“We know migrants lack food and water, we have reports that they are drinking dirty water from puddles. We know that Belarusian officials are depriving them of their money, that they are beaten by them, that they have protective cordons behind their backs that prevent them from withdrawing. They are simply trapped there, experiencing a huge tragedy, said Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission. How does she assess the attitude of Poles towards what is happening on the border and why the PMM does not help in Poland, where there are also different needs – she told Medonet.
- – We have faced the problem that Italy, Greece and Spain have been struggling with for years, creating the southern border of the EU. We have a foretaste of what these countries have been going through for years, and what has seemed so far away so far – admits Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart, project coordinator of the Polish Medical Mission
- This organization joined the aid provided at the border. – We will not create a new rescue team that will search for migrants in the forest to help them. Such activities are already underway. We focused on on the needs related to health institutions. And we know that such support is needed by the hospital in Hajnówka, a place where migrants are brought in danger of their lives
- When assessing the attitude of Poles towards the events on the border, Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart says directly: – This is absolute solidarity, empathy and understanding of the problem – I mean Poles in general, but especially the inhabitants of Podlasie, who simply see migrants in need of help. They are not thought of as a threat or terrorism, but specific people in need. It’s amazing
- Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart in an interview with Medonet explained why there are so many young, strong men among migrants at the border, and how each of us can help in the current situation
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Monika Mikołajska / Medonet: Nobody has any doubts that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border is very difficult and will be more and more difficult, also due to the coming winter. How do you evaluate what is happening there?
Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart, project coordinator of the Polish Medical Mission, associated with humanitarian aid since 2003: This is an absolutely unique situation, so far we have not dealt with anything similar in Poland. The war in Afghanistan has brought enormous migratory movements, and this is not surprising. However, I think that no one expected refugees from this country, but also from Syria for example, to stand on the Polish-Belarusian border. Meanwhile, Lukashenka’s government made it easier for them and made it possible. There has been no such situation and such behavior on the part of Belarus so far, despite the fact that, for example, the war in Syria has been going on for 11 years, just like the Iraqi problem.
In fact, we are faced with a problem that Italy, Greece and Spain have been struggling with for years, creating the southern border of the EU. We have a foretaste of what these countries have been going through for years, and what seemed so far away to us so far. Meanwhile, the reality, and especially the war in Afghanistan, shook our sense of security.
Under what conditions do refugees living at the border live? We know there are fatalities. Recently, the body of a young Syrian was found on the Polish side. How many people actually died – no one knows. What is known?
We know migrants lack food and water, we have reports that they drink dirty puddle water, and this carries a risk of infection and disease. It is known that these people have neither proper shelter nor clothes. It is getting colder and the photos published often show people walking in summer shoes. We know that Belarusian officials are depriving them of money and cell phones. We know that they are beaten by them, that they have protective cordons of the Belarusian services behind their backs, which prevent them from withdrawing. Migrants are simply trapped there, experiencing a huge tragedy.
- Funeral of a Syrian who died at the border. This is the first such ceremony in Poland
Moreover, we expect this situation to worsen. Winter is coming and therefore the frustration of migrants will increase. They will see that their lives are already in complete danger and that they have to get out of this situation, get into the EU.
Photo A group of Syrians found in the forest by activists and taken to the ambulance “Medyków on the border” / October 2021 East News / Jakub Kamiński
How did the Polish Medical Mission join in helping refugees? What is the most missing?
We are an organization that deals with humanitarian aid. So our task is to save lives. We followed very closely what was happening with refugees, especially women and children, whom we take special care of in our projects and made a decision to start aid at the border.
We made a thorough diagnosis of needs, we contacted social and civic groups that operate on the border – it turned out that they did not need financial support, neither in medicines, nor in medical personnel. Therefore, we will not create a new rescue team that will search for migrants in the forest to help them. Because – I will repeat it again – such activities are already underway. “Medycy na Granicy” and “Granica Group”, the inhabitants of Podlasie, deal with it. We focused on the needs related to health institutions. And we know that such support is needed by the hospital in Hajnówka – the place where life-threatening migrants are brought.
The hospital lacks paramedics, internists, paediatricians, infectious agents and anesthesiologists. So we send medics connected with the Polish Medical Mission to Hajnówka. The response so far has been really big. We already have several dozen people in the database. We are also still accepting reports from medics who would like to help us.
It also turned out that orphanages (nowadays the term care and educational institutions) located in the region are in need. Migrant children who have unidentified guardians or have been separated with their families are transported here.
I can’t help but ask how to understand it? What does it mean when children have been separated from their parents or guardians?
When I found out about it, I was terrified too. It turns out, however, that these are children who have lost their way. The services look for their families or legal guardians and find them, often abroad. Until then, however, children stay in care and educational facilities, incl. in Hajnówka and Białystok. Importantly, these are not only young children, but also teenagers. And we also decided to support these places. These are mainly educational and integration activities, also for caregivers of children. We want to help them understand why refugees have to flee Syria, Afghanistan or Yemen. In what conditions they live, what are their traditions and culture. Knowledge is a shield against fear and false information.
We also want to involve Arabic-speaking psychologists – both for refugees who are in hospital and for those minors in care and educational institutions. We know that some of the migrants contact us very willingly, but there are people who are completely withdrawn, traumatized and afraid of treatment – the work of a psychologist will be very important here, it will help these people feel safe.
In addition, we will provide knowledge to the inhabitants of border areas. It turns out that these people often do not know why migrants flee their countries, what is happening there at all, that it is not always about economic reasons – and most often this is how these people are assessed. Meanwhile, these are also people who are fleeing arrest, torture, and forced enlistment into the army. They’re just looking for a safe place to live.
We have a lot of knowledge about it, because we have been present in the regions of the Middle East for a long time – in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, we help people living there and refugees in camps, we conduct various types of projects. We want to share what we know. In Podlasie, we will organize information meetings, our educators will answer questions from residents. There will also be practical training in providing first aid in emergency situations, which will be useful anytime and anywhere.
Your mission is just starting, but what questions do you expect from the inhabitants about migrants?
There will probably be questions as to why there are so many young strong aggressive and frustrated men at the border and not seeing older people. Meanwhile, the answer is clear.
Most often, the family chooses the strongest person who will survive this journey, who can cope with difficult circumstances, who knows at least a little English or another language spoken in Europe. Considering the above, there are strong men who have to manage on the way, who then have to find a job – mostly manual labor – and will eventually be able to send money to the family. And someday to come back or bring loved ones back to you.
Photo Migrants at the border crossing in Kuźnica. LEONID SHCHEGLOV / AFP / East News
It was the same in Poland once. In the 80s and 90s, mainly men who often found work on construction sites left for months of work. The women stayed at home with the children. This is just the pattern of economic migration. Even though we are talking about current migrants, there is also an element of a life-threatening journey here. They are in a different situation than us – Poles were not chased by anyone, we did not have to hide under truck engines, we did not choke in closed trailers.
And how do you assess the attitude of Poles towards what is happening at the border?
This is absolute solidarity, empathy and understanding of the problem – I mean Poles in general, but especially inhabitants of Podlasie, who simply see migrants in need of help. You don’t think of them as a threat or terrorism, you see specific people – children, women, and entire families in need. This is just amazing.
On the other hand, there are “accusations” against the Polish Medical Mission, such as: “maybe Polish doctors will take care of Polish patients in the first place?” These are examples from the comments posted on your Facebook profile.
Humanitarian organizations operating outside the country, like us, very often hear accusations that they do not help in Poland, where there are also needs and poverty. However, our goal is to help where there are humanitarian crises and this is our statute.
We believe that Poland is such a wealthy and safe country that it is able to solve its problems with its own resources. We have an operating health service, social care, we have operating foundations, crowdfunding platforms. The countries in which we operate do not have this option. This includes Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Tanzania. There are no funds or medical personnel available to recover from the humanitarian collapse on their own. You cannot count on the state, and there is no support from neighbors or family, because all these people have zero. They often live in tents in refugee camps, without electricity, water or food. So there is no comparison to how living in Poland is. In Poland, no one dies of hunger, and one can turn to many sources for help. Not there.
We feel a global responsibility for poor countries, without resources, remaining in a deep, long-term military and political conflict. We decided to help the victims of this state of affairs.
Finally, let us return to the present situation on our border. It’s time for the most important question. It was also found in one of the comments on your Facebook: “People need to be helped. Only question: how? You can’t let them in here, because that’s what Lukashenka is counting on, but you can’t let them die either ”. So what can we do in this difficult situation? What can each of us do?
There is no doubt that we must help migrants. What we can do best in this situation is to financially support organizations that help at the border. Let us remember that these are not companies or institutions with guaranteed budgets. These are organizations that can only operate thanks to the support of Poles or grants.
“I am afraid of everyday human suffering” – Jurek Owsiak recently admitted in an interview for “Wyborcza”. Do you share these concerns?
I don’t think this will happen. Suffering is always touching, so I don’t think people are indifferent to what they see. Does it concern the situation on the border in Poland or other dramatic events in the world. Suffering has been shown in the media for a long time, it didn’t start now. Yet people did not become indifferent to the misfortune of others, and I do not believe it will happen this time. Certainly not.
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