the racism in the media in the way of covering the war. Indeed, some editorialists do not hesitate to underline the fact that in this war, it is people with white skin and Europeans who are fleeing, and not “Syrians who are fleeing the bombings” as a journalist from BFM was able to declare. . This uninhibited racism on both sides of the border is “alarming about the state of our democracy” underlines the journalist Salomé Saqué. To help as citizens with the situation in Ukraine, the WeUkraine platform has been launched to identify useful initiatives.