African, Asian, Arab refugees fleeing Russia's assault on Ukraine attacked by Polish nationalists
African, Asian, Arab refugees fleeing Russia's assault on Ukraine attacked by Polish nationalists
Europe's racism problem has once more come to the fore with African, South Asian and Middle Eastern refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine attacked by white nationalists in Poland.
3 min read
Stories of attacks on refugees of colour have been shared on social media [Getty]
African, South Asian and Middle Eastern refugees were assaulted by groups of white nationalists in Poland, as they fled neighbouring Ukraine to escape Russia's devastating invasion.
There are multiple reports of men dressed in black seeking out non-white refugees, most of them students, as they got off trains from Ukraine that led them to Przemyśl train station in Poland.
According to local police, three Indians were beaten by a group of five men on 1 March, leaving one of them in hospital.
Police - also accused of racism against refugees - intervened after groups of men arrived at the scene chanting "Przemyśl always Polish", reported The Guardian.
Similar attacks are being reported on social media, all targeting non-white individuals.
One user from the city tweeted that white nationalists were "coordinating attacks on non-white refugees, in particular Africans, after they cross the border to "safety."
I grew up in Poland near Ukraine. The racism is even worse than we're seeing on English-speaking social media.
— Aneta (@AnetaMolenda) March 2, 2022
White nationalists in Przemyśl are coordinating attacks on non-white refugees, in particular Africans, after they get across the border to "safety."
African and Europeans fleeing the war were divided into separate groups where the Europeans could get on a bus every 15 minutes but Africans had to wait four hours in the freezing cold, as was reported by The New Arab.
Earlier this week, videos emerged of Indian students being beaten by Ukrainian border guards as they tried to leave the country.
My heart goes out to the Indian students suffering such violence and their family watching these videos. No parent should go through this.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 28, 2022
GOI must urgently share the detailed evacuation plan with those stranded as well as their families.
We can’t abandon our own people. pic.twitter.com/MVzOPWIm8D
CNN producer Bijan Hosseini posted a tweet thread about his sister fleeing from Ukraine, elaborating on her experience fleeing Ukraine. According to one tweet, refugees at the border were being formed into two lines – “one for white people, the other for everyone else.”
When they arrived to the border they were not let in. Two lines were formed. One for white people, the other for everyone else. Only Ukrainians were being let over the border. Thousands of people were forced to sleep outside in the cold. Fires were started to keep people warm. pic.twitter.com/ZYMZk7M5My
— Bijan Hosseini (@BijanCNN) March 1, 2022
Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, has long struggled with racism, often violent, against refugees.
Nyasha Bhobo, a contributor at The New Arab wrote on Tuesday that she was not surprised at hearing these stories of racism and discrimination.
"[E]ven in the grimmest of times, Europe always switches to default mode: racism," Bhobo wrote.
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