Jamaicans Anxious as the Government Attempts to Get Nationals Out of Ukraine
It’s a very long way from the bleak, snowy plains of Eastern Europe to the warm, tropical islands of the Caribbean — and yet, Jamaicans have been gripped by developments surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including dramatic personal narratives from compatriots there who are trying to get out.
Confusing messages, including pleas for help and accusations by some that the Jamaican government has not provided enough assistance for its citizens, have been reverberating across social media, with much of the concern centred around Jamaican university students in Ukraine.
Most of them are medical students, living primarily in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, as the cost of studies there is a fraction of what it would be in the United States, or even at the University of the West Indies campus in Mona, Jamaica. One student described his struggle to board a train, while back home, students’ parents were consumed with anxiety over their children’s plight.
The issue was clouded by allegations on social media — which sparked considerable outrage — that the government had offered students loans to get back home, which they would have to repay.
One Twitter observer commented:
Kamina Johnson-Smith is Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. At a press briefing on the evening of February 26, she reaffirmed the government’s support for the students:
There is no requirement to pay anything back. There is no loan currently on the table. No loan.
The minister confirmed that 23 of the 42 students registered at different institutions in Ukraine were in Lviv, not far from the Polish border. She committed to underwriting subsistence costs for the students in Lviv and in Poland, as well as the costs of air travel back to Jamaica. The Jamaican Embassy in Berlin, she noted, had been in touch with the students since January, advising them of the ministry’s recommendation that they should be prepared to evacuate if necessary.
One Jamaican student did just that, but refused to leave her cat, Victoria, behind:
However, controversy lingers, and one Jamaican journalist challenged on Twitter:
On February 26, Irina Bruce, a Ukrainian citizen and tourism entrepreneur living in Montego Bay, posted an update on some students via her YouTube channel. She also defended the Jamaican government’s actions, pointing out that road transportation within Ukraine is impossible due to the absence of drivers, vehicles, and fuel shortages. She had personally tried calling various organizations — including funeral homes — to assist with transport, without success. “When you hear for seven years that Putin is about to invade Ukraine and then he doesn’t, you just don’t take another warning as seriously as you should,” she said.
Noting that Jamaicans in Ukraine, like thousands of others seeking to flee, still face difficulties, Minister Johnson-Smith stressed:
Many are making this journey on foot, so challenges abound.
This might be an understatement for some Jamaicans, including a businessman, his Ukrainian wife and their five children who, after having walked for 20 kilometres, found themselves stranded in a bus station after an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border to Poland. His account of their experience and the scenes he witnessed at the border were so distressing that the family subsequently turned back:
The Foreign Affairs Minister, however, promised to follow up with the family:
Updates from the Massias family were being widely circulated via WhatsApp. On February 27, he wrote:
God’s angels allowed us to meet a Good Samaritan last night at the bus depot in Ukraine and she would not let us sleep there as there were no rooms at the inn, so she brought us and another family to her restaurant and converted it with beds. We were fed an amazing dinner and we all slept deeply after not sleeping for over 36 hours. We had breakfast and we are ready and rested to begin another journey towards Poland. I have been in touch with our Prime Minster Holness and our Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson, who are [both] doing everything to help us. Your prayers and concern [have] encouraged us so much and my soul is in joy and peace despite all the pain and sadness I have encountered here in Ukraine.
The same day, the minister also provided an update on the student evacuation:
Despite communication glitches and controversy, the primary hope of Jamaicans at this point is for their fellow citizens to remain safe and to return home safely:
Jamaica, along with the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine, saying they are in “clear violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly the obligation to respect the sovereign rights and the territorial integrity of States.”
Update: On February 28, 2022, it was confirmed that the Jamaican students had successfully crossed over into Poland.