Thread by @astroehlein

#Belarus manufactured this situation, but #Poland shares responsibility for the suffering. Men, women & children ping-ponged at the border for weeks in the cold, desperately needing humanitarian aid that’s being blocked on BOTH sides.

New @hrw report: hrw.org/news/2021/11/2…

On the #Belarus side, accounts of violence, inhuman and degrading treatment and coercion by Belarusian border guards are commonplace.

So, why are #Polish border guards pushing people back into Belarus, even when they’re pleading for asylum?

Trapped on the #Belarus side, stranded or lost on the #Poland side, people told @hrw harrowing stories of trudging through forests, swamps, marshlands, and rivers in freezing temperatures for days and even weeks without food or water.

At least 13 people have died as a result of the inhumane conditions maintained by #Belarus and #Poland, including a 1-year-old boy.

People also told us that #Poland’s border guards separated their families, including parents from their children.

A Syrian woman whom #Poland border guards decided needed medical care was separated from her 5-year-old son, who, together with other family members, was pushed back to #Belarus. Still in Poland, she had no contact with her family since being separated from them.

Following #Polish pushbacks, interviewees said, #Belarusborder guards detained and abused them in “collection sites,” open spaces where migrants were gathered and trapped, without food, water, or shelter and prevented from going back to Minsk or their own countries.

Until November 18, thousands on the #Belarus side were sleeping in a makeshift camp at Bruzgi. Belarus authorities have dismantled the camp & reportedly accommodated some in a warehouse, although the situation & whereabouts of those who were in the makeshift camp is unknown.

#Belarus & #Poland authorities have an obligation to prevent further deaths by allowing aid in. BOTH countries should halt ping-pong pushbacks & allow independent observers, including media & human rights workers, access to currently restricted border areas.

In response to a letter from Human Rights Watch, #Polish authorities denied that they engaged in pushbacks, separating families, or refusing to consider asylum claims.

#Belarusian authorities have not responded to a request from Human Rights Watch to comment on the findings.

“#Belarus may have orchestrated the crisis but that doesn’t absolve #Poland and EU institutions of their human rights obligations. Brussels should push Warsaw to put preservation of human life at the core of its response.” - @LydsG