A year after the end of the construction of the fence supposed to prevent the passage of migrants, the inhabitants of Podlaskie, in the far east of the country, denounce a policy of fear which affects their lives.
From our special correspondent in Podlaskie,
If it weren’t for its flashing lights and the word “policja” that crosses its sides, it would look like a mushroom picker’s car. Inside the vehicle parked along the forest road, two police officers appear to be counting the hours. A roar of an engine suddenly breaks the silence. The dark spot that has just appeared in the distance is growing rapidly. One truck, then two, then five. The two cops look blankly at the military convoy heading towards the border. Routine.
Not for everybody. “ We are not in Israel. Seeing the army everywhere is not something normal for us », exclaims Slawomir Dron, while on the sidewalk of his restaurant, two biffins sip a can while chatting. Before becoming a restaurateur, the man was an optician. And then eight years ago, he started renting bikes. Bialowieza then exuded tranquility with its streets lined with wooden houses, its hotels and restaurants. People came from far away to discover its primary forest, 10,000 years old, and its bison reserve, the last in Europe. Visitors often took the opportunity to walk around Belarus, just a stone’s throw away. “ Belarus was an asset for the economy of Bialowieza », says its mayor, Albert Litwinowicz. Today, the border is double-closed and guarded by the army. And if tourists still come to the town, their number would have almost halved.
“ Hybrid Warfare »
Understanding the reasons for this metamorphosis requires going back in time. In August 2020, precisely. On the other side of the border, leader Alexander Lukashenko, in power for twenty-six years, has just won the presidential election with a score of 80%. Demonstrations against the regime are increasing. They will last for months. The repression is fierce. The authorities go as far as hijack a Ryanair plane to arrest an opponent who was on board. For the European Union, this is the last straw: it bans Belarusian planes from its airspace and freezes investment projects.
In retaliation, Alexander Lukashenko is pushing hundreds of migrants from Africa and the Middle East towards Europe, attracted by the promise of an easy crossing. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland denounce “ a hybrid war “. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, a “ attempt at destabilization carried out by an authoritarian regime against its democratic neighbors “. The Białowieża forest, although so dense and marshy, became one of the exiles’ crossing points. “ We started seeing migrants in August 2021. We encountered them on the roads, in stores. There have always been border guards here, but now they could no longer cope », remembers Albert Litwinowicz.
Solidarity
Warsaw declared a state of emergency the following month and began construction of a 186-kilometer-long fence on its eastern border. In the meantime, the area is closed to non-residents. “ From then on, the tourists stopped coming, continues the mayor. Hotels have been forced to fire their staff. Their income fell, even if part of it was offset by state aid. »
The crossings continue, ever more perilous with the cold setting in and the Polish border guards systematically pushing the exiles back into the forest. So residents of the region are organizing to help the migrants. They hang green lanterns at the entrance to their houses, a sign that they can find help there. In Werstok, lawyer Kamil Syller and his wife are transforming part of their property into a warehouse to store clothing and basic necessities. With other members of their network, they go looking for people in danger of death directly in the woods. Those they collect tell them of the torture inflicted by Belarusian soldiers to force them to pass.
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In Michalowo, further north, Mayor Marek Nazarko describes people arriving frozen with cold, clothes that have to be cut from their skin, barbed wire wounds so deep that simple bandages are not enough to treat them. “ All the EU ambassadors marched into my town hall to have their photo taken with me, but no one wanted to help us, everyone was pretending », denounces the councilor. And blurt out: “ Whoever wants to work finds a solution; who doesn’t want to, finds an excuse. » He had the sentence carved above his desk.
“ Fear is the worst »
Warsaw lifts the state of emergency in June 2022. Construction of the fence has been completed. Estimated cost: 350 million euros. In Bialowieza, tourists are gradually returning. Until a new threat arose this summer. The arrival of Wagner’s mercenaries in Belarus after their abortive coup against the regime of Vladimir Putin raises fears of infiltration into Polish territory. Slawomir Dron, the restaurateur, feels “ a terrible blow “. Even harder than the galloping inflation which is weighing down the purchasing power of Poles. “ Fear is the worst. Because it affects all social classes », he notes.
Especially since the Law and Justice (PiS) party in power does nothing to appease him. On the contrary, even: campaigning for a third term, he is surfing on it. In the dining room of his three-star hotel, Marek Czarny deplores an anxiety-provoking atmosphere which harms tourism. In two years, attendance at his establishment has decreased by 30%. “ How can we promote this region with a Prime Minister who comes to campaign by going close to the fence, putting himself on stage alongside the military? It would be better to go see the tourism professionals and show that everything is fine », denounces Slawomir Dron.
In order to mobilize its electorate, the government party submitted the question of maintaining the closure to a referendum organized this Sunday, October 15, at the same time as the legislative elections. “ Absurd, criticizes lawyer Kamil Seller. It should have been organized before building it. » Most of the people met at the border are of the same opinion in any case: now that the fence is installed, we might as well leave it there. It at least has the merit of curbing flows, they think.
But if the crossings have decreased, they have not stopped. The exiles continue to climb past, at the risk of breaking their bones. Others, better equipped, saw the bars or spread them using a jack. “ The fence didn’t stop the crossings, it just made them more dangerous », Points out Kamil Seller. Regularly, with around twenty other activists, he goes into the forest in search of corpses. In two years, 350 deaths have been recorded. Not counting all those that the forest has swallowed up.
With the collaboration of Adrien Beauduin