Amid all the headlines and the justified concern over Ukraine – a humanitarian disgrace.
Racism in plain sight as black Africans and Caribbeans are denied the chance to flee Ukraine as the killing continues.
In tales with shades of Nazi Germany, a hierarchy system has been seen operating at train stations in Kyiv: children first, white women and men (with their pets) second, while black people are made to wait.
And wait. And wait. No food, no shelter. Just hope.
The anecdotal evidence is widespread. The video footage on social media to back it up is both shameful and damning: a mother and her two-month-old among hundreds on the Polish border in near-freezing, night-time temperatures as they are held at gunpoint.
Angry Nigerians and Ghanaians ejected from trains that could ferry them to safety and told: “No blacks”.
Africans reaching the front of queues and being ordered to the back by border guards with Ukrainians being allowed through first.
There are tales of Indians, Arabs and Syrians suffering similar treatment.
Yet to watch our mainstream TV the coverage has been sparse to say the least.
You can understand why some people over here, worried sick about their family members caught up in the carnage, feel abandoned.
Ukraine is popular as a destination for foreign students because of its affordable university fees. It has turned into a hell-hole, with many facing no option but to walk for days to save their lives.
Thank goodness for Twitter, which, for all its drawbacks, has been a Godsend. Desperate messages have been exchanged between strangers warning those behind them of the horrors ahead.
Key details have been provided of contacts in neighbouring countries who could travel to the border and potentially intervene.
The Jamaican Foreign Affairs ministry has stepped into the case of the 24 students who arrived over the weekend in Lviv from Kharkiv, only to be forced to walk 12 miles to Poland.
The Nigerian Foreign Affairs ministry issued a statement on Sunday reassuring its citizens that it “is fully abreast of all the challenges faced by Nigerians crossing into countries bordering Ukraine, especially the Polish border”, that its minister had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart and that both were “working on alleviating the suffering of Nigerians”.
Were it not for social media, we would never know of such outrages that blow apart the myth that Europe is united against oppression.
While we in England back Poland over their refusal to play football matches against the Russian national team as Ukrainians die, Polish forces are allowing fleeing Ukrainians and other nationals to cross their border – but stopping hundreds on the basis of their skin colour.
While our families prepare to join the hundreds across the UK queueing up with clothes, shoes and other items to help, our people over there remain stranded.
“Black Africans are being treated with racism and contempt in Ukraine and Poland,” wrote Dr Ayoade Alakija, a special envoy at the World Health Organisation.
“[The] West cannot ask African nations to stand in solidarity with them if they cannot display basic respect for us even in a time of war.
“Ignored in a pandemic and left to die in war?!! Unacceptable.”
We are all with Ukraine. But if you are black or brown with your family stranded, you can be forgiven for asking: “Is everyone else with us?”
