Africa press review
In the spotlight: the consequences of the Ukraine-Russia war for Africa
Audio 04:04
Ukrainian soldiers search and recover unexploded shells after a fight with a Russian raiding party in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on the morning of February 26, 2022. AFP - SERGEI SUPINSKY
By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow
4 mins
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First of all, there is the question of the evacuation of African nationals.
The Citizen
is worried about it, for example in South Africa.
He relays the words of South African Foreign Minister Thandi Modise, explaining that there are no evacuation plans in place as no official request has been made to evacuate from Ukraine or Russia. .
But on Friday, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation still “
called on South Africans stranded in Ukraine to try to leave for neighboring countries
”.
They would be some 250 on the spot, according to official figures.
Some Africans mistreated
And when they try to do so, some of them visibly encounter difficulties.
“
South African students and other Africans were mistreated on the border between Ukraine and Poland
”, it is a senior South African official who explains it on Twitter relates
The Citizen
.
"
The South African Ambassador to Poland has come from Warsaw to take care of the matter
", one can read and
"the Ambassador to Hungary is also taking care of the South Africans on his side
".
Same echoes in Nigeria elsewhere.
“
Nigerians in Ukraine must be treated with dignity ”, reads the front page of the
Vanguard
newspaper website
.
He reports here the words of the Nigerian presidency who reacted after the broadcast of videos massively shared on social networks.
It shows that “
Ukrainian police and security personnel refused to allow Nigerians to board buses and trains heading for the Ukrainian-Polish border
”.
Vanguard
explains that the presidency “
expressed dismay
” for one video in particular, which shows “
a Nigerian mother with her young baby being forced to give up her seat to another person.
".
Furthermore, “
a group of Nigerian students have repeatedly been refused entry to Poland
.
They had no choice but to travel through Ukraine again and attempt to leave the country through the border with Hungary
.”
In this context, the Nigerian presidency recalls that "
the security and human rights of the approximately four thousand Nigerian citizens and many other nationals of African countries stranded in Ukraine are paramount
".
A war arousing little reaction on the continent
"
Faced with this tragedy, few African reactions
", observes
Le Pays
in Burkina Faso.
He speaks to us of the “
silence of the black continent
” because, apart from the African Union and South Africa, “
almost all the other countries have been conspicuous by their absence
”, an attitude “
dictated by fear
”.
The Country
distinguishes three groups on the continent.
Those for whom the events in Ukraine are not "
a foreign policy priority
", probably the vast majority of African states analyze the newspaper.
Those who “
refuse to speak
", like Guinea, claiming to be neutral and which has also been tackled by Kiev for this, and then, finally, those who "
are in the process of marrying, one might say, in just marriage with Russia.
For the latter, Russia is seen as a new strategic partner who is not reluctant to defend national sovereignty against the former French colonizer.
The Central African Republic and Mali can be considered today as the figurehead of this group
”.
Expected economic consequences
There are also those who worry about the economic consequences of this war on the continent.
This Russia-Ukraine war, will it “
soon be on the plates of Africans
?”.
Question asked by
Wakat Sera
in Burkina Faso.
"
Africa, which is geographically far from the theater of the conflict, is no less close, through its centuries-old links with the West
", emphasizes
Wakat Sera
.
And in this logic, indeed this war could quickly end up on the plates of Africans, because they are “
consumers without moderation of everything that comes from Europe, new and old
”, believes
Wakat Sera
.
"
In the present case, it is the wheat, of which Russia and the Ukraine are the major producers, which could soon become scarce, whereas as good colonized and assimilated people, many Africans can no longer do without bread their table, especially for breakfast,
” remarks the Burkinabè newspaper.
“
Some Africans have even become die-hard fans of the famous French baguette,
” he laughs.
So, “
when wheat runs out, bread consumers, bakers and pastry chefs, will be very annoyed,”
concludes
Wakat Sera.
Yes, this war in Ukraine is both “
so far and so close
”, confirms
L'Observateur Paalga
, still in Burkina Faso.
“Already, gas and oil prices have taken the lift in Europe
”.
However, when the world economy “
catch cold
”, it makes
Europe “
sneeze ” and “
can only seize up the African economy
” analyzes the newspaper.
Thus,
"by a domino effect, the most modest of households in the smallest of African villages will feel the repercussions of this Ukrainian war
", he believes.
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