House Democrats are not forgetting about African migrants seeking refuge from Ukraine
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Congressman Meeks updates theGrio on his trip to neighboring Poland about the mistreatment of Africans at the border, while Congresswoman Beatty proposes a bill providing economic support.
U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York is back from Poland with an update on the refugee crisis at the border that particularly impacts Black and Brown people trying to leave the war-torn country of Ukraine.
Since the first Russian missiles devastated the eastern European nation, images of people fleeing the country for safety in neighboring countries have permeated news networks and social media. However, Black migrants and African students who were studying in Ukraine have felt the brunt of discrimination in the refugee process to exit Ukraine to border countries like Poland amid the Russian invasion.
The visuals of Black migrants being denied access to transportation or the ability to cross through Ukraine’s border simply due to the color of their skin have gone viral in recent weeks.
Congressman Meeks, who is also chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told theGrio that during his trip to Poland he discovered that the country’s leadership said it was equally troubled by the treatment of African migrants.
“I found that the Polish government was very concerned about what they too was hearing, and they issued a non-discriminatory mandate to all of their border patrols on the Polish side,” said Meeks, who adding the mandate “is being enforced as we speak, so that if anybody got to the borders of Poland, that they would be let in in a nondiscriminatory manner.”
The U.S. representative added, “I’m told that they are moving forward now to try to make sure that doesn’t happen. They understand that that played or plays right into the hands of Vladimir Putin, who then takes that information and tries to say that there’s nothing but Nazis and racists in Ukraine, which is also not true.”
While in Poland, Congressman Meeks said he also met with the Foreign Minister of Poland Zbigniew Rau.
The highest levels in the Biden-Harris administration are said to be working on the refugee process for Ukrainians as well as African migrants and it is being closely monitored by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior White House officials.
Meeks traveled to Poland to better understand the ordeal of Black migrants and to find a resolution to the alleged cases of discrimination. Meeks exclusively told theGrio in an interview in early March,“I think I have the job as the first African American to chair the [House] Foreign Affairs Committee to go directly myself…I want to make sure that those who have been living there for a period of time and those who have recently immigrated there from [Africa are safe]…it’s my job.”
Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty said she is creating legislation to ensure aid for refugees of color.
“African refugees – many of whom had already fled hardship in their home countries – have been experiencing difficulties and discrimination in this current crisis,” Congressman Beatty told theGrio. “My provision specifically makes clear that our economic support should include refugees of African descent.”
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