The wall is 5.5 meters (18 feet) high and is designed to prevent asylum seekers from escaping conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Human rights defenders have blamed the Polish government for double standards, given the way the country has welcomed millions of mostly white, Christian refugees from Ukraine. Natalia Gebert, founder of a Polish refugee organization, said: “If you push a refugee on the Ukrainian border, you are a hero. If you do it on the Belarusian border, you are a smuggler and could end up in prison for eight years.” . Eyewitness: Strong difference in Eastern European reception of Ukrainian and Syrian refugees Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says the wall is crucial to preventing Russian aggression. The state of emergency has prevented journalists and human rights activists from visiting the border, and estimates suggest at least 20 migrants have died in the region’s icy forests and peatlands. A refugee crossing into the EU said sub-zero temperatures and violence were common in the vast swamps. The man – known only as Ali – told the AP news agency: “There were nights when I slept on the bare ground in the forest, thinking I would never wake up again.” Ali, who fled Syria when his business was destroyed by Sunni extremists, says Polish guards pushed him back across the border six times – with Belarusian guards beating him, stealing his money and forcing him to flee. take off his clothes in the middle of winter. He also claimed that he was forced to lie on the ground, screamed, kicked repeatedly in the chest and was approached by a dog that was grunting. Read more: What caused the migration crisis on the Belarus-Poland border? “Do not come; it is bad here”: Messages of sorrow from those seeking security Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:22 November 2021: Antennas show the scale of the Poland-Belarus border crisis The steel wall stretches 115 miles (186 km) along Poland’s border with Belarus, and electronic surveillance systems have not yet been installed. According to Human Rights Watch, Poland is “illegally, and sometimes violently, pushing migrants and asylum seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces.” Ali spent 16 days in the woods and three months in several detention centers in Poland, where he was only identified by his ID number. He said he was forced to undress in public each time he was taken to a different camp by guards carrying batons and stun guns. In March, he was told to go to Germany – and in April, he arrived in Berlin. Ali said: “I feel better here. People are calling me by my name again. But I’m always worried that the Germans will send me back to Poland.” Entering the EU via Poland is considered less dangerous than crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Belarus has become an increasingly used migration route to the EU as President Alexander Lukashenko has begun encouraging aspiring asylum seekers in the Middle East and Africa to come to Minsk. EU leaders have accused Lukashenko of retaliation for imposing sanctions on the trade bloc over the way his regime treats dissidents.
