Kurdish refugee dies of hunger and cold at Polish border

A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding on the EU’s eastern external border. For weeks, people have been encircled in the border area between Poland and Belarus. On Friday morning, another refugee from Southern Kurdistan died of hunger and cold at the border. According to RojNews, the dead man is 25-year-old Geylan Dilêr from Hewlêr (Erbil). According to the international movement Sea Bridge, at least eight people have already died in the buffer zone.

People trying to flee to the EU via Belarus are systematically pushed out of Poland back into the militarily sealed off buffer zone and held there. “People are forced to hide in the forests, the first snowfalls are just around the corner. They are defencelessly exposed to cold, wetness and hunger,” said the Sea Bridge and called for decentralized actions for next week under the motto #GrünesLichtFürAufnahme!

“For months, the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko has been instrumentalizing people from crisis regions and directing them via Belarus towards the European Union. The EU and the neighboring states of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are reacting to this with isolation and push-backs that violate international law. Last week, the Polish parliament voted in favor of legalizing push-backs and wants to further undermine the rule of law: asylum applications can be rejected ‘unchecked’ in the future. Border fences are being erected in the middle of Europe against people seeking protection: This is happening right before our eyes and now we must not look away!”