In Lithuania, a refugee crisis blamed on Belarus is brewing

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Utena County and Alytus County, Lithuania – On June 10, Mohammad Elias Safi, a 47-year-old Afghan, flew to Kabul airport to catch a flight to Moscow.

From the Russian capital, he traveled “sometimes on foot, sometimes by car”, in an attempt to reach the Belarus-Lithuania border.

On July 5, he arrived with other hopeful refugees and migrants and attempted to enter the Baltic country.

But they were stopped by border guards.

The trip, advertised as an easy way to Lithuania, cost him $ 15,000 – a sum paid to “an agent” in Afghanistan.

Safi ended up in one of the Lithuanian migrant centers, where he is now, still uncertain about his future.

He is one of more than 4,000 people who have entered Lithuania in recent months, a record number. The migration rate is 55 times higher than last year.

Most are from the Middle East, mainly Iraq, while others have traveled from Africa.

The Lithuanian government says irregular migration rates peaked after May 26, when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to flood neighboring states with migrants and drugs.

Lithuanian and European Union officials have called the move a “hybrid” attack and migrants are now caught in the middle.

The clash over migrants is the latest installment in a battle between Russia-backed Belarus and Western countries, which saw a tense war of words escalate and sanctions imposed after the disputed presidential election of the last year gave Lukashenko a new mandate.

The United States and many European countries have condemned the crackdown on Belarusian opposition, which at its peak saw scores of protesters arrested and allegedly mistreated.

Lithuania, home to several prominent Belarusian dissidents, has accused Minsk of pushing migrants across the border, while Belarus has tightened its side of the border in an attempt to prevent people from returning.

Fences have been built to fortify the border, more are planned, and troops – including in Poland, which also shares a border with Belarus – have been deployed.

Conditions “concerning” and migrant centers

Migrants in Lithuania have been placed in various locations across the country, from a refugee reception center in Rukla, a small central town, to old school buildings along the border with Belarus.

Humanitarian conditions differ and in some sites the situation is “worrying”, especially with regard to drinking water, sanitation and medical services, said Elisabeth Haslund, spokesperson for UNHCR.

Safi is in a former school in Kazitiskis, an eastern village near the Belarusian border, which has become a temporary home for 130 migrants and refugees, including women and children.

He shares a room with 16 other people and sleeps in a bunk bed.

In the schoolyard, Bekhal Hama Saeed, a 42-year-old Iraqi woman, watches her children play. They are nine, seven and six years old. Her family shares a room with 20 people.

Conditions here are “very bad,” she said. “I cry with all my heart every day.

UNHCR’s Haslund said he was concerned that “some of the vulnerable groups, such as unaccompanied minors and families with young children, people with disabilities, have been placed in some of these facilities which operate above their own. capacity ”.

There is also a sense of confusion, which Lithuanian Red Cross program manager Egle Samuchovaite called an “information void”.

With few interpreters, migrants and refugees are unable to obtain information about their current situation, resulting in anxiety and stress.

“I am in prison and they are mentally torturing me. They don’t let us out, they don’t give us [information on] our status, ”said Khan Farooq of Afghanistan. “We don’t care what happens between you and Belarus. I’m from Afghanistan, 10,000 miles away.

“I am a civilian. If I can go to Europe, I go anywhere. This is not how Europe should be.

“We have been betrayed again. We have been sold again. As always in history.

General Rustamas Liubajevas, head of the state border guard service, admitted at a press conference on August 17 that there may be a lack of information.

But he added that people should not have expected to cross the Schengen area immediately after arriving.

They had this belief, he said, because they were “misled by the organizers”.

But the Lithuanian authorities have made some promises.

Arnoldas Abramavicius, deputy interior minister, said that since Iraqi airlines suspended flights and new entry procedures were applied, authorities have been able to take a break and “improve conditions.”

Since August 2, migrants have only been able to cross the border at official checkpoints.

About 80 migrants entered Lithuania for humanitarian reasons between 2 and 17 August.

Meanwhile, migration officers have started visiting accommodation centers to provide migrants with more information and to organize around 300 interviews per day.

On August 19, a team visited the Vydeniai School, a site of 146 people, mostly from African countries.

That day, Buay Lual, a 23-year-old from South Sudan, was exercising in the school’s gym.

He said he had lived in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, since March.

He watched online videos of people traveling through Lithuania and decided to give it a try.

Conditions in Vydeniai are good, he said, adding that everyone is treated “like a human being”.

“I appreciate this country because they brought me here, they give me water and food three times [per day]. So how can I say this country is not good? said Buay.

He was told of a voluntary return option, a program under which migrants receive travel tickets and 300 euros ($ 352).

But Buay is not interested.

“I told them that even if they give me a million, how can I get back to the fire?

“I’m not here because I just need the money, I’m here because I want to have my life.”

He was told it could take up to six months to find out about his status.

UNHCR spokesperson Haslund said “we have to be very careful” when discussing possible future scenarios for thousands of new arrivals, as this is “a very diverse group” and each case needs to be assessed. individually.

While some may need international protections, others do not.

“Then they can be sent home with dignity and respect for their human rights,” she said.

As of August 20, Lithuania had registered more than 1,600 asylum applications.

The head of the migration department, Evelina Gudzinskaite, said only a fraction would be granted asylum. Most will be deported to their country of origin. So far, out of 200 cases examined, none have been granted asylum.

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