title taken from “Untold Stories” by Buju Banton
Putin and Jamaicans
On Thursday, February 24th, Russian forces opened fire on Ukraine, attacking their air defense and most of their military infrastructure. Cell phone videos from the region show missiles flying overhead and planes falling from the sky as Ukraine attempts to shield itself from the onslaught.
Ukrainian residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as the threat level rises. However, foreigners residing in the country for school, work, or leisure are finding it difficult to get out of the region.
“Almost 20,000 Indian students were stranded in Ukraine on Thursday, according to Indian news reports. An Air India flight that was heading to Kyiv turned back to Delhi on Thursday as Ukraine closed its airspace, and a number of students have gathered at the Indian embassy in Kyiv seeking help.” (Time.com)
The help they are seeking also includes money for the flights home. Airplane tickets from Ukraine to India cost more than INR 70,000 (about US $930), a significant jump from the pre-conflict price of INR 30,000. The students say that they simply cannot afford to leave.
Jamaica is attempting to help students pay for their return home. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson Smith announced Thursday that the government will issue a loan for students to return as the conflict escalates. However, some students are refusing the government’s offer. Before you condemn them, read what I wrote one more time. Jamaica is offering a loan. For those already saddled with debt, this is not the best option. They are also not being told how the government will help if they are unable to continue their education, a real consideration as some schools have said they would expel students who leave.
Some are choosing instead to go to nearby countries like Turkey to avoid being in the heart of the tumult while reserving their funds for future studies. But heading to surrounding areas may not be possible as ground transportation has been halted since Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaly Klitschko declared a state of emergency, which involves a curfew and using train stations as shelters for those displaced.
Photo cred: The Washington Post
The attack is not exactly a surprise. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he saw “very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.” The shock is in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sheer defiance and unwillingness to comply with foreign governments.
Despite the allegedly good talk with Biden in December, Putin did not remove troops from the Ukraine border and clearly had no intention of dialing back the aggression. Since then, he increased troops to ~200k and warned the Ukraine against joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - an organization that now dominates territories once ruled by the now dissolved Soviet Union.
The current theory is that Putin, a former Soviet KGB soldier, is seeking to re-establish the Soviet Union starting with one of the founding members of the 15 Republics, Ukraine. In an international address, Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen.”
Right now, it is a priority for foreign governments to get their nationals out of Ukraine. But with so many forced to evacuate to surrounding areas, will these countries be equipped to harbor these soon-to-be refugees?
