A student fleeing from Ukraine was left ‘inconsolable’ after arriving in London Luton Airport, only to be left waiting for hours by Border Force.
Zimbabwean-born Korrine Sky, 26, arrived in London Luton Airport on Friday (4 March) from Romania where she fled to from Ukraine, where the mum-of-one stated the she and her partner were treated “like animals” as they sat in a cubicle area without explanation, reports MyLondon.
She explained that her partner had been granted a visa and was cleared by the UKVI to travel with her. However, she said his passport did not have the visa as they had to be evacuated, but that they had been assured that he could fly to the UK.
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The mum-of-one said the British Embassy had confirmed this prior to their departure from Romania. But when they arrived at the front of the queue for border security in London Luton Airport, the medical student said she was questioned and then moved to a room where they sat for hours.
Korrine tweeted: “I was inconsolable because it was like after everything we’ve been through just to come “home” and be treated like this. I’ve honestly had enough, the treatment of Black people fleeing Ukraine has honestly been disgusting at every point. I’m so tired of being strong I’m at my breaking point.
“Once we got to the front of the queue and met Border Force they were asking me questions like, ‘when did you get your British passport because it shows here you had a Zimbabwean passport?’ – which I didn’t understand because it says on my passport when I got my passport.
“The man didn’t seem to believe we had come from Ukraine, and was insisting we should not have been able to fly from Romania because as he stated, ‘you don’t have a visa.’ We had to show him evidence that we were in Ukraine. Which I also didn’t understand because we had made our visa application in Kyiv, and we both had residence cards from Ukraine.
“I explained to him that the British Embassy had told us we are okay to travel and his visa has already been granted. The man was like, ‘British embassy?’, then scowled his face, took my husband’s passport and disappeared. We were told to sit in this cubicle area with the people who had come from Ukraine who were seeking asylum, they eventually moved us into a room.
“At this point it had been over an hour and the man had not returned, did not explain to us what he was doing or how long we would be there for.”
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Once she managed to charge her phone, Korrine was able to contact her local MP and the British Embassy who she said contacted the UK Border Force directly.
She continued: “One of the Border Force men came up to me and said, ‘so you are British yeah? We are not detaining you. You can go at any point – it’s him’, pointing at my husband. After the call from the embassy, that’s when they sent a lady from the border control to bring me a change of clothes, sanitary products and we were offered water and food.”
Eventually, Korrine said she and her husband were allowed to leave after intervention from the British Embassy, and to finally put an he end of their “horrific” journey out of Ukraine.
But overall, the mum-of-one stated that she felt animals would have been “treated better”.
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A Government spokesperson said: “We have been working at pace to launch the Ukraine Family Scheme and it is now open for extended family members to apply.
“As well as immediate family members, British nationals and people of any nationality settled in the UK will be supported to bring parents, grandparents, grandchildren, adult children and siblings to the UK.
“An unlimited sponsorship route is also opening soon for Ukrainians without family ties here, so communities, local authorities and others can sponsor and support those in need to come to the UK.”
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