Over 50 Rwandans 'have managed to leave Ukraine so far'

Some 51 Rwandans have managed to flee Ukraine so far, Alain Mukuralinda, the Deputy Government Spokesperson has said. It is estimated that there are up to 80 Rwandans staying in Ukraine. A representative of the Rwandan community in the eastern European country told The New Times earlier that the biggest number of Rwandans there are students. During an interview with the national broadcaster on Tuesday, March 1, Mukuralinda said that out of the 51 Rwandans that left Ukraine, 50 have arrived in Poland, and one in Hungary. “The embassy of Rwanda in Poland sent two officials to the border to receive them,” he said. He noted that there are nine Rwandans who are currently at the Polish border waiting to cross, while 11 others are on their way to the border. “They are in contact with Rwandan embassies, their families and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said. He however revealed that there are some 15 who are stuck in Ukraine, in areas where the conflict is taking place. “That is the situation of Rwandans in Ukraine right now, but the picture keeps changing,” he said. According to him, fortunately, no Rwandan has been reported injured or dead in the conflict so far. Yesterday, this newspaper spoke with Emmanuella Kanyana and Aline Uwamahoro, two Rwandan sisters - both university students - who are currently stuck in Sumy, a city in the northeastern region of Ukraine. They told us that it is almost impossible for people to leave Sumy, as opposed to their counterparts in Kiev who sometimes get free trains that drop them to the Polish border. “In Kiev (the capital of Ukraine), we hear that people sometimes get free trains that drop them at the border (with Poland). However, here we don’t have that. When you try to go out of the city, you meet Ukrainian or Russian forces and they just tell you to go back to your house,” Uwamahoro said. There are eight Rwandans in Sumy. The two sisters said that they are faced with the fear of death, as well as other challenges like hunger. Almost every day, they have to hide in a basement to be safe from bombings. “We can hear air raid sirens almost twice a day,” Uwamahoro told us. “We are losing hope. Maybe the government of Rwanda can assist us,” she added.

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Over 50 Rwandans 'have managed to leave Ukraine so far'