Rewa Mahmood Hasan and Idiris Okuduci
12 November 2021•Update: 12 November 2021
SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq
An Iraqi Kurd attempting to break through the Polish border and cross illegally into the European Union sent a video message to an Anadolu Agency correspondent Thursday.
The video shows thousands of people in a forest area at Poland’s eastern border with Belarus desperately waiting to pass through a border fence.
In the video, 33-year-old Nabil Madri Majid tells the stories of migrants who left their hometowns in northern Iraq to realize their dreams of a better life in Europe.
"The situation is very bad at the moment. The weather is too cold. We hope it will not snow or rain,” Majid said.
He highlighted that Belarusian and Polish security forces are waiting on the opposite sides of the border.
There are families who are unable to meet the basic needs of their newborn babies, while many people who got sick on the border do not have access to medicine, Majid said, calling on the international community to take immediate action.
“Although I have a master's degree, I was not given a job in my country. Everyone here has their own tragic story,” he added.
Tensions between Poland and Belarus escalated Monday after nearly 4,000 migrants, mostly from Middle East countries, headed to the Polish border and tried to breach the barriers.
Polish authorities deployed around 15,000 troops along the border Monday to stop migrants who enter the country after passing through Belarus from heading to the EU.
The heavy deployment has sparked concern in Russia, with the Kremlin saying it is closely monitoring “the alarming situation” and urging all parties to behave responsibly.
The EU accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of engaging in a form of “hybrid” warfare and using migrants as a weapon to destabilize European countries.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara
