Thread by @LHreports

1/ "They're not letting the black girl go." This video captures a disturbing scene at a railway station in Ukraine as a young woman is prevented from boarding an evacuation train. @LHReports investigates this case & others

2/ The video appears to be a case of racial discrimination & taking place at Lviv station 🇺🇦

Captions on some versions of this video say that a white girl was let on but this isn't clearly shown in the video

https://twitter.com/Brayson53233089/status/1497846801130565634

3/ In an Instagram post from foreigners in Ukraine discussing the video someone who claims to be a friend of the woman pictured says the woman was hurt in the incident but ultimately able to board an evacuation train.

instagram.com/p/CaeVUvOop2Z/…

4/ The account that’s doing the commenting is credible because it’s consistent with the profile of a Nigerian former Erasmus student in Ternopil in Ukraine.

5/ 100s of videos showing panic & anger are being shared & used to draw sweeping conclusions. In this @LHReports THREAD we use #OSINT & reporting to verify what we can about what's happening to migrants & minorities in flight from the war

6/ This viral video shows African men being barred from entering trains in what appears to be Lviv

https://twitter.com/Damilare_arah/status/1497650917088374790

7/ The missing context in this video from Lviv is that evacuation carriages are reserved for women & children. There’s considerable confusion over rules. Witnesses have reported Ukrainian males also being barred from entering trains

edition.cnn.com/europe/live-ne…

8/ The war in Ukraine & the emerging refugee crisis is expected to affect millions. Among them 10,000s of minorities, migrant workers, students & other non-Ukrainians. It comes at a time of peak Fortress Europe

web.archive.org/web/2022020515…

9/ Questions of who gets sanctuary & who doesn't are intensely charged. Misinformation can spark conflicts on the ground. This thread will sift visual evidence & balanced testimony to report fairly

10/ Disinformation actors have already seized on the issue to reinforce propaganda narratives about Ukraine. But voices from the affected communities tell a more nuanced story of what’s happening

11/ Ibrahima Badiane, teacher & head of Senegalese community in Ukraine, is in Ternopil, 230km from the Polish border & about to attempt to cross. Tells @LHRreports how his Ukrainian neighbours drove him in their car from Kyiv

12/ "They were wonderful & protected me for 2 nights in their bunker before taking me with them. The trains from Lviv-Poland are free & officially only for women & children so even white men can't get on"

13/ Ibrahima said the trains are "a fight to get in every time… It's clear the Africans are a minority in those trains but I know 2 Senegalese women who were able to board this morning."

14/ He’s in touch w/many Africans who've crossed the border nr Lviv after waiting 2 days. "Cold and lack of food is worst, I appeal to humanitarian orgs to help those waiting, yesterday I saw a Congolese woman faint, people are freezing."

15/ "Once you make it to the EU border, the authorities contact your embassies to verify your identity." Ibrahima says that while the Senegalese consul in Poland has been active in making sure they can enter

16/ It's a lottery for #AfricansinUkraine. So far we know Nigeria is facilitating access to Romania & Poland, Kenya made contact w/Poland, other African govts express concern but many haven’t contacted border countries or given instructions

17/ We’ll continue this thread, verifying visual material & speaking to eye witnesses. Tell us what you’re seeing, tweet at us, our DMs are open. Media covering this issue? Reach out

18/ As the crisis escalates the situation at border crossings gets more desperate for everyone. But there are hierarchies in accessing havens & forms of segregation at some crossings. Vital to note testimonies are specific NOT GENERAL

19/ An 18-year-old Nigerian woman studying medicine in Vnmu said Africans waited longer than anyone else. "I arrived at 11:30pm [Siret crossing into Romania ] & was only able to cross at 5am” she told @LHReports

20/ “We thought we’d die of cold, they allowed Ukrainians, Indians & Moroccans in before black Africans. Even after we crossed the 1st gate they still made Ukrainians go before us, ignoring our queue”

21/ “On the Romanian side we’re treated v well, now I’m going to the UK to be w/my family. I have a visa but my passport is w/immigration service in Kyiv. I should be OK. Students who don't have EU visas will probably all just go home"

22/ A series of viral tweets from @nzekiev describe the discrimination he faced while progressing towards the Polish border from Lviv. Some of these videos have been viewed more than 2 million times

https://twitter.com/nzekiev/status/1497805019311218689

23/ After spending the night at the border, he crossed into Poland the following day. We geolocated his post confirming the experience took place at the Medyka crossing, where many Africans have described experiencing similar issues

49.799898, 22.952700

https://twitter.com/nzekiev/status/1497815179865829376

24/ Yves Nathan Kasongo from the DRC walked more than 26km in the cold b/w Lviv & the nearest border post. He eventually made it to Poland & Brussels, tells @LHReports “We were already traumatised & exhausted. Then the [Ukrainian] soldiers pushed us away as if we were worthless”

25/ “The things we heard when we were queuing up were not pleasant to hear, it’s really disappointing, the racism, they just said it out loud. I’m really at a loss for words, I prefer to stop here.”

26/ Ukraine border guards denied allegations of discrimination insisting they are under enormous pressure & ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson says they apply a “first come first serve approach”

facebook.com/oleg.nikolenko…

27/ As Ukrainian cities become encircled by Russian forces & transit routes are blocked, international students are encountering difficulties in leaving cities like Kharkiv, Kherson, and Kiev. With deadly consequences

28/ Mar 1 saw the first known death of a student, Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, 21, a 4th year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical Uni. His death later confirmed by the Indian government

https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1498591112188989442

28/ Indian media, Federal & NDTV report that Naveen ventured outside to buy food near Kharkiv’s Regional State Admin Building in Freedom Square, when it was hit in a Russian strike

thefederal.com/international/…

ndtv.com/india-news/rus…

29/ The strike on the building itself was widely covered by international media. Naveen was one of at last 112 people killed in Kharkiv in 24hrs, according to regional governor Oleg Synegubov

reuters.com/world/europe/k…