Europe: Imagine a country using thousands of poor, helpless people as weapons against another country. Something similar is happening in Europe nowadays. On the border between Poland and Belarus.
Belarus’s dictator invited thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and dumped them in the forest near Poland’s border. Gave them wire cutters and told them that if they want to survive, they’d have to cut the wires of the border and go into Poland on its other side. Or else, they’ll freeze to death in the forest.
Where Is Belarus?
Belarus is a country that used to be a part of the Soviet Union once. It got independence in 1991 after which it came to be known as the Republic of Belarus. On the map, you can see that it is a land-locked country. Lithuania and Latvia in the North. Russia in the East, Ukraine in the South and Poland in the West.
It is important to note that Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are in the European Union. And the other European Union countries, like Germany, France and all the western European Union countries, Belarus does not share any border with them. There’s no border control. But Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are not parts of the European Union.
Groups of thousands of refugees were getting out of war-torn countries. Like people from Afghanistan escaping Taliban. Or leaving Syria because of the civil war. Or from countries like Congo where the situation is horrible. All of them started coming into Minsk. Minsk is the capital of Belarus. Allegedly, they were then transported to the borders of the European Union, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, via taxis, buses or other vehicles, and often, human smugglers helped them to cross the border illegally.
