The situation on the Latvian border with Belarus is still tense. Recently, a new trend has been observed – migrants from Afghanistan are also trying to cross the border. One of the families was allowed to enter Latvia on Wednesday due to humanitarian reasons. What are the routes of human smuggling and what tactics are used by Belarusian special services to chase migrants across the border – explained TV3 News in Daugavpils.
Kadar and his wife and five children are from Afghanistan, Kabul, and left their homeland with the arrival of the Taliban. They have sold everything they own to pay human smugglers for their way to Europe. The journey began in Tajikistan – Through Kazakhstan – Russia, Belarus to the Latvian border. Unlike the Iraqis, who arrived in Minsk by plane and tourist visas – Afghans are transported by car – the last stop before our country’s border was the Belarusian city of Gorky – on the Russian border.
“We sold everything we had. We crossed the border of Tajikistan, a man was waiting there, a companion. Not just us, there were thousands of people. 200,300 cars depart from there to different countries every day. There are tens of thousands of people there, ”says the illegal immigrant.
When asked how he found out who to pay, he answers: “You don’t need advice in Tajikistan, they know everything. Seeing that people are fleeing, they understand that they will be able to earn well. People are ready to give up everything to escape. We were told we would take you to Europe and it would cost $ 70,000, everything we had, we gave everything back. Well, then we were taken to the border with Belarus. Said – please Europe, all the documents that we had taken away, the only thing left was the birth and marriage certificate of one child. Said you will walk 100-200 meters, there will be a forest or a park, there will be a stop, a car will come and you will be collected. ”
Arriving in the woods between Belarus and Latvia, the Afghans have realized that they have been deceived. The head of the family says that they have tried to go back – but the Belarusian army is already armed.
“We walked for two days, we were wrong, we realized that we were deceived. We went back to the same border area where we were released and started looking. We walked through the neutral zone – the children were hungry, spilled, lit a fire. There was fear at night – all kinds of noises, animals. Border guards ran out with vending machines, sticks – they were Belarusians, they showed us the direction to the left, the Belarusians stood on the right side, they showed us the way to Latvia. Of course, if you are shown a weapon and told where to go, we will go. On the other side, there were already Latvian border guards and soldiers, we were not touched, it was culturally explained that we should not go to Latvia, we do not accept, there is a crisis here, ”says the illegal migrant.
For 27 days we were “thrown” by the Belarusians to the Latvian side and vice versa. We asked the Belarusians to let go. Anyway to Minsk, give up, ask for help. They said: the road is closed to you, we will not let anyone back, we have no such right. Countless times like this “thrower”. When we hit the Latvian side, they were civilized, no one beat me, the border guards did not use force, ”says the Afghan.
A few days ago, the same family complained to the Belarusian services about the inhuman treatment of illegal border guards by Latvian border guards. In an interview with TV3 News, Afghan citizens now say that the interview published by the eastern neighbors was given out of fear of retaliation: “I had nowhere to look and apparently they had to say something and I had no choice. I see that my children are at risk, I have nothing to lose, my main thing was to keep the children safe. They said: we guarantee you, you just have to say that the Latvian side beats you – it wasn’t like that! We even ate a dose. The Belarusian army was very brutal. (TV3 News: Were they Belarusian border guards or security guards?) Yes, security guards, they warned me, if you come here again, we will take care of your children. ”
Together with this family, there were dozens of other people on the border, who are probably still in the border forests.-
“400 people have disappeared, gone where, no one knows. In Belarus? On the border, there were about 400 people on the border, including us. There were 70 people in our group alone. My brother’s son with his family, four stepchildren and his wife’s brother remained there, they are still there in the woods, they are also “tossed”. All this is curated by the Pakistanis together with the Belarusians – the family that is now in the forest also got here with their help. They were shown a video of how we have crossed the European border and they arrived. Now many will drive it. Well, and yesterday the Belarusians pushed us back to the Latvian side, we crossed, sat in the grass, the children could no longer walk. Well, you and we found us, we thought that we would be replaced away again – but no, we were brought here, ”says Kadars.
They did not know about the situation on the Belarusian border with the Baltic States and the hybrid war waged by Lukashenko. Learned only by coming here. The Belarusian side has said that Latvia has no right not to admit them.
Asked about the goals of getting to Europe, the illegal migrant says: “The goal was no matter where the Taliban found us. No matter where, just keep the kids safe. We want to stay, if we have the opportunity, we want to stay. We understand Russian and here it will be easier for us than to drive somewhere where we and we do not understand anything, We have already lost everything. ”
Now that they have become instruments of both human smuggling and the extended hybrid war in Belarus, Afghans say: “I would advise not to drive, not to join such chains, better to wait, to get official visas.”
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