Donald Tusk after winning in 2023 took over much of the anti-refugee rhetoric of the PiSSource: Flickr.com. licence – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic. Author – KPRM
The situation on the east border of Poland seems to be stalemate. Refugees meet the brutality of Belarusian services and the widely criticized actions of these Polish people. In addition, our government's decisions point to a alternatively arbitrary policy in the context of this situation. The controversy is besides caused by the reactions of Polish services to activists helping refugees. What is happening during the crisis that has been going on for almost 4 years? How does the Polish government respond to opposition to its actions?
The crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border has been going on for years. According to information published by the Border defender as early as August 2021, evidence advanced numbers of refugees on the border with Belarus began to be noted. associate States of the European Union had already accused the government of Alexander Lukashenko of creating a crisis and deliberately sending people to borders. The start of the news of the increased exile movement coincided with the Taliban's acquisition of power in Afghanistan, which contributed even more public attention to the migration situation.
The criticism of the authorities, which responds to the attitude of the rulers towards refugees and respect for the principles of humanitarianism and human rights, began to happen at the beginning of the crisis. In November 2021, the Border Group, an initiative dealing with the relief of refugees at the border, began to inform about the brutal actions of Polish services towards migrants. During this time, the RPO issued a communication informing about the irregular responses of the Border defender to refugees' requests for political asylum in the Polish territory.
To this day, conditions at the border are dangerous for the lives of refugees in the media and by NGOs. late Human Rights Watch published information about the results of its diagnosis of asylum seekers in Poland. It has been established that public policy authorities in Poland "are acting illegally, and sometimes violently force people trying to scope Poland to return to Belarus".
With a question about the situation of refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border, we addressed Alexanda Chrzanowska from the Association of Legal Interventions. The organisation acts in the field of legal assistance to migrants. In a conversation with us, the activist said that any people crossing borders, together with others providing humanitarian assistance, talk about highly hard experiences. As the association's staff say, they meet with the force of the Belarusian services “including, the feeling of dogs, the appearance of executions or rapes”. The organization besides told us that refugees study its inhuman treatment besides from Polish services, specified as demolition of telephones and documents, challenges and physical force specified as beating, kicking and utilizing pepper gas. The government of action at the border argues primarily for its defence. In 2024, during his journey to Białystok, Donald Tusk said that “the task of the state is to defend and defend the border” and that “no politics or human emotions will change that.” He besides stated that it was the task of the State to "use all available methods to make the border safe".
High 5 from Hajnówka
Due to the dramatic conditions prevailing on the Polish-Belarusian border and the government's attitude towards refugees, many organizations and people dealing with humanitarian aid arrived in Poland operate there. 1 of them was 5 people active in the aid that the D.A. charged with criminal charges due to actions on the border. The prosecution concerns the aid of household with children in the forest – providing food and clothing and assistance in transport to Poland. The Prosecutor's Office has made Article 264a of the Criminal Code a charge of facilitating another person's stay in Poland. The provision states that the perpetrator must act to accomplish a property or individual benefit. According to the prosecutor's office, migrant people benefited. The case is causing quite a few controversy. During the first court proceeding in Hajnówka, a protest was organized involving, among others, humanitarian activist Janina Ochocka.
When we asked for motivation to aid refugees, we contacted the defendants. As 1 of the defendants, Asia, told us, she started supporting people coming to Poland because, "aside from utmost disagreement on the European border regime, there is simply a reasonably crucial issue: due to the fact that she could". As she continued to be able to aid is simply a privilege not everyone can afford. She stated that "many people, especially those who do not agree to systemic oppression, including the border regime, face many problems all day and cannot afford to stay – shorter or longer – in Podlasie" and that she simply could". In her further discussion, she told us that in the policy of European governments, including Poland, she noted the deliberate targeting of refugees "to divert our attention from the deficiency of the ability of politicians to respond to the real challenges: climate change, the global atmosphere of authoritarianism and fascism, the increasing social, economic, geographical inequalities". – After all, it is easier to blame the disasters of capitalism on the people to whom the vote is taken, than to stand up to their banquet colleagues representing the corporate lobby behind whom stands the wealth of the budget of a number of states, and who offer stays in luxury resorts in exchange for appropriately tuned policies, through which the socially generated profit will go to the management of a private company alternatively than to a policy responding to human needs. However, in order to do this, we request to build a appropriate communicative and make a sense of request for safety in people – claiming that we are threatened by those who themselves are fleeing threats," he says. She said she disagreed with specified a policy. – I believe in the right of all man to a dignified life. I do not agree with manipulation and dehumanizing language, which has entered fresh heights over the last 3 years. She continued: “Translation of human rights violations by the fact that another country – authoritarian and brutal – uses people to implement its own policies destabilising the region is grossly wrong. Our work and work [...] is to support those who search refuge. Those who search to escape from what capitalism has done with their countries under the name of institutions specified as the planet Bank or the global Monetary Fund: utmost inequalities, deficiency of access to decent work and surviving conditions, deregulation of the marketplace leading to exploitation, pollution, climate change, subordination of the marketplace to the needs of the global north," she said.
The second of the accused, Mariusz Chyżyński, commented with us on the actions of the Polish state on the border – these actions are simply immoral, but they besides fit into a broader European context and are not different from those of another EU countries. The best evidence for coordinating the actions and political line on the continent scale was the presence of soldiers of another states at the border and the fact that despite the change of government the course did not change, but even tightened. He added that the prosecution of aiders at the border is “politically motivated. Calculated to delight the public misled in the subject of migration to Europe and to deter people who are helping or wanting to aid in the future." The suspect is facing up to 5 years in prison.
The situation at the border is highly difficult. Recently, a regulation of the Council of Ministers limiting the right to asylum in Poland entered into force. This has intensified the criticism of the government's actions on the subject, both in the media and in the NGOs. The political debate on the border does not seem to be promising an improvement in the situation for refugees and even a more stringent ruling relationship.
Leo Targoni
