CNN journalist Bijan Hosseini took to Twitter to narrate how his black sister was not let in due to her skin colour.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – As thousands of people struggling to flee or fleeing the war-torn Ukraine risking the plight of non-white people has come to light. It seems racism, besides war, is also increasing the suffering of the evacuee.
CNN journalist Bijan Hosseini took to Twitter to narrate the painful story of his black sister from a west African country Sierra Leone, who is adopted. She travelled long distances hiring vehicles for huge amounts of money as well as on foot to reach the border. But she was not let in due to her skin colour.
“When they arrived at 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,” wrote Hosseini in a long thread.
Next morning, she fainted as she was exhausted due to the long walk, sleep and food deprivation. She was taken to a hospital by an ambulance where she was given fluids. She got energy after taking rest.
She again went back to Lviv hoping to get a bus ticket to cross the border as she was not allowed to cross it on foot. She took a 24 hours journey to reach the Poland border Przemysly.
“Once the bus finally made it to the border (the same border she was at two days before) someone announced that “all blacks” needed to get off. My sister and her friends, bravely, refused to get off,” said Hosseini.
Hosseini cited a report which shows that foreign students are complaining of racism and segregation at the border. However, her sister was allowed to cross the border after sitting there for 5 hours.
It was a journey of four and half days (104 hours).
“My sister is lucky. She’s safe, in a hotel where she was finally able to shower and sleep in a bed. There are still thousands of people in her shoes trapped on the other side. More than half a million refugees have fled Ukraine, during the Russian invasion, according to the UN,” said Hosseini.
His sister was staying in Kyiv, capital of Ukraine. She travelled from Kyiv to Lviv, west Ukraine close to Polan border. She had found a cab, which took her from Kyiv to Lviv. After reaching Lviv, the driver said that he would take her along with other passengers to the border. But after driving 30 km, the driver said that he had to go back to Kyiv. They were dropped in the middle. Then, she decided to walk to reach the border. After walking 10 hours, she decided to leave her belongings to ease the burden.
My sister is lucky. She’s safe, in a hotel where she was finally able to shower and sleep in a bed. There are still thousands of people in her shoes trapped on the other side. More than half a million refugees have fled Ukraine, during the Russian invasion, according to the UN.
— Bijan Hosseini (@BijanCNN) March 1, 2022
