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Drone recordings from the Polish-Belarusian border: According to the police, around 3,500 people have now gathered on the Belarusian side of the Kuznica border crossing.
They were smuggled here with the active support of the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko: All those who were here in the cold
Kamaran Mohammed was one of them.
The Iraqi Kurd is back in his homeland.
His attempt to get to Germany with his family via Belarus failed:
Kamaran Mohammed, Kurd from Northern Iraq
»Every visa cost me $ 1,400.
I wanted to go straight to Germany.
I never thought I'd come back here again.
I thought I will become a citizen there, settle down.
But the Polish government deported us. "
Mohammed's family of five had entered Minsk on Belarusian tourist visas.
The travel documents have been extremely easy to obtain in the past few weeks.
A local travel company confirms that.
Hazhar Hoshiyar, Tour Operator
»A Belarusian visa costs US $ 1200-1400.
Some travel companies offer a flat rate with airfare for $ 3,000- $ 3,500.
We only see that they have a Belarusian visa in their passport or an invitation.
We can't stop people from traveling.
They say that they are going to Dubai and have the appropriate visas for it. "
How things would proceed after their arrival in Minsk did not become clear to the family of Kamaran Mohammed until they were suddenly taken to the border.
Kamaran Mohammed, family man
»The Belarusian authorities said we have to go.
They divided us into groups at night and took us to the border in cars.
Some nights we tried twice to cross the border.
But on the other side we were sent back to this side of the fence.
«
Nyaz Aziz, mother of the family
»I was afraid of losing my child.
At night when he slept, I put my hand on his chest, on his face - to make sure he was still alive.
I just listened to his heartbeat. "
Kamaran Mohammed's family said they were deported back to Iraq on October 31 by Polish authorities.
They have spent a lot of money hoping for a safer life - and achieved nothing.
Such reports from the border area do not seem to deter others from taking the risk anyway.
The owner of this barber shop in
Sulaimaniya
is planning the trip with his family.
Warzer Ibrahim, owner of a barber shop
»I'm also afraid for my children.
But I don't know what to do
I do it for my children.
If I look here, believe me: it's dangerous here, not there. "
Kuznica, Poland
Eight people have died here at the EU border.
A new EU sanction instrument should now be able to be used against airlines that fly migrants to Belarus for onward smuggling into the EU.
Iraq wants to bring Iraqi refugees from Belarus back home on Thursday with a first special flight.
The return should be voluntary.
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