Poland's 5.5-metre tall steel barrier, built on its border with Belarus, was meant to be a European version of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s wall, protecting the European Union's eastern frontier from illegal migration.
But the wall, stretching about 187 kms and set to be equipped with motion sensors and cameras, may not be enough to halt the steady flow of people trying to cross into Poland in the hope of a better life.
They moved to Russia on a student visa in April 2021 as they struggled to feed their family back home. They found a job in a tailor shop in the city of Ivanova but as the political situation in Russia got tense because of the war in Ukraine, they decided to take on the long journey to Spain via Belarus and Poland, to join their family members.
"It all depends on the weather. Now, when it’s hot, we receive a lot of calls," says Paulina Bownik, a doctor from Bielsk Podlaski, who, since last August, has provided medical help to over 300 people. "We have people in the woods all the time."Poland started building its steel border barrier in January after nearly 40,000 people, mostly from the Middle East and Afghanistan, tried to cross from Belarus between August and January.
Between June 16 and 22, Grupa Granica received 132 calls for help from migrants wandering the woodlands.
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