On Belarus & Poland
Lukashenko, what have you done?
Between Sudan and Ethiopia or the current Supreme Court Cases and criminal cases making waves, news attention has been relegated to a few corners of the world, but this is a story that simply cannot be missed.
Displacement, human mobility, asylum seeking….this is a topic that I’ve talked about at length on the blog. Because it hits home hard: my generation is seeing the greatest number of displaced people since WWII.
People are on the move.
The factors that lead to this problem are complex and diverse: regional conflict, corrupt government, the climate crisis, etc.
But what if I told you that between Belarus and Poland, the migrant crisis unfolding at the border has been almost entirely manufactured?
Shared Responsibility
Lukashenko, President of Belarus, is using migrants as a political weapon.
In trying to flex his own power, while getting back at the EU for sanctions imposed on the country last year, Lukashenko has encouraged thousands of migrants to get on planes from Yemen to Afghanistan, to different parts of Africa, to come to the Belarus border all on a false promise.
The problem is once they get to the country, Belarus border patrol pushes these migrants into crossing over into Poland.
And then?
The Polish border authorities push them back.
Migrants have been freezing to death in Polish forests, waiting for opportunities to cross and those who are lucky enough to do so, find themselves captured and returned. Migrants have reported instances of abuse from both sides of the border.
Let’s be clear: it is unfair that Belarus has brought migrants to Poland’s border, after making false promises. But Poland has no right to disregard the human rights of migrants. They are asylum seekers, and they will not have their due process in Belarus. The systems of justice simply do not exist there. But Poland now has a moral obligation to allow these migrants to seek refuge.
The EU should also be standing in solidarity with those at the border.
Don’t let this story slip away from the limelight.
Stay engaged:
“Die Here or Go to Poland” || Human Rights Watch
Lukashenko sends mixed signals over Belarus migrant crisis || POLITICO
'Go through. Go,' Lukashenko tells migrants at Polish border || Reuters
cover image by https://unsplash.com/@shnipelson