Long closed in on itself, isolated from international issues, Belarus had never been faced with a migration crisis of this magnitude. For several months, the country of 9.5 million inhabitants has seen an influx of thousands of migrants, mostly Iraqis and Syrians, attracted by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko which pushes them to cross the borders of neighboring countries to destabilize the Union. European. In this new migratory route, Minsk, the capital, acts as a first stop for many people who are waiting for a taxi departure to the border areas.
“I had never seen migrants here. It’s completely unusual to see all these people in the streets ”, explains Vadzim, a resident of the capital, contacted by phone. The 27-year-old opponent, who took part in the protests sparked by the fraudulent re-election of Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020, is certain that the Belarusian dictator is pulling the strings of this new migration crisis. According to him, the man in power since 1994 has two objectives. First, win “Recognition of the countries of the West”, while the European Union did not recognize the autocrat’s re-election for a sixth term, and “Respond to the European sanctions that have been imposed against the country” after the violent repressions of the opposition movement.
“Organized provocation”
After Lithuania, faced throughout the summer of 2021 with numerous attempts to cross, it is now Poland, since the end of September, which has been facing significant pressure from candidates for the exile. In recent days, the border area between the two countries has reached a particularly high level of tension. Thousands of migrants are now sleeping there, in camps. Tuesday, November 16, at the Kuznica crossing point, not far from the Belarusian town of Grodno, images of men with hidden faces, throwing stones at the Polish forces massed along the border, were massively shared on the networks social. Other videos of migrants attempting to cut or smash barbed wire fences with tools or tree trunks are also circulating.
Liza, a Belarusian who works right next to the main meeting point for migrants in Minsk, in front of the Galleria shopping center, is sorry to see these people “Play the game” authorities. But according to her, it is the Belarusian border guards who provide “Tools and weapons for migrants to cross the Polish border. It is provocation organized by the government ”, insists the one who says she has a lot of compassion for these exiles “Caught in the crossfire”.
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