Breaking Borders

Election

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Election

Click the blue icons, starting with "Independence"

Tension

Independence

2010s

2015 - 2018

202

2020s

1990s

Air Routes

Ground Routes

2024 Google Earth

The Białowieża Forest

At least 37 people have been found dead on the Poland-Belarus Border as of August 2023. Dozens more are missing.

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Migrants waiting to purchase items at refugee camp in Verebiejai, Lithuania. July 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kilbas)

An investigation by Lithuanian National Radio & Television (LRT) uncovered the process that migrants, specifically Iraqi Kurds, went through once arriving in Belarus. Migrants spent between one and four days in Belarus before being transported to the Lithuanian border in large vans. The migrants claimed that they were told by Belarusian officials that entering the European Union through Belarus was legal. Smugglers charged between $12,000 and $15,000 USD per person for entry to Lithuania. Lithuania declared a state of emergency on July 2nd, 2021. On August 3rd, 2021, Lithuanian officials published footage establishing a link between the migrants and the Belarusian government. By August 8th, 2021, attempted crossings dropped to almost zero due to Lithuania sending reinforcements to the border and broadcasted warning messages in several languages.

The Crisis Begins

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This chart illustrates the influx of migrants on the border of Poland and Belarus in four months.

Similarly to the Polish response to the 2015 migrant crisis, Poland refused to take in any refugees. A violent pushback of migrants back into Belarus began. Human Rights Watch argued that Poland's actions were unlawful and that pushing migrants back into a country where they are abused by officials is a human rights violation. The border between the two countries is filled with forests and hills, causing migrants to have no access to food, water, or shelter. As of June 2023, Poland has build several fences and walls to separate itself from Belarus and the migrants.

The Polish Border Gets Worse

Video Published August 14, 2023 / Al-Jazeera English

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Connecting flights from Turkey to Belarus became the most popular route for immigrants after Iraq-Belarus direct air traffic was suspended on August 7, 2021. Two airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Belavia (the national carrier of Belarus), supplied flights to Minsk. In December 2021, Belavia announced that they would no longer allow Iraqi, Syrian, or Yemeni citizens to fly from Turkey to Belarus.

The Perfect Intersection

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This video by Reuters shows Latvian guards stopping migrants from entering the country. More importantly, this brings attention to the migrants, the people who left their homes due to Belarus' promise of entry to the EU. Belarus used innocent people and their unfortunate circumstances as a pawn to manufacture unrest in the European Union. According to Anna Grike, who works directly with migrants through a nongovernmental organization called Gribu Palīdzēt Bēgļiem, the usual process for requesting refugee status was not implemented. She argued that it was unclear to refugees who was eligible to apply.

Latvia's Response to Migrants

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© Safin Hamed, AFP

Cham Wings & Syrian Flight

Migrating Syrians flew via the Cham Wings Airline, departing from Damascus to Minsk. At the peak of Syrian migration, Cham Wings began offering daily flights from Damascus to Minsk. In November 2021, the European Council sanctioned Cham Wings for its involvement in the transportation of migrants to Minsk

The Origins of the Crisis

On July 7, 2021, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka threatened to "flood" the EU with drugs and migrants. State-controlled travel agencies and Belarusian government officials worked with some Middle Eastern airlines to advertise tours to Belarus. These officials also promoted false information that through Belarus the migrants could gain access to the European Union. After arriving in Belarus, migrants were eventually given directions to the EU's border and how to cross it.

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Zoran, 18, an Iraqi Kurd about to board a flight to Minsk. Pjotr Sauer / Moscow Times

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Arrival in Minsk

After arriving in Minsk, many immigrants were brought on tours of Belarus and issued tourist visas. These tours were provided by travel agencies. An investigation by the German newspaper Spiegel alleged that the Belarusian government was involved and that regulations regarding visas were lifted. A majority of the migrants were Iraqi men. The first country to report a significant increase in border crossings was Lithuania, a small Baltic country just northwest of Belarus.

An opposition protest held in Minsk's October Square in 2006, following Lukashenka's re-election. He won in a landslide against an immensely popular democratic candidate

Tension With the West

Lukashenko was re-elected for a second term in 2001. Observers in the West and Belarusian opposition parties claimed the election to be undemocratic. The 2000s were riddled with Western doubt about Belarusian democracy. Alleged human rights violations and the continued fraudulent re-elections of Lukashenka caused the West to view Belarus as a puppet state of Russia. In 2006, the EU implemented a visa ban on Lukashenka and several other officials. This continuous pressure on Belarus from the West created a further division between Belarus and any democratic influence.

Shelter

The Białowieża Forest has no shelter on its own, and one must be built using the items around. The migrants have faced countless adversities just to get to the forest. They have no real shelter to rest and protect themselves.

Food

Food insecurity is another major problem that they face. Food comes in when new migrants arrive, but the amount of food they are given is likely not enough for more than one person.

Water

There are no lakes in the Białowieża Forest, only small rivers, which are sparse. The water supply for migrants is dangerously low, and they run the risk of dehydration.

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Krystsina Tsimanouskaya in a Japanese airport before leaving for Warsaw, Poland. (Issei Kato/Reuters)

The Olympic Sprinter That Belarus Tried to Repatriate

In August 1, 2021, Belarusian authorities attempted to forcibly return Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to Belarus from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics against her will. She was brought into protective custody after attracting the attention of Japanese police officers. This came following a video she posted to Instagram criticizing the National Olympic Committee for the Republic of Belarus for entering her in a race she was unfamiliar with. On August 2nd, she entered the Polish embassy in Japan, at which time she and her husband were offered humanitarian visas by Polish officials. On August 4th, she flew into Warsaw. She was met by Polish officials and Belarusian expatriates carrying carnations, a symbol of resistance. By mid-August 2021, several thousand migrants were dropped off at the Polish-Belarusian Border, exponentially increasing the amount of attempted border crossings since the beginning of the crisis. It has been alleged that smugglers were told to bring migrants to the Polish border by Belarusian officials, but this has not been confirmed. The number of migrants continued to increase in 2021, culminating in a hostile standoff between Poland and Belarus. Migrants were caught in the middle with nowhere to go.

The Cost of New Beginnings

Some Syrian immigrants paid smugglers to bring them to Istanbul, where they would then board flights to Minsk, as this was a cheaper option. Data on the cost of a flight from Damascus to Minsk was unavailable. However, according to Syria's Cham Wings Airlines, a one-way flight from Damascus to Moscow is around roughly $533 US dollars. According to Ceicdata.com, the average Syrian makes around $81 USD per month.

Alexander Lukashenka, November 1, 1994

Soviet Independence & an Important Decision

In 1991, Belarus declared itself an independent nation after the fall of the Soviet Union. With no recollection of democracy, the nation went through a three-year transitory period before the constitution was adopted in March 1994. Belarus held the first and only democratic election in its history on June 23 of that year with 80% of voters choosing Alexander Lukashenka. Lukashenka and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a friendship treaty two years later. The Belarusian public's decision cemented the nation's place in the Russian circle of influence.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya | (European Parliament Audiovisual)

The 2020 Presidential Election

The 2020 Presidential election saw an unlikely candidate to run against Lukashenka, 38-year-old Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She felt like she had no other choice but to run herself. She became a symbol of hope and democracy for the country.It was officially reported that Lukashenka had secured over 80% of the votes, which led several opposition groups to protest. The night after the results were made public, violent protests occurred throughout the country. Due to this, the European Union sanctioned Belarus for its lack of democratic elections, and Lukashenka was put under a lot of scrutiny. . On May 23, 2021, RyanAir flight 4978 was diverted to Minsk National Airport while in Belarusian airspace on claims of a Hamas bombing attempt. Once the flight was grounded, Belarusian authorities arrested opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. In response, the EU imposed further sanctions on Belarus, which increased hostility between Belarus and the West.

This forest has become the resting place for those seeking safety. The lives of people who were told they could call Europe home.

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In September of 2015, President of the European Council Donald Tusk spoke at the 71st UN General Assembly on the movements of refugees and migrants in Europe. In this speech, he firmly stated "There will be no repeat of the year 2015," referring to the 2015 European Migrant Crisis, in which 1.3 million people traveled to the continent in hopes of seeking refugee status. While the number of migrants seeking admission to the EU was exponentially lower than that of the 2015 crisis, Europe saw itself in the same position as before. Tusk had previously served as Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 - 2014. He served as President of the European Council until 2019 and went on to be elected President of the European People's Party until 2022. In 2023, Tusk was re-elected as Prime Minister of Poland. Since the crisis began in 2021, Poland, whose right-wing government is fiercely anti-refugee, has seen the most attempted entrances by immigrants.

"There will be no repeat of the year 2015."

(Mauricio Lima/New York Times)

1,191.4 Square Miles

The Białowieża Forest forest lasts for 1,191.4 Square miles and stretches from the Grodno and Brest regions of Belarus to the Podlaskie Voivodeship in PolandBelarusian officials do not allow migrants who traveled to the border to return to Minsk, and Poland is refusing entry to all migrants regardless of circumstances. Migrants in the forest are on both sides of the border, in two countries that do not want them there.

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An opposition protest held in Minsk's October Square in 2006, following Lukashenka's re-election. He won in a landslide against an immensely popular democratic candidate

Tension With the West

Lukashenko was re-elected for a second term in 2001. Observers in the West and Belarusian opposition parties claimed the election to be undemocratic. The 2000s were riddled with Western doubt about Belarusian democracy. Alleged human rights violations and the continued fraudulent re-elections of Lukashenka caused the West to view Belarus as a puppet state of Russia. In 2006, the EU implemented a visa ban on Lukashenka and several other officials. This continuous pressure on Belarus from the West created a further division between Belarus and any democratic influence.

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Alexander Lukashenka, November 1, 1994

Soviet Independence & an Important Decision

In 1991, Belarus declared itself an independent nation after the fall of the Soviet Union. With no recollection of democracy, the nation went through a three-year transitory period before the constitution was adopted in March 1994. Belarus held the first and only democratic election in its history on June 23 of that year with 80% of voters choosing Alexander Lukashenka. Lukashenka and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a friendship treaty two years later. The Belarusian public's decision cemented the nation's place in the Russian circle of influence.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya | (European Parliament Audiovisual)

The 2020 Presidential Election

The 2020 Presidential election saw an unlikely candidate to run against Lukashenka, 38-year-old Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She felt like she had no other choice but to run herself. She became a symbol of hope and democracy for the country.It was officially reported that Lukashenka had secured over 80% of the votes, which led several opposition groups to protest. The night after the results were made public, violent protests occurred throughout the country. Due to this, the European Union sanctioned Belarus for its lack of democratic elections, and Lukashenka was put under a lot of scrutiny. . On May 23, 2021, RyanAir flight 4978 was diverted to Minsk National Airport while in Belarusian airspace on claims of a Hamas bombing attempt. Once the flight was grounded, Belarusian authorities arrested opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. In response, the EU imposed further sanctions on Belarus, which increased hostility between Belarus and the West.

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