For months, Europe has witnessed a rise in tensions between Poland and Belarus. President Lukashenko, who decided to take revenge on the Brussels sanctions by calling on migrants to ...

Migrants, main victims of the standoff between the EU and Lukashenko

Audio 03:31

Thaer, Karam and Bitar, three Syrians from Homs in the forest in Poland, in the forbidden zone less than two kilometers from Belarus.

Text by: Romain Lemaresquier Follow

4 min

For months, Europe has witnessed a rise in tensions between Poland and Belarus.

President Lukashenko, who has decided to take revenge on the Brussels sanctions by calling on migrants to go through his country to reach Europe, is trying to destabilize the eastern border of the European Union.

A situation which has continued to grow and which today seems untenable and could get out of hand at any time.

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With our special correspondent in Poland,

In Podlasie, the Polish border region with Belarus, a real human tragedy is unfolding. It is in the area decreed closed to NGOs and the press by the Polish authorities, less than two kilometers from the border between these two countries, that we find three migrants who managed to cross the border a few years ago. days and to call for help the organization Grupa Granica. It is one of the rare associations to provide assistance to migrants who take this route to reach Europe. A route set up by Belarus in its standoff with Europe.

Three Syrians Karam, Bitar and Thair, have just lived through hell for a month, as the latter, a 28-year-old electrician, recounts.

They arrived in Minsk, the Belarusian capital by direct flight from Damascus a month ago.

Very quickly, they tried to cross to Poland and were turned back unceremoniously to Belarus.

►Also read: Migration crisis: Poland deploys thousands of soldiers on its border with Belarus

“

We had to try to enter Poland.
On our first attempt the Polish police arrested me and my friend as well as two other people.
They told us you have a lawyer, you can stay in Poland.
We were very happy!
But in the evening, two soldiers came and put us in a car to go back to the border and send us back to Belarus, he

says.

I told him we didn't want to go back.
He then hit me and hit me again, telling us to go to Belarus.
I told him:

"I have no water, no food, I have no SIM card, no internet, how am I going to stay alive!"

Turned back three times

When we meet them in Poland, it is the fourth time that they have tried to cross the border through the forest.

They have been returned three times to Belarus.

The Belarusians having driven them to Lithuania once.

Traumatic experiences for these three boys from Homs in Syria.

“

I don't want to go back to Belarus.
Belarusian border guards beat us three times.
They hit me in the chest.
I think I have a broken chest.
They sent us to Lithuania and the Lithuanian soldiers in turn beat us, we were electrocuted.
It's very, very hard!
Electric shocks in the mouth.
It's very, very hard, it's terrible…

”, testifies Thair.

Now supported by the organization Grupa Granizca, they are currently under the protection of the European Court of Human Rights, which has issued them temporary certificates.

They should prevent Polish border guards from driving them back to Belarus, according to Marisha, one of the coordinators of this NGO.

Ensure respect for the rights of migrants

“

We are waiting for the border guards.
They should be taken to one of their buildings where they can apply for asylum, she

explains.

We have also informed the border guards that they now benefit from a provisional measure from the European Court of Human Rights and that they can therefore no longer be turned back

”.

►Also listen: Migrant crisis in Eastern Europe: what is Belarus playing?

To ensure that border guards respect this provisional protection, a Polish opposition MP, Anita Sowinska, came to witness this operation in the forest. She is the legal representative of these three Syrians after having affixed her name to the official document of the European Court of Human Rights. Two border guards eventually arrive, an hour later. In front of the international press, they remain courteous and take Thair, Karam and Bitar in their van. A deliverance for these three Syrians who admit to having seen the dead during their journey. While officially only ten migrants have died on this border between Poland and Belarus since the start of this new migration crisis.

Migrants, main victims of the standoff between the EU and Lukashenko

Migrants, main victims of the standoff between the EU and Lukashenko

Turned back three times

Ensure respect for the rights of migrants

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