NAccording to media reports in Warsaw, near the Polish town of Usnarz-Górny on the border with Belarus, 32 people from Afghanistan have been camping directly on the border or in the open air for several days. You are from Belarus and want to stay in the European Union. But in this woods a few meters west of their temporary camp, there was a guard of the Polish Border Guard. To the east is Belarus. So they can neither move back nor forward. First, the private broadcaster TVN24 reported the incident. Then the Polish aid organization “Ocalenie” (rescue) stepped in. A few days ago, the helpers said that besides the Afghans, there were also women and children from Iraq. “Belarusians allow people with children to come back,” the organization wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
On Thursday, a member of the left-wing party “Razem” (together) tried to provide immigrants with food, sleeping bags and forms, making it easier for them to apply for asylum in Poland through a Polish intermediary. The aid organization announced that the immigrants had not eaten for 24 hours. At the same time, Polish Prime Minister Mateus Morawiecki also delivered a speech. Regarding the two flights that have so far carried former employees of the Polish military from Afghanistan and the migration through Belarus, he vaguely wrote on Facebook: “We are ready to let more people in.” However, they will have to identify correctly. , This is difficult, because according to the description of the migrants, they have to hand over the documents to the Belarusian smugglers or throw them away.
“The political tool of the Lukashenko regime”
Morawiecki wrote: “I have deep sympathy for these refugees in extremely difficult circumstances.” “But it must be clearly pointed out that they are political tools in the hands of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus.” Lukashenko has done so many times this year. Threatening the EU with a wave of immigration. According to Morawiecki, Poland will “not succumb to such extortion” and will react decisively. “We have to develop new procedures throughout the EU, because the previous methods used are flawed and have no effect,” he said, obviously referring to European asylum and immigration policies.
Initially, since around June, Poland’s small neighbor Lithuania on the eastern border of the European Union has been the main destination for immigrants. By mid-August, about 4,100 people from Asian and African countries (about half of them came from Iraq) came to the main “green” border of 680 kilometers between the EU and Belarus. One of the Afghans had apparently been traveling behind the truck for a few days. With the help of Frontex, the European Union’s border protection agency, Lithuania tried to stop immigration by increasing patrols and barbed wire.
But it wasn’t until this month that the green border rejected immigrants on a large scale, and the number of people crossing the border was almost reduced to zero. Many immigrants may now concentrate on crossing the border between Belarus and Poland with the “assistance” of the Belarusian border guards. This also leads to crossing forests and wetlands, but it is only 418 kilometers long, which is slightly better than the road in Lithuania. In 2020, there will only be 122 illegal border crossings here. The Warsaw Interior Ministry, which is responsible for the Polish border guards, announced that from August 1st to 17th, “2100 people tried to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border.
In 1342 of these cases, border guards frustrated cross-border attempts; 758 foreigners were arrested and detained in refugee centers established by border guards. “In addition, from early July to August 17, 380 foreigners were transferred to their country of origin or a third country, the ministry wrote, but did not provide any details. Most importantly, human rights activists described the refusal as Illegal and inhumane.
Thousands of Polish soldiers protect the border
According to the Warsaw government, not only have additional border guards been deployed, but there are also 1,000 soldiers on the border with Belarus. The Warsaw Interior Ministry stated: “So far, nearly 100 kilometers of the border have been protected by barbed wire, and another 50 kilometers are being planned.” The Polish right-wing government also recalled that it “has been opposed to illegal and illegal activities from the beginning. Controlled immigration”. People who “may pose a threat to our citizens” are not allowed to enter.
In addition, as part of the Frontex cooperation, Poland sent a border guard and a helicopter to support Lithuania. At the end of August, another 50 police officers will be deployed at the request of Lithuania. Warsaw also hopes to “speed up the procedures for illegal border crossing cases” and “adjust” regulations for this purpose.
