By now most of us have read about and seen the reports of Africans and other People of Colour in Ukraine being blocked from boarding trains or crossing the border to neighbouring Poland and Romania as they escape the latest war to erupt in the country.
The majority are young students from across the African continent, the Caribbean and Asia, and this social media-savvy demographic did not hesitate to share their experiences of racism, even in a time of war, with the world. Tweets from Korrine Sky, @nzekiev, and numerous other young Africans in Ukraine rapidly brought the plight of People of Colour to the world’s attention.
Those tweets were spotted by Black Britons, Tokunbo Koiki and Patricia Daley, who understood that this was not a time for armchair activism, but decisive action. Tokunbo and Patricia connected with Korrine over Twitter and encouraged her to start a fundraiser to provide financial support to those stranded as they tried to escape. Up to that point, Korrine had been using her own funds to help her fellow Africans.
The result? In one weekend, the trio had raised over £50,000 in publicly donated funds that is being distributed to anyone of African origin that needs help with taxis and other emerging needs. The gofundme site alone raised just over £27,000 in 36 hours. Donations are being made by people of all backgrounds from around the world. In the process, many others have come forward to help those in need in any way that they can, and to that end, Tokunbo, Patricia, and Korrine have created Black Women for Black Lives - @bw4bl_official to streamline their work and disburse funds where needed.
Meet the African women bringing the spirit of #Ubuntu alive in the 21st century…
To donate to the fundraiser go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-afrocaribbean-students-leaving-ukraine
Follow on Twitter to find out other ways that you can help:
@TRiiCiiAKANTEL