Migration for political gain
How Belarus exploited migrants to produce a calculated crisis at Europe’s doorsteps
The European Union (EU) has seen unprecedented numbers of refuge and asylum-seeking migrants arrive to its borders since the crisis first began in 2015. While the bulk of these migrants attempt to reach Europe via perilous sea crossings or land routes, recent events at the Belarusian border reveal a new and manufactured passage by which migrants have made it to Europe’s doorsteps- that is, through state-sponsored migration.
Since August 2021, an estimated 7,000 migrants (predominantly from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria) have arrived in the country of Belarus in hopes of crossing the border into neighboring Poland, Lithuania, or Latvia. These migration flows have appeared to be anything but spontaneous, including the movement of entire communities from Iraq and Syria through Belarus to its forested western border where conditions remain increasingly stark.
Further investigation into the crisis found shocking evidence that the migrant movements were in fact fabricated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Specifically, the BBC World News reports that Belarus’ visa process for migrants, particularly Iraqi nationals, was both “simplified” and expedited to designate these arrivals under the guise of tourism. Sources have confirmed that migrants did not find these routes on their own; instead, a “network of travel agents, airlines, and smugglers” collaborated in attracting migrants from specific countries under the fraudulent assurance of easy access to the EU via Belarus. The tourist visas granted to migrants were not intended for them to remain in Belarus, but served as the first step in Lukashenko’s overarching plan to quickly move thousands of migrants westwards in order to politically blackmail the EU for sanctions imposed on Belarus earlier last year.
The conditions for migrants trapped along the border are nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. Human Rights Watch reports that at least 13 migrants have lost their lives trying to survive in this abysmal environment characterized by freezing temperatures, limited food and drinking water, lack of shelter, and abuse at the hands of border authorities. As winter makes its way across the eastern region, hypothermia remains one of the greatest challenges to migrants’ survival leading many to plead with Belarusian authorities for return to their home countries, but to little avail.
According to Al Jazeera, migrants describe being completely trapped at the border- neither allowed to cross into Europe nor return to Belarus. To escalate conditions further, Belarusian authorities have been accused of using physical punishments and threats in order to force migrants to attempt more border crossings and in some cases, even providing migrants with wire cutters and laser pointers to abet them further in evading European border guards. Consequentially, tensions between European border authorities and migrants were enhanced.
Lithuania and Poland both declared states of emergency in response to the crisis, which the Foreign Policy reports enabled their “guards to take extra mental and physical measures to prevent migrants from entering, and legalizing indefinite detention of migrants.” Such actions by these countries have allowed for the use of perverse methods (like those seen in images of migrants being tear gassed and sprayed with water cannons) to wrongfully subdue mass border crossing attempts as well as instigative behavior forced upon migrants by Belarusian authorities. Although international law stipulates anyone seeking asylum be allowed access to case proceedings, the conditions for migrants on the ground stray far off course from this legal directive.
As the world watched the horrific scenes of migrant conditions and maltreatment play out along the Belarusian border, the crisis created an even larger problem for Lukashenko whose political miscalculation and malfeasance were turned against him in a new round of EU sanctions. For Poland, this calamity has provided further justification to reinforce its strict position on border security and led to the development of legislation that would extend its national power to respond similarly in forthcoming emergencies. It remains to be seen how these heighted border security measures, already harsh in nature, will be carried out given that Poland continues to block journalists and nongovernmental organizations from accessing its border regions.
As the crisis subsides, repatriation flights for migrants are underway and thousands more remain stranded in Belarus where their fate is still uncertain as they await hopeful for entry into Europe. Numerous EU-affiliated organizations continue to deliver aid and medical care to these migrants suspended in limbo at various border points and 1,000 migrants have been moved to a temporary shelter devised out of a warehouse in Belarus. All the while, the EU maintains its commitments to condemn Lukashenko’s actions and mobilize humanitarian relief, “but not to resettlement within its borders.”
The migration crisis at Europe’s doorsteps once again demonstrates the full force of conflict, disaster, poverty, and persecution that drive individuals into dangerous journeys in search of a better life. The case of the Belarusian border crisis sets an ominous precedent for future migration movements in the region as border countries, like Poland and Lithuania, poise themselves as Europe’s gatekeepers through enhanced border security procedures and harsh responses that do not guarantee migration deterrence. While Lukashenko’s plan proved to be an act of folly that only rendered further political backlash from the EU, the most pertinent losses are felt by the thousands of migrants whose hopes were exploited for political gain and for some, who paid the ultimate price with their lives to risk everything for a false promise.
