Following the unprovoked inversion of Ukraine by the Russian army, which has lasted for over 11 days today, no fewer than 100,000 Nigerians and other Africans have signed a petition on the discrimination against blacks who are attempting to flee Ukraine over the invasion of the Eastern European country by Russia.
The online petition, which was initiated by a civil society organisation, Concerned Nigerians, was titled ‘Stop discriminating, provide safe passages for Africans and People of Colour out of Ukraine.’ The petition, published by a global advocacy body, Change.Org, is to the Council of the European Union, European Commission, African Union, and the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The UNHCR had not updated the number of refugees in Moldova on Saturday, which stood at 103,254 on Friday, or 7.5 percent of the total. The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, was in Moldova on Friday, in the eastern town of Palanca where refugees are arriving. “Today at Palanca I saw thousands and thousands of people streaming across Ukraine’s border crossing with Moldova. Thousands of stories of separation, anguish, and loss. A difficult day, but much respect for the many dedicated Moldovan officials and people helping the refugees,” Grandi said in a tweet on Friday evening.
According to the UNHCR, some of the refugees are continuing on to Romania or Hungary, often to reunite with family. Some 101,529 people have fled Ukraine and taken refuge in Slovakia, 7.4 percent of the total, according to the UNHCR. In Romania, the UNHCR counts 63,192 refugees, about 4.6 percent of the total.
Two camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret. UNHCR also said that 133,876 people, around one in 10, had continued on to other European countries after crossing the Ukrainian border. The number of people taking refuge in Russia remained unchanged at around 53,000, or 3.9 per cent of the total. Nigeria has so far evacuated 807 of its citizens from war-raged Ukraine as at Saturday.
