Poland, medical assistance project on the border with Belarus kicks off - Intersos

A 186 km partition separates Poland from Belarus: thousands of radical are injured trying to transverse the border

The INTERSOS squad progressive successful Poland moved from the Ukrainian borderline to the Belarusian border, to supply medical assistance to radical who crossed the borderline from Belarus to Poland. The migration situation connected the Polish-Belarusian borderline has intensified since the summertime of 2021 erstwhile thousands of radical recovered themselves trapped successful limbo betwixt Belarus and Poland. Until July 2022, the Polish authorities maintained a state of emergency, establishing a highly militarized no-go portion on the border. During these months, a 5.5m precocious partition was built, covering 186km of the 418km Polish-Belarus border. On the different broadside of the border, degrading attraction of migrants by Belarusian instrumentality enforcement agencies has been documented, including theft of idiosyncratic belongings and carnal violence.

In summation to this, autumn, and wintertime successful the Podlasie portion exacerbate the conditions successful which radical indispensable past for galore days, making the need for humanitarian assistance adjacent much urgent. Many of the radical who negociate to transverse the borderline stay hidden for days, sometimes weeks, successful the forests, risking their wellness and their lives. Furthermore, astir of these radical garbage the anticipation of accessing the nationalist wellness strategy for fear of being subjected to unit again, rejected, oregon ending up successful a detention centre. Therefore, the beingness of autarkic organizations and activistic groups providing aesculapian assistance astatine the borderline tin beryllium a substance of beingness and death

Bringing healthcare to the Belarus border

Since the archetypal weeks of the crisis, respective autarkic organizations and realities person been providing healthcare assistance, but, since the opening of November 2022, INTERSOS and MSF is the lone enactment providing medical assistance connected the Polish-Belarusian border. The astir communal pathologies among the radical present are hypothermia, seizures caused by dehydration, gastrointestinal infections, and the alleged “trench foot“, i.e. the vascular and achy effect of the feet to prolonged vulnerability to humidity and cold. Those who transverse the borderline successful the sections wherever the partition was built often person broken oregon twisted ankles and wounds caused by concertina wires. To this indispensable beryllium added the consequences of carnal unit inflicted by officials: breached ribs, swollen heads, and different injuries requiring aesculapian attention.

The INTERSOS squad works successful adjacent collaboration with Grupa Granica, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Fundacja Ocalenie, and respective different ceremonial and informal groups and members of the section assemblage progressive successful nonstop assistance activities. Grupa Granica is an informal conjugation of assorted Polish non-governmental organizations providing assistance connected the Belarusian border. Together with different section and informal groups, Grupa Granica has been progressive since the opening of the situation and has developed effectual methods of receiving and responding to requests for assistance. INTERSOS intervened successful Poland successful March 2022 to enactment the Ukrainian colonisation fleeing the war.