Foreign residents of Ukraine who successfully evacuated the country amid the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine are asking embassies for help while they assist other …
Foreign residents of Ukraine who successfully evacuated the country amid the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine are asking embassies for help while they assist other ex-pats with their own escapes from the war-torn country. Almost 80,000 third-country nationals from 138 countries have fled, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. The show of resilience, however, comes amid reports of racism and discrimination, which some African, Asian and Latin American evacuees have claimed, according to the Associated Press. That situation that has drawn criticism from international organizations, the Associated Press also reported. Officials from the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) wrote in a statement that there have been «verified credible reports of discrimination, violence and xenophobia against third country nationals.» Some reported incidents appear to have been documented on social media under trending hashtags such as #AfricansInUkraine, #AsiansInUkraine, #LatinosInUkraine and #POCinUkraine — where foreign evacuees have relayed both the positives and the negatives they’ve experienced while exiting Ukraine. Videos of foreign evacuees being blocked from entering trains and buses have garnered viral attention. «Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality or migration status is unacceptable,» the IOM wrote on Thursday. «Protection and assistance must be provided in a non-discriminatory and culturally appropriate manner to all conflict affected people.» Foreigners who have successfully crossed Ukrainian borders into neighboring countries have reportedly volunteered to help expats evacuate Ukraine at border checkpoints and group chats, the Associated Press reported.
