Arab cartoonists criticized the scenes of discrimination against black and Arab refugees during their flight from Ukraine as a result of the Russian war on that country, and they also denounced what they considered double Western standards revealed by this crisis.

Videos spread of many Arabs and Africans residing in Ukraine, at the border, broadcasting their complaints and referring to discrimination against them.

"Ukrainian border guards have asked black civilians to go back to the back of the queue to Poland," BBC correspondent Stephanie Hergaty said on Twitter.

It also quoted a Nigerian medical student accusing Polish border guards of turning blacks back, claiming to give priority to Ukrainians.

In the face of these facts, Arab cartoonists published a set of works in which they expressed their condemnation of discrimination against refugees who were forced to flee like other Ukrainians.

'White Christians are like us'

The painters also denounced what they saw as a double standard in Western standards in general when dealing with non-white refugees versus the welcoming state of white Ukrainians, which appeared in many comments during media coverage of the war, including the comment of an American NBC reporter who said: To put it frankly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from neighboring Ukraine, which is why they were received in Poland. They are Christians and whites, and they are very similar to the population of Poland.”

Activists - through the hashtag "AfricansinUkraine" in English (#AfricansinUkraine) on communication platforms - shared accounts and videos documenting cases of discrimination while fleeing the war.

One of the clips showed Ukrainian police, in dealing with cases of people fleeing the ongoing war, pushing a young black-skinned girl out of a train, while allowing a white girl to board.

According to the circulated testimonies, Africans, including women and children, were left stranded in open areas after being prevented from boarding trains transporting Ukrainians to the borders of Poland, and under freezing temperatures, and others stranded without food or assistance from the embassies of their countries.

Hair check!

#Ukraine #caricatures #UkraineUnderAttack #europe pic.twitter.com/vF01kxwBrX

— Cartoonist Omar sommad (@omarsommad) February 28, 2022

Europe and refugees fleeing Ukraine #RacistEU #UkraineRussiaWar #Cartoon pic.twitter.com/UxdFFnXDDG

— Emad Hajjaj Cartoons (@EmadHajjaj) March 1, 2022

Activists expressed their anger at the Ukrainian government, denouncing what they said was "racist and inhuman behavior" in dealing with the displaced and those under the fire of war.

"The color of your skin really dictates whether you live or die," one wrote. "This is absolutely disgusting but not surprising. Even in war, racism rears its ugly head."