#Stop Refugees Freezing! - International Day of Action

Families face hostile reception at border

Source: Amnesty International Westminster J&P

A shocking humanitarian crisis is quietly taking place on the borders of the EU and Belarus. Thousands of people - including many families with small children, pregnant women, and people who are elderly and injured are trapped in the swampy forests along the borders of Belarus and Poland, freezing in sub-zero temperatures, hungry, thirsty and suffering violent pushbacks from both Belarussian soldiers and Polish border guards - including forcing people to cross a fast-flowing river. At least ten people are known to have died.

Many of these people have fled war and persecution in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq. In the absence of safe and legal routes they felt they had no other alternatives to reach safety. Under EU and International law, everyone seeking asylum at the borders has the right to make an asylum application, which must be processed and considered individually. But the authorities on both sides of the border are ignoring the law.

An international day of action, organised by Amnesty with the support of members of many J&P groups, will take place in cities across Europe on 15th and 16th January 2022 to appeal for NGOs and humanitarian organisations to be allowed to reach and deliver life-saving aid to those trapped between the borders. They will call for Poland to immediately stop collectively expelling people back to Belarus, particularly in light of reports of violence at the hands of Belarusian authorities. Pushbacks are illegal under international human rights law, and campaigners say individuals should not be returned to countries where they might face ill-treatment.

In London, a demonstration will take place outside the Embassy of Poland, 47 Portland Place London W1B1JH from 11.30am -12.30pm

Campaigners will create signs using gold-silver foil emergency blankets with the slogan #Stop Refugees Freezing! in English and Polish. They will take photos of the action to share online.

For more information in the UK contact: Ulrike Schmidt ulrike.schmidt@amnesty.org.uk . In EU - Nicolas Meier E-mail: nicolas.meier@amnesty-eu-laender.de

The hashtag: #StopRefugeesFreezing will be used on social media, especially Twitter.

There will be an instagram live on the 15th January at 13:00 Central European Time on the amnesty_eaac account.