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Rabat – Moroccan students in Ukraine are facing uncertainty amid calls for the evacuation of all Moroccan citizens from the country.
Amid fears of conflict in the country, the Moroccan embassy in Kiev has advised all citizens to depart Ukraine. Yet, some Moroccan students have not received the vaccines that are listed as requirements for entry into Morocco.
Many Moroccan students travel to Ukraine for studies as a cost-effective alternative to European universities. Popular fields of studies in Ukraine include dentistry, pharmacy, medicine, technology science and civil engineering.
There are an estimated 8,000 Moroccan students in Ukraine according to news outlet The New Arab. On February 7, the outlet quoted a Moroccan student in Kharkiv, near the Russian border, who reported to have seen “tanks and soldiers walking in the city.”
Moroccan students in Ukraine made headlines in 2019 after Ukrainian police beat a Moroccan medical student while attempting to extract a bribe.
Uncertainty amid evacuation
While many students are eager to depart Ukraine following the embassy’s call to evacuate, some face the uncertainty of not knowing whether they will be allowed entry into Morocco without meeting the vaccination requirements that Morocco has set for people traveling to the country.
The young Moroccan students, as well as other unvaccinated Moroccans in Ukraine, await government information clarifying whether Morocco will enforce its vaccination standards amid the ongoing evacuation from Kiev.
Citizens have been asked to depart Ukraine through “available commercial flights,” raising fears that those traveling via normal air routes could face trouble upon arrival in Morocco.
Moroccan border officials have instructions to demand proof of vaccination and recent PCR tests for travelers, a condition that some evacuees from Ukraine do not meet. Upon arrival, travelers will be screened by rapid tests, as well as random PCR tests.
Heated tensions
Ongoing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the presence of Russian military forces on Russia’s borders with Ukraine have resulted in increasingly belligerent rhetoric from both sides, raising fears of an escalation into conflict.
Russia and Ukraine have been embroiled in hostility over the past decade after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
Russia claims to have intervened in Crimea in response to fears of violence toward the Russian population in the region after Ukraine experienced a revolution that replaced the country’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych amid public calls to join the European Union.
A disputed referendum was organized in the region which favored Russian annexation leading to the declaration of Independence of the Republic of Crimea on March 16, 2014. The declaration of independence was followed by Russia incorporating the region into the Russian Federation, a move that has not been recognized by the European Union and the US.
