The European Union is responsible for protecting the life and destiny of refugees and the lives of refugees cannot continue to be used as political pawns.

The European Union is responsible for protecting the life and destiny of refugees and the lives of refugees cannot continue to be used as political pawns.

 On 08 November 2021 hundreds of refugees trod a desperate road from Belarus towards Poland.  But at the Polish border they faced the brutality of the EU Border Security Force and police – they were violently prevented from crossing the border to enter the countries of Western Europe.  They were beaten, set upon by vicious dogs – these terror tactics were implemented to stop them from crossing.

The refugees comprise many families with children as well as the sick. But Belarus is preventing them from crossing, using the in the most ferocious methods – Belarus is also preventing the refugees from finding any other safe havens.

The government of Belarus wants to use the refugees’ issue as a political card with which to pressurise Europe. This is the same inhuman policy used by Erdogan’s government in Turkey when they opened their border for the refugees to enter Greece.  Now, Belarus wants to follow the same policy and tactics against the EU; since the EU, which is overseen by Germany, has put tremendous pressure on Poland to close its borders against refugees and stop them from entering the countries of Western Europe. Thus the consequences of these countries’  inhuman policy against the refugees over recent months has caused hundreds of refugees to be beaten, jailed, and ‘erased’ within Lithuania, Belarus, and Poland.

It is deplorable that many refugees have died due to their appalling travelling conditions.  Many refugees imprisoned in these countries are almost dead, they have also undergone extraordinary psychological pressure to agree to return to their countries.

We, the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, strongly condemn the brutal and inhuman treatment by the Belarus and Poland border police against the refugees. We strongly believe that the EU is wholly responsible for protecting the life, health and safety of the refugees and is also responsible to determine their destiny.

We demand the UNHCR to take immediate action to protect the refugees at the borders of Belarus and Poland and rescue them from suffering and eventual death. 

Let us be clear.  These people fled their own countries due to the oppression of the political militia power within Kurdistan and Iraq. They fled their countries as they had no other options.  Thus their life, and their destiny must be respected, and they should be cared for as human beings with humanitarian principles.

We demand all organizations who defend the rights of refugees to put pressure on all relevant governments and most particularly the UNHCR:

1.      To immediately end the detainment of refugees at the borders, and end their beating and torture; and to take immediate action to rescue them from death.

2.      For the UNHCR to take immediate and positive action to answer refugees’ requests for asylum.

3.      To immediately end the force and pressure placed in on imprisoned refugees, and immediately release those presently in Lithuanian and Polish prisons. Their request for asylum must be immediately answered.

4.      To give the refugees immediate right of asylum and distribute them across European countries to give them an opportunity to rebuild their lives in a state of peace and harmony.

 

International Federation of Iraqi Refugees-IFIR

9/11/2021