The migration crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland has worsened in recent days, as thousands of people from the Middle East and Africa are trying to enter Polish territory.
Many of them arrive on flights from these countries to Belarus. For example, according to the Flightradar portal 20, in the next seven days there are 21 flights from Istanbul to Minsk, 12 from Dubai and one from Baghdad.
But the portal does not count all scheduled charter flights.
A large part of the passengers on these flights are possibly migrants who, with the tacit support of the Belarusian authorities, use this country as a transit point to reach Europe.
1. How did this crisis start?
Since 1200, the Belarusian authorities have canceled or simplified the visa requirements for 76 countries. Among these there are several affected by serious conflicts, such as Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, so many people are trying to get out of there.
Travel agencies from Syria, Iraq and Turkey have started to sell trips to Belarus in which they offer housing and employment in a country of the European Union.
Dozens of messages of this type also arrive via WhatsApp, which is the most used messaging service in the region.
A trip of this type costs between US $ 10. 000 and US $ 20. , depending on conditions. The German portal Deutsche Welle pointed out in an investigation that the Belarusian consulates even delegated the right to put visas of their country in the passports to these agencies
Along with this, Belarus significantly increased the number of flights from Middle Eastern countries. Several European countries denounce that even the Belarusian authorities are behind these offers promoted by travel agencies.
2. Where do the migrants come from?
Mid 2021, Iraq was the main starting point. In September, the high representative of the United Nations, Josep Borrell, managed to negotiate with the Iraqi authorities how to reduce these flights to Belarus.
Currently, the Kurds fleeing from Syria are the majority of those who are trying to enter the European Union in this way. In Syria they are not only threatened by the Syrian regime, but also by the militants of the Islamic State.
But there are also migrants who come from Libya, Afghanistan , Yemen and several African countries where there are religious and political conflicts, such as Congo and Ethiopia.
3. How do they get to the border between Belarus and Poland?
Many of the flights are operated by the airlines Belavia, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airlines , and another low-cost known as Fly Dubai.
Until recently, the refugee visa, if the passenger needed it, was granted at the airport itself when boarding.
At the departure gates of flights it is impossible to identify passengers as migrants or refugees. They have money, all their documents are in order, their clothes are very similar, so there is mostly no reason to prevent someone from boarding the flight.
What happens next is not clear . The videos that are known so far show that these passengers are transported, in a very organized way, from the Minsk airport to the border with Poland and Lithuania.
But until now it has been impossible to determine who organizes this logistics.
4. How do migrants cross the border?
At the beginning of the migration crisis, the Polish and Lithuanian border guards let people through and then sent them to special facilities.
However, at the same time, the foreign ministers of both countries began to accuse Belarus of organizing this new migratory phenomenon.
So when hundreds and then thousands of people tried to cross the border every day, Poland and Lithuania closed the border crossing and began to fortify the border with fences full of barbed wire.
Now the border can only be crossed illegally, which still does not stop migrants from trying.
Some try to go over the fences put up by the border guards (there were two incidents on November 9).
Others look for areas that are not guarded: for example, the border between Belarus and Poland extends for more than 400 kilometers and much of it is covered with forests or swamps.
5. And the Belarusian border guards?
Judging by dozens of statements by refugees and migrants themselves and by the videos that the Lithuanian and Polish authorities made public in recent weeks, the Belarusian Border Service is directing refugees to cross illegally the border.
The Belarusian border service website publishes information about the migration crisis, but claims that many refugees do not even know they need a visa to cross the border.
“Belarus is fulfilling its highest duty to stop illegal migration. The reasons (for this new flow) can be found in the support of EU countries for “color” revolutions (the term used to describe popular uprisings against certain governments) in regions where lives have been destroyed or there are wars, ”says the ministry’s website.
In an interview with the Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva, an anonymous border officer described his department’s activities as“ a complete devaluation of the laws and his oath “.
6. Where do migrants end up going?
Both Poland and Lithuania are also transit countries for refugees and migrants. Many of them intend to go to Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands, where they may already have relatives or acquaintances.
According to the German authorities, at least 5.000 people have arrived in Germany via Belarus.
7. Are refugees and migrants staying in Belarus?
Yes, but the authorities have never reported the exact number. According to Minsk residents, hundreds of people are camping in shopping malls, underground passages and entrances to residential buildings throughout the city.
Perhaps because That, fearing that the situation will get out of control, in recent days the Belarusian authorities have tightened the conditions to reach the country.
The most concrete action that has been known is that they stopped issuing visas at the airport for citizens of the countries considered most problematic: Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Yemen.
8. Is Russia involved in the migration crisis?
Officials in many EU countries believe it is. For example, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “This attack that (Belarusian President) Lukashenko is carrying out has his brain in Moscow. The mastermind is President Putin. ”
The Russian authorities categorically reject these accusations. The Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, called Morawiecki’s words irresponsible and unacceptable.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on President Putin to intervene in the crisis, which the European Union considers “a hybrid attack” aimed at destabilizing the bloc.
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