How do migrants get to the EU's external border between Poland and Belarus?
An ARD report shows: apparently the way to Europe leads through Turkey.
Istanbul / Munich - Thousands of refugees are stuck on the Polish-Belarusian border these days.
In the hope of reaching the EU, some of them even tore down border fortifications.
Polish security forces are opposing themselves - and with a few exceptions currently have the upper hand.
But how is it that thousands of migrants get to Belarus * and from there finally run towards the Polish border?
The new route stretches from Northern Iraq to Belarus - and leads through Turkey *, like an investigation by the ARD program “Report Munich”.
Belarus refugee route: The first step is to visit the travel agency
Most of the migrants on the eastern door of the EU * are apparently Iraqi Kurds from the northern part of the country.
There the trip should begin with an initial contact in a travel agency.
The travel agency "Top Travel" is located in the heart of the northern Iraqi capital Erbil and acts as the starting point for many migrants on their trips to Europe.
Five people would contact him every day for a trip to Belarus, "Top Travel" owner Ahkam Özet told
Report Munich
.
Together with other colleagues, you get 20 "customers" a day, he explains.
In addition, most of these people do not go to Belarus alone, but with their families.
Overall balance: 500 to 700 travelers a week.
However, the flight route does not lead them directly to Belarus, because these flights were discontinued under pressure from the EU, which is why a stopover has now been installed - Turkey.
Refugees' trip to Belarus goes through Turkey
The route via Turkey is preferred by refugees.
So also from a young man who enters the travel agency.
His destination is Germany - as is the case for most migrants on the Polish border.
He had heard that the route via the neighboring country was "cheap and good".
As it seems, the project still costs a lot of money.
Obviously, anyone who wants to go on a trip has to dig deep into their pockets.
To be able to finance the trip at all, many young Iraqis would sell their property, reports
Munich
.
According to the TV magazine, the cost of the flight and the stopover in Istanbul is 1000 euros.
Later, a visa and - not to forget - smugglers will be paid for.
The young man in the travel agency reckons it will cost between 3,000 and 4,000 euros, but is ready to raise this money: "If there is a way and the smugglers are trustworthy, I definitely want to go to Germany."
Belarus Refugee Route: Next Stop, Istanbul
In addition to poverty, war and violence, the economic situation and high unemployment are the main reasons why young Iraqis are fleeing, claims Aydin Maruf Selim, Minister of State of the Northern Iraqi administration: "This is why so many young people from Iraq and the entire region want to go abroad."
Once in Istanbul, Belarusian middlemen from the diplomatic mission get visas for the migrants in order to enable them to continue their journey.
Next comes the state airline of Belarus.
At the Belavia counter, the ARD report shows how two men accompany a large group of migrants to passport control.
Then they fly to the Belarusian capital Minsk, with four direct flights a day from Istanbul to Minsk.
The Turkish airline Turkish Airlines previously denied rumors that it is targeting migrants to Belarus.
Belarusian-Turkish cooperation alarms Berlin
The visit of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to the Turkish capital Ankara in April 2019 alarmed Berlin.
Lukashenko and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided on an "intensive cooperation" at the time.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is of the opinion that the refugee route via Turkey is being used by the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko as a means of pressure against the EU.
But the Turkish President Erdogan should also use the delicate situation for his own purposes.
In March 2020 Erdogan was accused of using refugees as blackmail against the EU.
At that time he had publicly announced that he had opened the borders.
Stephan Mayer (CSU), State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, sees the Turkish President as responsible: “I am firmly convinced that it would be the right thing to make President Erdogan more committed to significantly reducing or completely stopping flights from Istanbul to Minsk. "
Belarusian police support at the border crossing
The migrants make their way to Poland with the help of the Belarusian police.
“A police officer carried my little child and they showed us the way to Poland.
They told us that we should walk slowly in this direction without turning on the flashlights, otherwise the Polish police would catch us, ”said the Iraqi Sabbah Abdoulghaffar, who made it to Germany.
The march is supposed to bring them to the German-Polish border: Frankfurt / Oder.
In order to prevent illegal migration, the federal police are permanently on duty in the Brandenburg city.
"We have a very high level of migration here," said Jens Schobranski from the Federal Police to
Report Munich
.
He does not see any improvement in the situation.
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