Photo courtesy of Young Thug / Instagram.
Rapper Young Thug was moved to call on the rap community to help the Africans being stopped from leaving Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Ukraine a threat to Russia’s existence on Feb. 24 before attacking the country.
As Ukrainians tried to leave the country for safety, Africans living in Ukraine were physically stopped from boarding trains leaving the country in favor of white Europeans. Footage of Africans being held back from boarding trains has circulated the internet.
One Nigerian student described walking for 12 hours straight just to be turned away at the Ukrainian/Polish border. The news of Africans stranded in Ukraine prompted Young Thug to say he was willing to help Africans stuck at the border on his Instagram Stories on Feb. 28.
“If some of my rap brothers are in I’m willing to help Africans get out of Ukraine,” he wrote. “However I can sense they not letting us pass,” he wrote. “Whoever holds the info for these movements please contact me ASAP I’m ready.”
“‘They said if you’re black, you should walk’ Nigerian student Jessica has kept in touch with us about her journey out of Ukraine. She is among the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the country, and one of many #AfricansinUkraine who have described facing racism at borders.”
Footage of Africans being turned away in the freezing weather resulted in the hashtag #AfricansInUkraine on Twitter. At least 680,000 people have fled
Ukraine for Poland. More than 84,000 made it to Hungary, and 32,500 are now in Romania. Around 32,500 people made it into Moldova and another 30,000 to Slovakia.Most of the refugees are children and women because men between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to stay in Ukraine to fight. The foreign minister to Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, admitted that racism was a problem at its borders.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has affected Ukrainians and non-citizens in many devastating ways. Africans seeking evacuation are our friends and need to have equal opportunities to return to their home countries safely. Ukraine’s government spares no effort to solve the problem.”
Rapper Strick shared Young Thug’s post on his Instagram Stories with a caption calling him a young leader.
“This needs to be Shared more! I’m with your slime!” he wrote. “Proud of you brother. Always been a true leader! PURE. King Spida to the rescue!”