GRODNO, 10 November (BelTA) – A trial of cold and uncertainty, the refugees, who are stuck at the Belarusian-Polish border line, told a BelTA reporter what is happening in the refugee camp.
A large group of migrants moving towards the Belarusian-Polish border was noticed not far from the border crossing Bruzgi in the morning on 8 November. The refugees are Kurds by nationality. Most of them are Iraqi citizens. The refugees are trying to enter the European Union. Poland refuses entry to them. The refugees say that Germany, France, and the UK are their final goals.
“Our Iraqi Kurdistan has plenty of oil but ordinary people like us cannot live decently and raise kids. We will return to our country at some point and will become leaders. If you allow us to cross the border, we will sing your national anthem and will hang your flags in our homes,” one of the refugees tried to get his message across to Poland via mass media. He recalled that thousands of Polish refugees came to Iraqi Kurdistan in 1942. Locals welcomed and helped them. The refugees see no reciprocal welcome now.
“We've brought kids with us but are greeted with weapons,” the man noted. He stressed there are many little kids in the refugee camp. There are also pregnant women. One of them is about to give birth, the man admitted.
The refugees have no problems with food for now. They received humanitarian aid yesterday and today. They are supplied with water, too. Cold is the key trial, they admitted. The migrants arranged bonfires and try to stay warm in tents and sleeping bags. “But one cannot always fall asleep. Uncertainty is another problem. We can only wait till we are allowed to cross the border,” another man said.
The current number of people in the refugee camp is estimated at nearly 3,000, including about 500 kids.
