CURRENT SITUATION
For a couple of months now, refugees have been stuck at the border zone between Belarus and Poland. The exact number of people remains unknown, but the estimates go at around a thousand. Families, young adults and children are stuck in forests, where access to food, water, medicine and shelter are denied to them.
At the core of this crisis, a political conflict unfolds. On the Polish side, the government accuses the Belarus president of orchestrating this crisis by facilitating the entry into the European continent to potential refugees, mainly lured from Iraq and Afghanistan. On the Belarusian side, the president denies these accusations. However, for months the EU has imposed sanctions against Belarus, leading these waves of migrants to be seen as an attempt from Belarus political powers to apply pressure against the EU. In any case, people who came to seek refuge on EU soil are finding themselves pushed on both sides by military units, left to survive in the open air while winter and its freezing temperature are developing. So far, as of November 2021, 13 innocent human lives were lost due to these political tensions.
STATE OF EMERGENCY & SOLIDARITY
To top this already scarce situation, the Polish government declared a “state of emergency” at its borders. This state of emergency allows for the Polish military to prevent humanitarian help to reach the refugees, as well as restricting access to NGOs and journalists. Regarding harmful decisions taken by the Polish political power, within which the decision to push back refugees and deny them access to basic aid, AIMS – the Amnesty International Student group of Maastricht – organized a protest on November 21st, 2021. In this protest, AIMS demonstrated solidarity with the refugees stuck at the borders while calling the Polish government to review its position and assist the asylum seekers.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRISIS: NO CONCRETE ACTION FROM THE EU
Even though the Polish border is being brought into the spotlight, it appears that similar developments are occurring between the Lithuanian and Belarus borders. However, as highlighted by a report from Amnesty International, according to EU and international refugee law, both Poland and Lithuania are “obliged to ensure an individual assessment of all asylum claims and refrain from unlawful returns, including pushbacks and collective expulsions.”. As these countries appear to be oblivious of the law, EU countries and institutions have so far undertaken no concrete action towards resolving this crisis. Therefore, it appears that a status quo has been established, where refugees are being abused by military forces, and let by themselves to survive in increasingly cold weather and unsanitary conditions.
SOURCES
Poland / Belarus Border: A Protection Crisis
https://www.bbc.com/news/59233244https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/22/poland-belarus-border-crisis-migration-eu-politics/
The Poland-Belarus Border Crisis Is a Harbinger of the Future
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