After Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, thousands of Africans and other people of colour in the country faced discrimination as they tried to flee.
In this clip, 34-year-old Pyra Diantouadi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) expressed his disbelief at Ukrainians asking him to take up guns to fight for Kiev. He laughed at the idea of facing Russian troops, saying he'd stick out like a sore thumb and probably be killed, thanks to his skin colour.
He was lucky to get a train ride westward into Poland, where ABC News recorded this interview. However, reports say Ukrainian soldiers turned away many African men at train stations. In 2020, the government reported it had more than 80,000 international students from 158 countries.
This brother's response is not surprising, as Africans have historically been used to fight in European wars, whether it was in the US war on Vietnam, the two World Wars some historians refer to as imperialist wars, the US Civil War or US settler-colonisers' war of 'independence' against the British. Our people unfortunately have a history of fighting for people who would never fight for us. But, at least this brother followed in the steps of boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, who refused to be deployed to Vietnam in 1967, essentially saying, 'Hell no!'
How would you have reacted if you were in this brother's position?
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