Caritas pleads for help to save migrants on Belarus borders

Thousands of asylum-seeking migrants stranded in freezing temperatures at the borders between Belarus and Poland, Lithuania, Latvia are in dire need of basic life-saving shelter and medical aid, according to Caritas Europa, the Catholic humanitarian agency.

The migrants -- families, young children, and babies -- from the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa are seeking to enter the European Union in the hope of a better life.  

The European Union is accusing Belarus of encouraging the migrants to illegally cross its border into the three EU countries as revenge for sanctions over President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on dissent after last year’s disputed election.

Poland has reinforced its border with a razor-wire fence and soldiers are blocking their entry.  

Lithuania has declared a state of emergency on its border with Belarus, moved its troops there and have begun building the first stretches of a steel wall to stop migrants entering. 

Latvia too has a barbed-wire fence, sensors, video surveillance and border guards to prevent migrants crossing.

Caritas Europa liaising with local Caritas offices and dioceses near the Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian borders, attempting to provide life-saving humanitarian aid. However, they find it difficult because of the state of emergency in accessing the border areas. 

In an interview with Vatican Radio, the Secretary-General of Caritas Europa, Maria Nyman, described the situation as critical and warned of possible deaths if the situation is protracted.

Nyman said Caritas Poland has mobilized dioceses near the border “to act as aid points that provide backpacks with blankets, energy bars, water.”

She said it also financially supports the diocesan Caritas offices who are in constant contact with refugee centers operating in the area with items of basic need. 

 “So, whilst we are doing all we can to help provide immediate relief, we also try to call on our leaders to make sure that every human being is always treated with respect and dignity,” Nyman said.

She warned that with every hour that passes the situation gets more critical as “winter is approaching and people are stuck in forests. These include families and children, sleeping rough in freezing temperatures, without access to medical aid or to humanitarian support.”

 “They are stuck in very challenging situations in which their dignity and their rights are violated,” Nyman said, explaining that they are also unable to lodge an asylum claim. 

Many migrants there are also victims of push-backs and violence by state authorities and border guards, Nyman said.

It is good to remember that regardless of how they arrived at the border of the European Union, many of them are fleeing conflict and have experienced traumatic conditions along the way, Nyman pointed out.

Hence, the focus “must not be on building walls but on human rights and on the right to asylum, as well as providing humanitarian support to allow for dignified conditions” for the migrants, she said.

“As Caritas Europa, we really want to remind our leaders that all human beings, regardless of their origins, regardless of the reasons for their travels, should see their rights respected,” Nyman said.

Geopolitical tensions cannot be the pretext “to literally let people die as they try to cross the border because that is what is happening, and right now.” 

She expressed the hope that EU institutions would find ways to grant access to the border to provide emergency aid and support for organizations such as Caritas.