Neither support the wall nor support the uniforms.
❗There was a fight among soldiers stationed on the border with Belarus. Two of them were taken to the hospital, one of them unconscious.
❗Two bison were smashed by military trucks.
On December 3, two of them were killed on the road between Hajnówka and Białowieża.
Another bison died as a result of an earlier hit, also by a military vehicle.
❗At least three soldiers stationed on the border have committed suicide since the summer of 2021.
Another soldier, Emil Czeczko, crossed the border into Belarus and asked for asylum there. The Belarusian regime used him in its propaganda - Emil told Belarusian television made up stories about mass murders carried out by the Polish army. When he was no longer needed he "committed suicide."
➡️The case of Emil, the soldiers who committed suicide and those who incite fights shows that the military is an organization that attracts unstable people.
This is important because these people have guns. With these weapons, they have sometimes pointed them at aid workers on the border. They were the ones who used violence against people on the move. Beating, humiliating, throwing them into icy rivers. Nearly 60 people died as a result of their actions. That many have been found, we don't know how many bodies are still in the wilderness.
This is a threat that every person in the border area must reckon with. A migrant shot in the back or shots fired at activists are glaring examples of how the military feels impunity. Military trucks and cars speeding on small roads in Podlasie are a deadly threat to people and animals.
Every person on the move and those bringing aid have this awareness in the back of their minds that they might run into someone shooting at them.
➡️This is an everyday reality in Podlasie, an everyday reality that those who have not experienced it do not realize. We have two worlds in Poland today. One is the world of tranquility, so-called normality. The other is a world of checkpoints, military vehicles passing under houses every day, armed squadrons patrolling the forests and the awareness that going for a walk we may find dead people in the woods.
Still missing from all this is Frontex, which has years of experience in murdering migrants. A new government of "democrats" can provide us with that.
❗There was a fight among soldiers stationed on the border with Belarus. Two of them were taken to the hospital, one of them unconscious.
❗Two bison were smashed by military trucks.
On December 3, two of them were killed on the road between Hajnówka and Białowieża.
Another bison died as a result of an earlier hit, also by a military vehicle.
❗At least three soldiers stationed on the border have committed suicide since the summer of 2021.
Another soldier, Emil Czeczko, crossed the border into Belarus and asked for asylum there. The Belarusian regime used him in its propaganda - Emil told Belarusian television made up stories about mass murders carried out by the Polish army. When he was no longer needed he "committed suicide."
➡️The case of Emil, the soldiers who committed suicide and those who incite fights shows that the military is an organization that attracts unstable people.
This is important because these people have guns. With these weapons, they have sometimes pointed them at aid workers on the border. They were the ones who used violence against people on the move. Beating, humiliating, throwing them into icy rivers. Nearly 60 people died as a result of their actions. That many have been found, we don't know how many bodies are still in the wilderness.
This is a threat that every person in the border area must reckon with. A migrant shot in the back or shots fired at activists are glaring examples of how the military feels impunity. Military trucks and cars speeding on small roads in Podlasie are a deadly threat to people and animals.
Every person on the move and those bringing aid have this awareness in the back of their minds that they might run into someone shooting at them.
➡️This is an everyday reality in Podlasie, an everyday reality that those who have not experienced it do not realize. We have two worlds in Poland today. One is the world of tranquility, so-called normality. The other is a world of checkpoints, military vehicles passing under houses every day, armed squadrons patrolling the forests and the awareness that going for a walk we may find dead people in the woods.
Still missing from all this is Frontex, which has years of experience in murdering migrants. A new government of "democrats" can provide us with that.
The border in a new political reality.
➡️For several weeks now, Poland has been ruled by a 'democratic' government, one that is obedient to the European Commission. Immediately after the formation of the government, Donald Tusk went to Brussels to report on the task at hand and to collect his gratification - the funds earmarked for Poland, which had been suspended due to concerns about the rule of law situation in the country. In doing so, the European Commission has expressed high expectations of the new government. Among other things, this means strict implementation of EU migration policy.
✖️This is by no means an indication that the actions of the Law and Justice party somehow deviated strongly from these directives - the violence at the border was exactly the same as at other EU borders - in Greece, Spain, Morocco, Libya or the Balkans. What irritated Brussels, however, was the fact that the Union could not control this violence as it did in other countries. This was reminiscent of the situation in Hungary, whose authorities, despite subscribing to the main principles of the Fortress Europe project, did not hesitate to criticise the Union and be a fickle member of it.
➡️Now in Poland, this problem no longer exists - the new government will carry out any order; whether it be cutting social benefits, raising the retirement age or officially recognising Frontex's supremacy in border management.
✖️Once again - PiS was also forced to submit to this EU agency, but public statements that Poland did not need Frontex were not what EU decision-makers wanted to hear.
‼️November 2023. The European Commission has allocated €259 million for projects to 'strengthen migration management and security at the EU's external borders'. According to an EC press release, €141 million will go towards grants for the installation of fibre optic cables and software in various European countries, including Bulgaria, Lithuania and Hungary, to "improve data exchange and processing between border posts and command centres". It added that the funds will also be used to install electronic surveillance equipment at border posts in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania and to deploy mobile detection equipment in Bulgaria, Greece and Lithuania. In addition, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), funds will also be used to "strengthen border reception centres by renovating existing reception centres in Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland."[1]
➡️In Podlasie, people oin the move are still struggling to get to a place where their life and health will not be in danger. Locals are witnessing manhunts, detentions, people being taken off in an unknown direction. The movement continues, albeit outside the media uproar. The free, civic media that have been upholding human rights for the past two years have ended the subject. The power has been changed, the goal has been achieved.
📢There are many indications that the aid movement will be cut off from being able to act, as this would spoil the image of the new government. All the more so since some of the well-known faces that dominated the media coverage of the border did not hide their sympathies and links with politicians of the current coalition.
What can go wrong when a well-known human rights defender like Adam Bodnar has become Minister of Justice and Attorney General? How can such a government be criticised?
He is now, after all, the head of the police and other services, as well as the entire prosecution service, so he has the opportunity to hold the totalitarian actions of the Law and Justice Party accountable in this regard - to discontinue the political trials that are also taking place against border aiders or to explain the murders in police stations for which no one has so far been held accountable.
➡️For several weeks now, Poland has been ruled by a 'democratic' government, one that is obedient to the European Commission. Immediately after the formation of the government, Donald Tusk went to Brussels to report on the task at hand and to collect his gratification - the funds earmarked for Poland, which had been suspended due to concerns about the rule of law situation in the country. In doing so, the European Commission has expressed high expectations of the new government. Among other things, this means strict implementation of EU migration policy.
✖️This is by no means an indication that the actions of the Law and Justice party somehow deviated strongly from these directives - the violence at the border was exactly the same as at other EU borders - in Greece, Spain, Morocco, Libya or the Balkans. What irritated Brussels, however, was the fact that the Union could not control this violence as it did in other countries. This was reminiscent of the situation in Hungary, whose authorities, despite subscribing to the main principles of the Fortress Europe project, did not hesitate to criticise the Union and be a fickle member of it.
➡️Now in Poland, this problem no longer exists - the new government will carry out any order; whether it be cutting social benefits, raising the retirement age or officially recognising Frontex's supremacy in border management.
✖️Once again - PiS was also forced to submit to this EU agency, but public statements that Poland did not need Frontex were not what EU decision-makers wanted to hear.
‼️November 2023. The European Commission has allocated €259 million for projects to 'strengthen migration management and security at the EU's external borders'. According to an EC press release, €141 million will go towards grants for the installation of fibre optic cables and software in various European countries, including Bulgaria, Lithuania and Hungary, to "improve data exchange and processing between border posts and command centres". It added that the funds will also be used to install electronic surveillance equipment at border posts in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania and to deploy mobile detection equipment in Bulgaria, Greece and Lithuania. In addition, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), funds will also be used to "strengthen border reception centres by renovating existing reception centres in Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland."[1]
➡️In Podlasie, people oin the move are still struggling to get to a place where their life and health will not be in danger. Locals are witnessing manhunts, detentions, people being taken off in an unknown direction. The movement continues, albeit outside the media uproar. The free, civic media that have been upholding human rights for the past two years have ended the subject. The power has been changed, the goal has been achieved.
📢There are many indications that the aid movement will be cut off from being able to act, as this would spoil the image of the new government. All the more so since some of the well-known faces that dominated the media coverage of the border did not hide their sympathies and links with politicians of the current coalition.
What can go wrong when a well-known human rights defender like Adam Bodnar has become Minister of Justice and Attorney General? How can such a government be criticised?
He is now, after all, the head of the police and other services, as well as the entire prosecution service, so he has the opportunity to hold the totalitarian actions of the Law and Justice Party accountable in this regard - to discontinue the political trials that are also taking place against border aiders or to explain the murders in police stations for which no one has so far been held accountable.
We would like to believe this, but parliamentary politics does not work in the interests of ordinary people. Values such as truth and justice are also alien to it. Whatever party takes power in this system, it will always protect the interests of big capital, because it is with it and dependent on it. The rest, both 'legal' citizens and migrants are supposed to, to quote the bankster Mateusz Morawiecki, 'work for a bowl of rice' and fight amongst themselves.
➡️Meanwhile, the same and different in Podlasie. The military and the Border Guard are better hidden. Tourism is reviving, which may finally bring a bit of a breather to the male and female residents of this part of Poland, deprived of sources of income in recent years. No more waiting at checkpoints and showing white faces in the torchlight. It is friendlier, the snow has just fallen and the wilderness looks beautiful.
And people will still die in it.
[1] Ecre, 15/12/2023, EU Eastern Borders: European Commission Allocates Over € 250 Million for Migration and Border Security; EU Funding for Hungary Unblocked Amid Concerns Over Human Rights; Newly Elected Polish Prime Minister Receives EU Support Despite Using Anti-migrant Rhetoric in Elections Campaign
➡️Meanwhile, the same and different in Podlasie. The military and the Border Guard are better hidden. Tourism is reviving, which may finally bring a bit of a breather to the male and female residents of this part of Poland, deprived of sources of income in recent years. No more waiting at checkpoints and showing white faces in the torchlight. It is friendlier, the snow has just fallen and the wilderness looks beautiful.
And people will still die in it.
[1] Ecre, 15/12/2023, EU Eastern Borders: European Commission Allocates Over € 250 Million for Migration and Border Security; EU Funding for Hungary Unblocked Amid Concerns Over Human Rights; Newly Elected Polish Prime Minister Receives EU Support Despite Using Anti-migrant Rhetoric in Elections Campaign
Tomorrow, January 17, 2024, the trial of people detained during the protest in front of the Guarded Center for Foreigners in Krosno Odrzańskie, which took place on February 12, 2022, begins.
This demonstration was an expression of solidarity towards prisoners and opposition to the inhumane state policy towards migrants.
Charges were brought against 10 people. The acts they are accused of include Art. 222 and 223, regarding violation of the bodily integrity of an officer and active assault on an officer, or Art. 254, i.e. participation in the gathering. These acts were defined as a hooligan offense, which increases the potential penalty - some of the defendants face up to 10 years in prison.
In a reality where the state and services such as the Border Guard violate human rights, the only guarantee of respect is social resistance.
This is not the first time that people protesting against the abuse of power have faced such accusations. It is common knowledge that this is the most popular method of silencing activists.
Particularly controversial is the article on the offense of hooliganism, which may increase the penalty.
Let us not forget what the purpose of this demonstration was - a loud cry for respect for basic human rights. It was a direct response to the hunger strike undertaken at the center in Wędrzyn a few days earlier. It was caused by the dramatic situation of the inmates - in the previous weeks, several of them had tried to commit suicide. Some people in Krosno Odrzańskie also joined the strike.
In response, the services used force against the protesters - batons and gas. Several people were severely beaten by the police.
However, instead of holding accountable the policemen who were the real aggressors that day, those who were brought to court as defendants were those who retained enough humanity to oppose harming the weaker.
We support the accused and appeal for nationwide and international solidarity.
No amount of repression will stop our fight for freedom and justice for all people, regardless of their origin.
---
Why are we protesting against Guarded Centers for Foreigners?
Closed centers are essentially prisons, although in fact the people staying there have fewer rights than prisoners. Those detained there are often deprived of translators, and documents regarding their cases are delivered in Polish; lack of psychological and medical care; experience violence from guards; they are deprived of legal guardianship and contact with their loved ones.
The problem of detaining people on the road was highlighted by, among others, The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which stated that imprisoning migrants should be a last resort. Unfortunately, practice has shown that Polish services use imprisonment as the default penalty for every person on the road.
Starting in the second half of 2021, the number of people trapped in SOCs increased dramatically, making their stay there even more difficult. Overcrowded cells, insufficient food. In order to imprison more people, buildings that did not have the necessary infrastructure were adapted into prisons. In Wędrzyn, the SOC was established in the middle of a military base.
All this led to abuse and neglect on a large scale.
Human rights organizations have long raised alarms about the extremely difficult situation of those imprisoned. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Association for Legal Intervention and many other entities drew attention to frequent cases of law breaking by the services managing these institutions.
The Office of the Ombudsman also visited these facilities many times, and the reports from these visits revealed the truth about the actual conditions prevailing there.
Both official organizations and our friends detained in SOCs reported repeated suicide attempts, mutilations, and the terrible mental condition of prisoners. Those deprived of contact with the outside world fought for their rights as best they could - they organized protests and hunger strikes inside the centers.
This demonstration was an expression of solidarity towards prisoners and opposition to the inhumane state policy towards migrants.
Charges were brought against 10 people. The acts they are accused of include Art. 222 and 223, regarding violation of the bodily integrity of an officer and active assault on an officer, or Art. 254, i.e. participation in the gathering. These acts were defined as a hooligan offense, which increases the potential penalty - some of the defendants face up to 10 years in prison.
In a reality where the state and services such as the Border Guard violate human rights, the only guarantee of respect is social resistance.
This is not the first time that people protesting against the abuse of power have faced such accusations. It is common knowledge that this is the most popular method of silencing activists.
Particularly controversial is the article on the offense of hooliganism, which may increase the penalty.
Let us not forget what the purpose of this demonstration was - a loud cry for respect for basic human rights. It was a direct response to the hunger strike undertaken at the center in Wędrzyn a few days earlier. It was caused by the dramatic situation of the inmates - in the previous weeks, several of them had tried to commit suicide. Some people in Krosno Odrzańskie also joined the strike.
In response, the services used force against the protesters - batons and gas. Several people were severely beaten by the police.
However, instead of holding accountable the policemen who were the real aggressors that day, those who were brought to court as defendants were those who retained enough humanity to oppose harming the weaker.
We support the accused and appeal for nationwide and international solidarity.
No amount of repression will stop our fight for freedom and justice for all people, regardless of their origin.
---
Why are we protesting against Guarded Centers for Foreigners?
Closed centers are essentially prisons, although in fact the people staying there have fewer rights than prisoners. Those detained there are often deprived of translators, and documents regarding their cases are delivered in Polish; lack of psychological and medical care; experience violence from guards; they are deprived of legal guardianship and contact with their loved ones.
The problem of detaining people on the road was highlighted by, among others, The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, which stated that imprisoning migrants should be a last resort. Unfortunately, practice has shown that Polish services use imprisonment as the default penalty for every person on the road.
Starting in the second half of 2021, the number of people trapped in SOCs increased dramatically, making their stay there even more difficult. Overcrowded cells, insufficient food. In order to imprison more people, buildings that did not have the necessary infrastructure were adapted into prisons. In Wędrzyn, the SOC was established in the middle of a military base.
All this led to abuse and neglect on a large scale.
Human rights organizations have long raised alarms about the extremely difficult situation of those imprisoned. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Association for Legal Intervention and many other entities drew attention to frequent cases of law breaking by the services managing these institutions.
The Office of the Ombudsman also visited these facilities many times, and the reports from these visits revealed the truth about the actual conditions prevailing there.
Both official organizations and our friends detained in SOCs reported repeated suicide attempts, mutilations, and the terrible mental condition of prisoners. Those deprived of contact with the outside world fought for their rights as best they could - they organized protests and hunger strikes inside the centers.
The violation of the law by SOC managers is confirmed by court judgments in cases brought by prisoners against the Polish authorities. One such example is PLN 72,500 in compensation received by a family of three placed in a guarded center for ten weeks due to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw.
Thanks to the European Court of Human Rights, another family that spent 7 months in the center received EUR 20,000 from Poland.
The District Court in Olsztyn awarded a five-person family from Afghanistan compensation in the amount of over PLN 32,000.
We will continue to publicize the situation of people locked in guarded camps and those at large who show solidarity with them.
Enough of segregating people based on origin!
Thanks to the European Court of Human Rights, another family that spent 7 months in the center received EUR 20,000 from Poland.
The District Court in Olsztyn awarded a five-person family from Afghanistan compensation in the amount of over PLN 32,000.
We will continue to publicize the situation of people locked in guarded camps and those at large who show solidarity with them.
Enough of segregating people based on origin!
Construction of two more dam sections on the Polish-Belarusian border will probably start this year.
The first is to be 47 km long and located on the Svisloch and Istoczanka rivers. The second will be on the Bug river on the section of the Nadbużański Oddział Straży Granicznej's range on the border with Belarus, i.e. roughly from the height of Włodawa to Janów Podlaski. It is to be 172 km saturated with 4.5 thousand thermal, day-night and motion sensor cameras.
ELEKTROTIM S.A. will be the contractor for both; the company won the tenders in November 2023 and has 18 months to complete the projects. It was also ELEKTROTIM that was responsible for the construction of the perimetry on the border fence.
And who will finance it? The European Union. The vast majority of the funds, 350 million, to which the Border Guard will contribute 21 million, will come from the EU Integrated Border Management Fund established for 2021-2027, under the Financial Support Facility for Border Management and Visa Policy.
The programme envisages the financing of specific actions as well, and the expansion, or in the language of European funds, the strengthening of the surveillance of the EU's external border against unforeseen irregular migration, has been recognised as such.
The documents mentioning the technical requirements for the construction as well as the design of the electronic barrier have been classified. However, what is not secret is the awareness of the disastrous impact of border barriers, concertina rolls, nets and fences on nature, animals and the condition of people on the road. The dam will probably also already deprive the inhabitants and residents of the borderland of access to the Bug River.
The border area with Belarus is extremely valuable in terms of nature. A large part of it is occupied by primeval forests, which are remnants of the great primeval forest that once covered an area from the Urals to the Atlantic Ocean. The swampy terrain and meanders of history have meant that it is in Podlasie that part of this primeval forest still exists today and is under strict protection.
The area of the Bialowieza Forest, Ladzka Forest and Knyszynska Forest is one of the last migration corridors for large mammals such as wolves, wild boars, roe deer and deer. It connects the forests of Russia with those of Western Europe and is now largely blocked due to the militarisation of the borders. The natural impact of this is difficult to assess, as it disrupts the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Depriving it of certain species inevitably affects the fate of others and leads to irreversible damage.
Another threat resulting from preventing the free movement of animals is the depletion of the gene pool and the degeneration of species.
The barrier on the border with Belarus, costing many millions of euros, is an obstacle for people, although it is not impossible to cross - the chances of crossing it are only reduced and only able-bodied people have them. The elderly, disabled or children will not manage it or it will require great effort on their part. Animals have no chance of crossing.
Of course, they know the terrain better than people, so they try to cross where there is no barrier. This means a risky crossing of rivers and marshes, or worse, hitting concertina entanglements.
The concertina or razor wire is one of the most dangerous border devices. If any of you have dealt with ordinary barbed wire so far, you may underestimate its more deadly version.
Barbed wire wounds, cuts into skin and clothing. It hurts, it cuts but it is unlikely to kill.
Razor wire can kill. The person entangled in it is practically immobilised - every movement causes the blades to cut in deeper and deeper. It cuts skin, it cuts muscle, it cuts to the bone. If you don't stop moving you will die.
The first is to be 47 km long and located on the Svisloch and Istoczanka rivers. The second will be on the Bug river on the section of the Nadbużański Oddział Straży Granicznej's range on the border with Belarus, i.e. roughly from the height of Włodawa to Janów Podlaski. It is to be 172 km saturated with 4.5 thousand thermal, day-night and motion sensor cameras.
ELEKTROTIM S.A. will be the contractor for both; the company won the tenders in November 2023 and has 18 months to complete the projects. It was also ELEKTROTIM that was responsible for the construction of the perimetry on the border fence.
And who will finance it? The European Union. The vast majority of the funds, 350 million, to which the Border Guard will contribute 21 million, will come from the EU Integrated Border Management Fund established for 2021-2027, under the Financial Support Facility for Border Management and Visa Policy.
The programme envisages the financing of specific actions as well, and the expansion, or in the language of European funds, the strengthening of the surveillance of the EU's external border against unforeseen irregular migration, has been recognised as such.
The documents mentioning the technical requirements for the construction as well as the design of the electronic barrier have been classified. However, what is not secret is the awareness of the disastrous impact of border barriers, concertina rolls, nets and fences on nature, animals and the condition of people on the road. The dam will probably also already deprive the inhabitants and residents of the borderland of access to the Bug River.
The border area with Belarus is extremely valuable in terms of nature. A large part of it is occupied by primeval forests, which are remnants of the great primeval forest that once covered an area from the Urals to the Atlantic Ocean. The swampy terrain and meanders of history have meant that it is in Podlasie that part of this primeval forest still exists today and is under strict protection.
The area of the Bialowieza Forest, Ladzka Forest and Knyszynska Forest is one of the last migration corridors for large mammals such as wolves, wild boars, roe deer and deer. It connects the forests of Russia with those of Western Europe and is now largely blocked due to the militarisation of the borders. The natural impact of this is difficult to assess, as it disrupts the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Depriving it of certain species inevitably affects the fate of others and leads to irreversible damage.
Another threat resulting from preventing the free movement of animals is the depletion of the gene pool and the degeneration of species.
The barrier on the border with Belarus, costing many millions of euros, is an obstacle for people, although it is not impossible to cross - the chances of crossing it are only reduced and only able-bodied people have them. The elderly, disabled or children will not manage it or it will require great effort on their part. Animals have no chance of crossing.
Of course, they know the terrain better than people, so they try to cross where there is no barrier. This means a risky crossing of rivers and marshes, or worse, hitting concertina entanglements.
The concertina or razor wire is one of the most dangerous border devices. If any of you have dealt with ordinary barbed wire so far, you may underestimate its more deadly version.
Barbed wire wounds, cuts into skin and clothing. It hurts, it cuts but it is unlikely to kill.
Razor wire can kill. The person entangled in it is practically immobilised - every movement causes the blades to cut in deeper and deeper. It cuts skin, it cuts muscle, it cuts to the bone. If you don't stop moving you will die.
Humans are aware that littering the coils of concertina is deadly, animals are not. Caught in a trap, they do everything they can to get out of it, struggling for freedom they injure themselves deeper and deeper and eventually die of exsanguination or exhaustion.
It is razor wire that provides a barrier where there is no wall. What is more, the border guards are installing further concertina entanglements along the wall so that they provide an additional obstacle for those who manage to cross the barrier.
It is razor wire that provides a barrier where there is no wall. What is more, the border guards are installing further concertina entanglements along the wall so that they provide an additional obstacle for those who manage to cross the barrier.
This article is also available in Polish, Italian, German and French:
https://nobordersteam.noblogs.org/2024/02/577/
https://nobordersteam.noblogs.org/2024/02/577/
A longer table not a higher walls!
Human rights violations have become the norm in Poland since the so-called "border crisis" became part of our everyday life. In less than three years, 60 people have been killed in Podlasie forests, as a result of polish and EU anti-migration policies. These are just the victims that have been found. Politicians of all parties are outdoing themselves in scaring us with migration. Authority has changed, the methods remain the same.
One component of this inhumane machinery is the system of detention and deportation. Those who manage to avoid being pushed back to Belarus are sent to Guarded Centers for Foreigners - in fact prisons for people on the move whose only offense is having the wrong passport.
We would like to invite everyone who is not indifferent to the fate of people deprived of their freedom and experiencing systemic discrimination to a demonstration in front of the border guard headquarters in Warsaw. During this event, we want to express our strong opposition to migration policies and the deprivation of people of their basic rights.
Let's come in large numbers and be loud - we cannot be silent in this situation, because we remember that silence means consent. We do not consent to such injustice!
We are meeting in front of the headquarters of the polish border guards, but we direct our protest not only towards the polish authorities, but first and foremost towards the decision-makers of the European Union, whose anti-migration policy is implemented by both this and the previous government.
Solidarity without borders!
Human rights violations have become the norm in Poland since the so-called "border crisis" became part of our everyday life. In less than three years, 60 people have been killed in Podlasie forests, as a result of polish and EU anti-migration policies. These are just the victims that have been found. Politicians of all parties are outdoing themselves in scaring us with migration. Authority has changed, the methods remain the same.
One component of this inhumane machinery is the system of detention and deportation. Those who manage to avoid being pushed back to Belarus are sent to Guarded Centers for Foreigners - in fact prisons for people on the move whose only offense is having the wrong passport.
We would like to invite everyone who is not indifferent to the fate of people deprived of their freedom and experiencing systemic discrimination to a demonstration in front of the border guard headquarters in Warsaw. During this event, we want to express our strong opposition to migration policies and the deprivation of people of their basic rights.
Let's come in large numbers and be loud - we cannot be silent in this situation, because we remember that silence means consent. We do not consent to such injustice!
We are meeting in front of the headquarters of the polish border guards, but we direct our protest not only towards the polish authorities, but first and foremost towards the decision-makers of the European Union, whose anti-migration policy is implemented by both this and the previous government.
Solidarity without borders!
Tomorrow is the day we have been preparing for! We will be in front of the courthouse in Thessaloniki from 10 AM to support Homayoun.
Please support us online and draw attention to the trial!
* Follow and share our updates.
* Use the hashtags #FreeHomayoun, #MigrationisnotaCrime, #SolidarityWins, #DroptheCharges.
* Use this information as a guide: Homayoun has been in detention continuously since August 2021. He had to wait 575 days for his appeal trial. Homayoun is not an isolated case. His conviction is part of the systematic criminalization of migration in Europe. A court in Samos has already ruled that refugees and asylum seekers cannot fall under the law against smuggling. Homayoun's lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, was part of the legal team that achieved this precedent. We demand the acquittal of Homayoun Sabetara and all people criminalized for "smuggling".
* Keep making and sharing your own soli photos and videos.
#FreeHomayoun
Please support us online and draw attention to the trial!
* Follow and share our updates.
* Use the hashtags #FreeHomayoun, #MigrationisnotaCrime, #SolidarityWins, #DroptheCharges.
* Use this information as a guide: Homayoun has been in detention continuously since August 2021. He had to wait 575 days for his appeal trial. Homayoun is not an isolated case. His conviction is part of the systematic criminalization of migration in Europe. A court in Samos has already ruled that refugees and asylum seekers cannot fall under the law against smuggling. Homayoun's lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, was part of the legal team that achieved this precedent. We demand the acquittal of Homayoun Sabetara and all people criminalized for "smuggling".
* Keep making and sharing your own soli photos and videos.
#FreeHomayoun