BAGHDAD, 16 Dec (Xinhua) -- The moment An iraqi Alam Majid Sabir entered Belarus, he thought he was at the starting point of the European dream. But after staying on the Polish-Belarusian border, starving in the forest, and returning home, he found that all his efforts were in vain.
Since the beginning of the refugee crisis on the Border between Belarus and Russia, thousands of refugees have been stranded at the border between Belarus and Poland and Lithuania, trying to reach Western Europe. Most of them are from Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Syria. What caused them to leave their homeland? What struggles have refugees stranded along the borders experienced? Please look at the report sent back from Iraq by a Xinhua reporter --
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The Iraq War launched by the United States and the Syrian civil war that intervened in it have left a mess full of holes, resulting in the tragedy of many families being destroyed and killing people, and producing a large number of refugees. To this day, Iraq's economy and livelihood are still difficult.
Sabir, 34, was a former oil well pumper. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he was laid off by oil companies due to low oil prices. After losing his job, he sold his house and decided to take his wife and 5-year-old son, Baraam, on a fleeing route, hoping to eventually head to Germany.
The reporter learned in the interview that the gimmick of "entering the European Union from Belarus" is quite attractive in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq, and a large number of Yazidis who have survived the atrocities of the extremist organization "Islamic State", displaced people who have lost their homes in the war, refugees from Syria flock to it, and even form a gray industrial chain in the local area.
Alam Majid Sabir was interviewed in Erbil, Iraq, on 1 December. Photo by Khalil
On 18 September, Sabir led his family from Erbil to Istanbul, Turkey, on 18 September. Here, Sabir received a Belarusian visa and airfare for three people, each with a visa fee, airfare and hotel accommodation of $2,500.
On October 21, the Sabir family and dozens of Iraqis boarded a flight to Minsk, the capital of Belarus. A few days later, they finally reached the border between Belarus and Poland.
In the muddy, wet and cold forest at the border, Sabir and other Iraqis had to walk toward the border because vehicles could not drive in. They used GPS location to find the so-called "loophole" in the Polish border, but found that it was guarded by a Polish soldier every 50 meters.
Sabir and his fellow countrymen are caught in the forest at the border between the two countries, caught in a dilemma. In the cold wilderness, where temperatures were as low as minus 5 degrees Celsius, they had to sleep on the ground with clothes and weeds and light wood for warmth.
Alam Majid Sabir and other Iraqis are trapped in the forests on the Border with Belarus. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"After three days of being stranded in the forest at the border, there was no water or food, and we were still with our children, which was a disaster." Sabir held his son and begged the Polish border guards for food, as long as he reached a bottle of water.
At a time when the group of 22 people was on the verge of collapse, Belarusians provided them with vehicles to send them back to Minsk for $500 each. They reluctantly agreed. "At that time, the money was not important, the child was freezing to death, and there was no food or water. Refugees are victims of this crisis. Sabir said.
Back in Minsk, Sabir and other Iraqi refugees huddled up in the underground passages for the night. Finally, through the help of friends to book tickets, the Sabir family returned home from Turkey in early November.
Iraqis stranded in Belarus wait for a flight at Minsk International Airport on November 25. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by RenKov)
Sabir told reporters that there were still many Iraqis stranded in Belarus at that time, and everyone believed that as long as they crossed the border, there was hope for future life. However, in the face of bitter cold and strict defense of the border line, many people have chosen to give up.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry sent its first charter flight to Belarus on 18 November to evacuate the stranded population. As of the 5th of this month, Iraq had picked up some 3,000 voluntarily evacuated citizens from Belarus.
Alam Majid Sabir stands in front of his taxi in Erbil, Iraq, on Dec. 1. Photo by Khalil
When he returned to his hometown, Sabir had nothing but to drive a taxi to make ends meet. Excluding the fuel bill and the $300 taxi arrears he has to pay each month, he has little net income left.
In The unstable environment of Iraq, Sabir believes that "I still insist on immigration without seeing the future, but next time I will go first, and when I have saved enough money, I will go on the road again." (Reporter: Khalil Daoud; Editor: Ma Xiaoyan, Tang Zhiqiang; Editor: Sun Shuo)
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency's International Communication Integration Platform