Relief for Kenyans caught up in Ukraine, Russia war

It has been a tense couple of days for more than 200 Kenyans caught up in the Russian invasion of Ukraine that went a notch higher on Thursday.

Faced with minimal avenues of withdrawing cash; a congested public transport system; low supplies of food and water; and a risk of being attacked at whatever places they were, the Kenyans were literally in a boiling cauldron with no way out. Their way out of Ukraine was blocked because visa regulations could not let them cross to another country.

As nationals of other countries crossed over to safer countries like Poland, a number of Kenyans — most of them students — were left to languish at the border, hoping for a miracle.

As such, it was good news yesterday afternoon as the Foreign Affairs ministry announced that it had reached an agreement with European Union (EU) member states to allow Kenyans fleeing Ukraine into their territories.

The decision was made after the principal secretary in the Foreign Affairs ministry, Mr Macharia Kamau, held a meeting with EU country representatives at a Nairobi hotel.

“EU member states bordering Ukraine have agreed to open their borders to Kenyans stuck in Ukraine to have free passage,” Mr Macharia told the Saturday Nation. “Over 200 Kenyans, mainly students, are in Ukraine.”

The move will be a big relief to many Kenyans who had been living in fear.

A video shared yesterday by a Kenyan student in Ukraine captured the tense situation in the eastern European country. 

In the early hours of Friday, the student — only identified as Asya — and other alarmed residents were jolted by loud explosions in quick succession. The scare in their voices as they scampered for safety was palpable.

Russian onslaught

The Foreign Affairs ministry yesterday said no Kenyan has been harmed so far, but with the rapidly changing situation and reports of a continued Russian onslaught into Ukraine, anything can change. 

Kenyans in the country are caught between a rock and a hard place because there are no commercial flights to and from Ukraine at the moment. A number have chosen to move to Poland, hoping they can find a way of returning to Kenya from the country that neighbours Ukraine to the west. 

But before the Nairobi meeting, hardly anyone with a Kenyan passport had been allowed into Poland. 

“Because we have a Kenyan passport, we need a visa to get into Poland, which we cannot apply for right now,” Asya told the BBC.

Ahmed Ibrahim Tawakal, another student whose video describing the situation in Ukraine went viral online, asked the Kenyan government to assist in obtaining temporary visas.

“We would like to ask the government of Kenya and the people back home if they can talk to Poland to give us emergency visas or set forth any measures for the evacuation of foreign students or foreign citizens of Kenya,” he pleaded.

In an earlier statement, Mr Kamau had advised Kenyans in Ukraine to “assess their circumstances” to gauge their next cause of action. “(They should) make arrangements to leave as they deem fit in light of their own circumstances,” he said.

However, movement in Ukraine has not been easy, according to the Kenyans there. The public transport system has been overrun partly because everyone wants to move from one point to another and also due to the closure of civilian airports.

Asya told the BBC that congestion on the roads had also been caused by locals going to markets to buy food in readiness for what looks like a long-drawn war ahead.

Stranded with no food

“That brought a gridlock. There was traffic. I think we walked for about six or seven kilometres and there was traffic that wasn’t moving, especially on the main highways, because most people have taken out their cars and they want to leave the city,” she said.

“We also had long queues outside pharmacies, outside ATMs, and people milling around train stations. We see people moving around with their luggage and their bags and walking for long distances,” she added.

She went on: “ For those who have the money, they may not be able to access it. We have long queues outside ATMs and you are not guaranteed that you’re going to get your opportunity at the ATM. When you get there, you’re not guaranteed that there will be cash. If there is cash, there are restrictions on the amount you can withdraw. If you are sent money through Western Union, their outlets are all closed right now. So, even if you had money, you have no way of accessing it.”

Kenyans based in Ukraine feel the Kenyan government has not been proactive in assisting them. On Twitter, the hashtag #KenyansInUkraine gathered traction. Users took offence with an advisory issued on Thursday by the Kenyan embassy in Vienna, Austria, that had asked Kenyans to leave Ukraine urgently.

“This government has ordered the students to leave Ukraine while most of the students have no money on them. Can’t they kindly order repatriation?” one user tweeted.

Activist Boniface Mwangi added his voice to the conversation, posting screenshots of his conversation with one student who described the dire situation they were in.

“We are stranded with no food, water, or even cash. We are in a state of fear of what may happen at any time. People are impulse-buying. The bank cards that used to work earlier on don’t work anymore and the Western Union outlets have shut down,” the student, identified only as Malicha, told Mr Mwangi.

The student also said that there were as many as 35 students who had been living at the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil who had moved to the border and that others were walking there because cars were not moving.

“Those (Kenyans) already at the border are stranded while other international students are being cleared by their governments,” the student lamented.

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