Arab students in Ukraine appeals to be rescued

Thousands of young Arabs, who came to Ukraine to study, often fleeing danger at home, are now pleading for help to avoid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Many have expressed dissatisfaction with their governments for failing to take actual steps to evacuate them, and have sought refuge in basements or the metro system. Few people dared to cross the border into Poland or Romania in quest of refuge.

Morocco has the most students in Ukraine among Arab countries, with about 8,000 enrolled in universities, followed by Egypt with over 3,000. Hundreds more students from Lebanon are also stranded in the country, which is experiencing one of the worst financial crises in modern history, according to the World Bank.

Other countries, like Egypt, have promised to organize repatriation flights from nearby countries. However, because Tunisia does not have an embassy in Ukraine, communicating with its 1,700 nationals there is difficult.

Authorities stated that they had contacted foreign organizations such as the Red Cross to coordinate departures.

Others took matters into their own hands and crossed the border into Poland in the hopes of returning home.

Algeria, which is rich in oil and has close military ties with Russia, has not asked its 1,000 citizens in Ukraine to leave. Algerian officials, on the other hand, have asked them to remain indoors and only go outside "in an emergency."