"Memory is power!" These words resounded loudly on
the[thirteenth]anniversary of the murder of Maxwell Itoia. Max had beenshot in the thigh by a police officer at[the "July Manifesto 10th
Anniversary Stadium" (now known as the "National Stadium" in Warsaw,
ed.), where]the largest market in Eastern Europe at the time was
located. The police did nothing to save Maxwell's life. They did not
give him first aid, did not allow anyone to help him stop the bleeding,
and did not call an ambulance. Maxwell Itoia bled to death among the
stalls.[The man]wanted to help his colleagues by acting as an
interpreter between them and the police - who were busy carrying out yet
another check of migrants who worked daily[near]the stadium. No one was
convicted for Maxwell's murder, and his wife and two children never
received compensation or an apology. Eventually, they moved out of
Poland. The widow was tired of institutional discrimination and racist
attitudes towards her and her children. 13 years have passed. Since
then, people remember and disagree with the erasure of the history of
migrants, migrant women and police brutality; they met in the same
place. This year, there were numerous collective reflections on the
problem of racism and police brutality; in addition to speeches by a
Nigerian activist and a representative of the Union of Poles of African
Descent, there was a speech by a person who has been supporting migrants
crossing the border between Poland and Belarus for almost two years. His
words:
"The reality of the border: a dangerous path, systemic violence and the
role of power."
So far, 44 victims of the humanitarian crisis have been documented:
This is a list of 44 people who died on the border between Poland and
Belarus, murdered by a system of closed countries (Fortress Europe), by
the racist policy of the authorities and services. The police is a
racist and fascist institution that defends the rich against the poor.
The people listed died mostly on Polish territory; we do not know how
many deaths occurred on the Belarusian side. These people were looking
for a safe place in Europe, a home and a refuge.
Economic situations, wars and climate disasters force people to flee
their countries - as they can no longer live in safety. Drought, floods,
fires, tornadoes, high temperatures, food shortages, wars, lack of
access to water - a picture of the global disaster. In the space of six
months (September 2020 - March 2021), around 10.3 million people had to
leave their homes due to these extreme events.
The Polish-Belarusian route was opened in the summer of 2021. Polish and
Belarusian services and authorities have committed several crimes.
Polish services, border guards, army and police do not accept asylum
applications and requests at border crossings. In turn, they force
people to cross the border irregularly. In August 2021, services
illegally detained Afghan people in Usnarz. Later, the Polish government
passed an illegal law to create a zone, the "Zone of Shame", limiting
humanitarian access and making it easier for services to find people in
the forest and detain and push them back to Belarus. Pushbacks are
illegal; but in Poland the pushback law was passed, allowing border
guards to push people back over the fence, threatening them with death.
They took away their phones, food, water, medicine and clothes; they
beat them and forced them to swim in rivers. And that's not all. In July
2022[Polish authorities]finished building a 5.5-meter high wall along
the border.
Did they think that the wall would stop people and be disgustingly
effective, and would cause nothing but injuries, broken legs and
unconsciousness? And looking beyond that, in Poland there are guarded
centers for foreigners - real prisons where you can't get decent medical
and legal care, you have no contact with the outside world and there is
no information about how long you will stay and what will happen next to
the person imprisoned. SHAME.
We cannot let them silence us and insult us!
We cannot let them win and continue to commit these crimes.
We must move forward, shoulder to shoulder, with solidarity, strength
and memory.
-Addendum (May 24)
Just yesterday we published a list of 44 people who died at the border
in the last 20 months. Today, unfortunately, we received information
about the 45th victim of the border regime. The victim was found in the
Svisloch River - which runs along the border. We do not yet know the
gender, age or nationality of this person.
- Migrants trapped at the Polish-Belarusian border (May 29)
For several days, a group of more than twenty people from Syria and Iraq
have been trapped at the fence on the Polish-Belarusian border. Eleven
of them are children, some as young as 2 years old.
They are asking to cross into Poland and are seeking asylum.
Polish services are watching them without intervening.
Belarusian soldiers are threatening migrants with dogs - especially if
they are unable to cross to the Polish side. To further scare them,
Belarusian soldiers released a Congolese woman who had been bitten by
dogs. She joined the group yesterday.
The area behind the fence is Polish territory. But the Polish
government, along with the Belarusian government, is condemning these
people to suffering and death.
- Support Migrant People (June 10)
There are still people in the forests and they still need our help with
basic necessities such as food, dry clothes and water - which is now
worth its weight in gold. Our group reaches the deepest corners (with
full backpacks) so that no one is left alone.
The last few days have been very intense; the natural conditions have
become even worse due to hundreds of mosquitoes and ticks, heat and drought.
People from the most remote corners of the world show up on our way,
still believing that they will be able to reach their destination in the
European Union.
Unfortunately, despite being very careful, there are times when they are
caught, like the group in the photo.
They had no chance; they were probably pushed back right away.
The sight of these people, whose dreams have been shattered and who are
facing another ordeal in the forest, motivates us even more to work
here, in the Podlaskie area, and not to give up. The fortification of
Europe must be stopped and the migrant people must be able to move
according to their plan.
Once opened, the path will never disappear.
- Summer and repression on the border (August 5)
The summer continues on the border between Poland and Belarus.
Thousands of tourists, like every year, choose this region as a place of
rest. At the same time, in the forests there are people who have to
fight for their lives: chased by Belarusian soldiers and hunted by
Polish border guards. Although these two worlds are geographically so
close, in reality they are separated by an abyss: the price of human
life is extremely different.
In recent days we have met people from Africa and the Middle East.
They will not remember the Bialowieza Forest as a wonderful primeval
area that hides immeasurable treasures of nature.
For them, forest cavities are obstacles where they break their legs.
Dense virgin thickets are paralyzing thorns for their bodies.
Forest swamps, habitat of countless plant and animal species, are a
treacherous trap in which they drown.
Every person they meet is a threat. The threat of beatings, harassment,
imprisonment, rejection.
We often forget what happens to these people. Let us not forget.
Let us recall the story of two people we recently met in the forest:
"In Belarus, near the border with Poland, a huge number of people are
imprisoned. Most of them are women with children. We, along with other
men, were kept in a narrow room during the day. There were a dozen of
us.[Locked]all day. Many people wanted to return to Minsk; but the
Belarusian border guards did not allow it. They set dogs on us; I saw
people with bite wounds on their faces. When we found ourselves on the
Polish side, the Polish border guards tracked us down. The Belarusians
sometimes destroy our phones. Polish soldiers damage USB sockets -
preventing us from charging our phones. After damaging our phones, they
told us to undress, take off our pants and underwear. Then they sprayed
pepper spray on our anuses and genitals."
We can pretend nothing happened. After all, in the history of the world
someone has always hurt the weakest. It is easy for us to condemn the
past and people who are indifferent to evil.
How will we deal with the present?
- Hunger strike in the Przemysl camp - 1 (September 6)
A large hunger strike is underway in the Przemysl detention camp. Almost
all the detainees are on strike; they sent an open letter with attached
requests. Przemysl camp is known as the worst in Poland. There have been
several cases of violence by the guards.
We will update you on the situation
- Hunger strike in Przemysl camp - 2 (September 8)
Hunger strike in Przemysl detention camp.
Today, September 8, detainees reported that around 12:30 a group of
masked men entered the prison cells and started beating them with
truncheons; some are injured and bleeding.
At the same time, the guards started taking pictures of a small group of
migrants who were eating and had not started the hunger strike. This is
probably part of the campaign against the ongoing protest.
- Solidarity with the hunger strikers in Przemysl camp (September 10)
The solidarity demonstration in front of Przemysl detention camp is ongoing!
Solidarity with all hunger striking prisoners and all migrants!
Against Fortress Europe!
We are in contact with the detained people.
They are singing "FREEDOM" and are asking for songs that we play on
loudspeakers right after.
The police have arrived; so far they have done nothing.
- Two more dead at the border (October 24)
Two people were found dead at the Polish-Belarusian border. One of them
was a young Syrian, discovered in the Hajnówka district.
The Podlasie police officially announced this on their website.
The media in the Podlasie area are reporting about the second person.
According to reports, last Sunday the Polish border services spotted a
group of people in the woods. While they were trying to escape, one of
the men fell into the swamp. They tried to pull him out, but he was so
cold and exhausted that he died before the ambulance arrived.
At the Polish-Belarusian border, people are dying and losing their
health. This is a direct result of current political decisions. We must
continue to push for them to change!
- Migrants shot (November 4)
A refugee from Syria was found dead today on the Polish-Belarusian
border, in the Bialowieza Forest Reserve.
In the early hours of the morning, park employees notified the police
that a deceased person had been found.
For several days, activists have been looking for a missing Syrian boy.
The prosecutor's office has not officially confirmed that it is him. But
it is likely the missing boy.
Also today, local media in Podlasie reported information about another
Syrian person who was shot in the back. The shot must have been fired by
a soldier because the case was referred to the military police.
According to the latest information, the injured man is in hospital.
The violence at the border continues, taking on different forms. Today
it has gone to another level: live ammunition was used.
Shoving, beatings, humiliation and robberies have become routine; some
people thought that shooting a person is nothing exceptional.
Everything that has been happening for over 2 years is the result of the
decisions of the authorities and anti-migration policies.
We will never forget it and we will never forgive it!
- Shooting at migrants and activists (November 13)
from the instagram profile of "No Borders Team"
Tensions have increased at the border between Poland and Belarus. Live
ammunition was used against migrants and activists. There have been
several incidents at the border recently.
We had just buried two men killed by the EU-Russia border policy - a
26-year-old man from Yemen and a 21-year-old Syrian man - when we
received news of another victim - a 23-year-old man from Syria.
The day before, a 22-year-old Syrian man was taken to the hospital in
Hajnówka with a gunshot wound to the back. It turned out that a soldier
had shot him during the day, without any warning. The bullet lodged in
his spine. His life is not in danger at the moment. But there is still a
risk of paralysis.
The military said that the soldier fired an accidental shot (caused by a
stumble) and not on purpose...
Shortly afterwards, a border guard officer fired a shot in the direction
of a group of activists who were carrying aid in the forest. This was
caught on video; but the border guard claims that the shot was not fired
and the police confirmed this version, saying that there were no bullets
missing from the officer's magazine...
Another winter has begun on the eastern border of the EU.
https://gruppoanarchicogalatea.noblogs.org/post/2023/11/14/questione-migranti-situazione-dal-confine-polacco-bielorusso-5/
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