We, the African students who escaped the horrors of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, write to you with a desperate plea for justice and compassion. Two years later, we find ourselves trapped in a cycle of bureaucracy, racism, and indifference that threatens our futures and exposes a shameful double standard in global humanitarian aid.

While fleeing war, we witnessed the stark reality: skin color determined access to refuge. Denied scholarships granted to Ukrainian peers, cut off from opportunities, we fight daily for the chance to simply continue our education. Now, countries like the Netherlands threaten us with deportation, despite the ongoing dangers we all fled.

We implore you:

• UNESCO, Global Education Coalition, European Commission, universities, and nations dedicated to education: Create support packages and scholarships for ALL students displaced by this war. Education is a right, not a privilege determined by nationality.
• Universities worldwide: Grant us equal admission access alongside Ukrainian students. Discrimination has no place in the pursuit of knowledge.
• Ukrainian Universities and Agencies: End exploitative practices that block our transcripts and prevent transfers. Do not hold our futures hostage or profit from our desperation.
• Governments offering refuge: Extend the same protection and support to non-Ukrainian refugees as you do for Ukrainians. Deportation to an active conflict zone is a violation of human rights.

Our dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, and leaders hang in the balance. We are not asking for preferential treatment, only that the same compassion extended to others is not denied us due to the color of our skin.

Act now. Support us. Demand equal treatment for all refugees under the banner of humanity.

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm X