Poland's 'state of emergency' worsens Afghan refugees' EU border plight

For over three weeks, 32 Afghans have been stranded at the frontier between Poland and Belarus. The Polish government has now declared a state of emergency. Activists and opposition politicians say this is absurd.

People look at the camera from afar, with heavily armed soldiers separating them and the photographer. Some of the people in the photos seem to be waving, but few are smiling. They don't look particularly serious, but they do seem desperate.

These are rare pictures of the 32 Afghans who have been waiting at the border between Poland and Belarus for over three weeks now. The blackand-white photos were taken by Anna Maria Biniecka from Testigo Documentary, a Polish collective of multimedia journalists that reports on political and social themes that receive little attention in the mainstream media.

Among other places, the pictures have been posted to the Facebook page of the Ocalenie (Rescue) Foundation, which supports migrants and refugees living in Poland. Its activists on the ground have criticized the Polish authorities' failure to act and help the refugees at the border.

"They watch Mohammad, a tailor, who has promised to sew all the helpers in our camp a nice coat as soon as he comes out of this hell. Sayyed, a chef who wants to cook us his best dish, qabuli [rice with carrots and raisins]. Abdul, an electrical engineer. Mohsen, a smith. Mohammad, a carpet weaver:" short descriptions accompany the photos on social media.

The activists explain that with the help of a megaphone and a translator they were able to conduct short conversations with the Afghans and find out what jobs they were doing before they were forced to leave their homes.

The information is precious because NGOs and doctors have been complaining for days that they have been unable to gain access to the people at the border. And the situation is likely to worsen now that authorities have declared a state of emergency for 30 days in 183 places along the border. Mass gatherings are banned, as is the photographing and filming of "border objects" as well as soldiers, police officers and border guards. Journalists can also no longer access the frontier area.

State of emergency is 'absurd'

The Polish Parliament could technically nullify the emergency order, but there does not currently seem to be a majority in favor of doing this, despite the many critics.

Former Polish Interior Minister Marek Biernacki said on television that the state of emergency was "absurd." "These are usually introduced when a situation is critical and the authorities can no longer act normally and on the basis of existing laws," he said. The opposition has also wondered whether it is appropriate to declare a state of emergency over 32 refugees.

The current interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, has insisted that the state of emergency makes sense, and said the situation on the border would stabilize as a result. "This problem does not only concern 30 people on the other side of the border. This is the tip of the iceberg that Lukashenko wants to give us," he said, referring to the president of neighboring Belarus. "We will not allow Poland to become another route for illegal mass immigration into the European Union."

Kaminski also referred to upcoming Russian military drills

Poland has erected a fence to stop migrants coming from Belarus

Polish authorities have dispatched a huge number of guards to police the border