Kathrine Frich
An Egyptian prisoner calling himself Cairo refuses to return to Africa.
War pulls people across borders for many reasons. Money is often the strongest magnet of all.
Far from home, some men find themselves trapped in a dangerous game, and a deep divide is now growing over what they actually signed up for.
A willing choice
Thousands of foreign recruits have taken up arms for Moscow. Officials in Kiev argue these fighters are victims of a massive deception scheme.
Inside Ukrainian detention centres, the men tell a different story. They say they understood the work perfectly according to Digi24.
One prisoner from the Democratic Republic of Congo goes by the call sign Avatar. He told Politico his future belongs to the country signing his paycheques.
“I have family in Russia, why would I want to go back to Congo?” Avatar said. “Ukraine simply thinks we are going back to war.”
The money trail
The financial appeal is huge. Moscow gives recruits a signing bonus of around $13,000 and a monthly wage of at least $2,000.
“It’s just a matter of business,” Avatar said. “It’s not true that Africans were tricked into joining the Russian army. They explain what it’s about when you sign the contract. It’s just a job.”
Kenyan majority leader Anthony Kimani Ichung’wah sees things differently. He stated in February that a criminal network recruits citizens to fight under false pretenses.
Diplomatic battle
Olexander Scherba is the Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa. He told Politico that the Kremlin treats these men as expendable labour.
“[The Russians] are telling lies about this war, we are telling the truth,” Scherba said. “They want the blood shed in this war to be more African and less Russian. We are telling Africans not to allow Russia to use them as minced meat.”
Kiev is trying to catch up in the region. The country recently expanded its presence to 18 embassies across the continent.
Not going home
An Egyptian prisoner calling himself Cairo refuses to return to Africa. He told reporters he wants to stay in Russia.
“Some of us have been here for two years or more,” Cairo said. “Ukraine is labeling us as citizens of African countries, and we believe that this is happening because they don’t want to let us go back to Russia. And we all want to go back.”
For now, the men wait behind bars. A Ghanaian fighter named Future hopes the two sides will just swap the foreign troops.
Sources: Digi24, Politico
