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His Excellency Antonio Guterres
Secretary General of the United Nations
Your Excellency, Dear International Community, It is with great concerns that we are writing to you regarding the treatment of visible minorities who have fled the war in Ukraine and those who are currently still blocked in Ukraine; some of them afraid to come out of the war torn country fearing that they may have to submit to the same racism and discrimination faced by many community members who went before them.
If all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, why can't visible minorities have an equal right to safety, refuge and an equal treatment at the various borders?
If all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, why can't international African students be allowed to pursue their studies in many European countries that are welcoming white Ukrainian students with arms wide open? If all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights, why are some Black mothers denied access to important Ukrainian documents for their Ukrainian children? Imagine fleeing the same war as others, but being separated by race at the borders? Imagine fleeing the same war as others, boarding the same trains and being told that you are not allowed to sit while in the train like others because of your skin color? Imagine being told that your Ukrainian spouse and children can stay and be granted refugee status but that you will be deported because of your origins? Many of our community members don't have to imagine this, because they lived it and the trauma of these experiences are still haunting them every single day! Over the past seven months, we have witnessed the blatant racism and discrimination faced by many visible minorities fleeing the war in Ukraine: from being beat up at the borders, having their belongings thrown around, being illegally detained to having to fight to obtain legal status in some European countries. Today, many people, including Black Ukrainian children are living in fear and are homeless in a lot of European countries. Many international African students whom parents have sacrificed so much to send them abroad with the hope that one day, they could carry their families further are being chased out of European countries, denied legal status, denied the opportunity to continue their studies and threatened with deportation.
There is not a week that our organization doesn't have to move community members from one country and city to the other. They are exhausted! We are exhausted! We ask the immediate intervention of the United Nations and the International Community to demand an equal treatment of Black people and visible minorities fleeing the war in Ukraine. We ask that European countries stop the deportation of community members who are fleeing the war in Ukraine and don't have a safe country to return to, or simply need to pursue their studies. We ask that European countries ask and encourage their educational institutions to equally welcome international African students and other visible minorities who desire to pursue their studies for education is a human right! In fact, this human right represents the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which aims to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all." This should include African students and other visible minorities fleeing the war in Ukraine. The current treatment of visible minorities fleeing this war is a direct violation of some of their fundamental human rights. For "human rights are universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated", we ask that the United Nations reminds ALL nations that ALL people fleeing the war in Ukraine deserve an equal treatment, compassion, understanding, care, dignity, respect and chance to move forward in a peaceful, fair and prosperous environment because the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights; that they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood"; was written for all human beings and not just for what some call "the majority". The war in Ukraine is a tragedy! No human being, no Ukrainian, no third country national, no permanent resident, no child should ever have to live and go through war. It is a moment for the international community to come together in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, and treat and protect all people equally for bombs and the psychological effects of war have no mercy and know no skin color!
The Global Black Coalition www.globalblackcoalition.org Please sign our request via this link: https://chng.it/FF4WjchkZr