From international student to refugee
Fleeing Ukraine and resettling elsewhere has been difficult—especially for African nationals.
A student covers herself in blanket at the Medyka border crossing in Poland after fleeing from the Ukraine in February. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
On February 22, Martin Domo was at his home in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, when his friend phoned him and said, “We need to leave.” Tensions had been building between Russia and Ukraine, and a possible invasion was imminent.
“As though he knew what would happen, he told me that we must leave here because a war might likely start,” Domo recalled. “I was confused and didn’t know what to do at that time.”
Two days later, Russia invaded Ukraine—and the situation became chaotic.
