Migrants flowing to Lithuania: Africans presenting families with babies and students

Since the beginning of the year, 1,738 illegal immigrants have been detained on the border with Belarus, most of them during the summer months. Most of the people who crossed the border illegally were arrested in Druskininkai municipality – 541, in Ignalina district – 325, in Varėna – 313, in Šalčininkai – 246.

It also comes with babies on hand

Border guards see asylum seekers traveling to Lithuania via Belarus from two main directions: Africa and Iraq. Interestingly, migrants in these directions differ greatly from each other, not only in age, marital status, but also in character.

“There is an address in Druskininkai that is now subdued, then African citizens are traveling there. The vast majority of them are young single men between 20 and 24 years old. The other part are Iraqi citizens, 850 of whom now travel to Ignalina. , Švenčionis, Šalčininkai ”, Giedrius Mišutis, representative of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), told tv3.lt.

According to the representative of the border guards, very old people are not detained, but families with babies in their hands cross the border.

“The other part is the families where the children are both very young and teenagers. The families are not very old, the parents are young. It is difficult, of course, to say their age very precisely, since the vast majority do not have their documents.But many elderly, retired people are not seen.

They are presented to families, some obviously have documents. There are families and a couple of children, there are even whole babies, and a little older. There are more than 400 minors of the total. And of course there are more men than adults ”, explained G. Mišutis the age distribution of the migrants.

Also in this case, he points out that migrants from African countries and Iraq also differ in the number of items.

“It just came to our notice then. They go mostly empty-handed, unless they have some cell phones. It looks like it’s on its feet, so come on. And the families, of course, carry whatever they can carry in the bags. backpacks. These are some personal items, clothing, for children, if necessary, “said the SBGS representative.

That there are students trying to prove it with photos and keys

Border guards make no secret that the most difficult thing is talking to migrants, most of whom speak neither English nor Russian. Interpreters must be used to help, but they are also lacking.

“The African leadership speaks French, there are some. There are translators, those translators too, of course, there is a shortage. But for those who don’t speak at all, the problem starts there, because there are not so many translators in Lithuania.

These are the basic things that happen in various ways, both with the help of applications that we translate and with our own travel companions who help those who understand English, or it turns out that some understand Russian. Some do not even give up at first that they understand Russian. Only after a while does it become clear when they can relax after stress, ”commented G. Mišutis.

When asylum seekers are successfully interviewed, border guards hear a wide variety of stories. Some of them, as G. Mišutis points out, are identical to each other, as if they had been learned, and the other migrants were starving to prove, if not with documents, then with their belongings.

“They are presented in different ways, there are different stories. The African address is introduced by most of the students of Belarusian universities. The evidence is very difficult to evaluate because it has practically no documents, it does not carry them. But it shows a variety of pictures on the phones, it shows that the bedrooms live. In part, those images correspond to what they say.

There were several rooms where they had a room with keys to the bedroom. In some details, they provide that you will not say something too much, that is an injustice, but 100 percent is also no reason to believe. It is not the purpose of the border guards to explain their origin, their social status. They are treated mainly as border violators, ”said G. Mišutis.

Conflict situations also arise

When border guards detain people who have crossed the border illegally, they are housed at the Alien Registration Center in Pabradė, at the Border Guard School in Medininkai and at the SBGS firewalls. Also in the premises provided by the city and the district of Alytus, the municipalities of the district of Ignalina, Varėna and Lazdijai. And unaccompanied minors are transferred to the Refugee Reception Center in Rukla.

Not surprisingly, there are conflicts between migrants, and sometimes between officials, in densely populated areas. Once, according to G. Mišutis, officers had to use weapons.

“There were several cases in the Druskininkai firebreak during the arrest, when they resisted. There was contact. One group, eight people, tried to go by force against several patrol cars. There was even a case where a service dog was attacked, something that has not yet been heard. There was already a weapon used to shoot into the air, handcuffs, force, etc. “, said the representative of the border guards.

He also sees differences in road characteristics between newcomers from the two directions. Here are the families, according to G. Mišučius, much calmer than the young people of Africa.

“The African leadership is more disobedient, not like the Iraqi families who walk in silence, listen to orders, do not try to run and see the border guards themselves, who often go to their asylum.” Of course, the children are there, they are calm, executing orders.

The African leadership has a conflict. Many of them are athletic and athletic. And in the home accommodation all kinds of things happen. On the eve of Saint John’s Day in Pabradė, the foreigner registration center, there was disobedience and discomfort. The situation there was tense for a few hours, they expressed discontent, it was necessary to introduce a little extra forces and specially trained officers ”, recalled G. Mišutis.

Furthermore, asylum seekers, according to G. Mišutis, sometimes express dissatisfaction with their living conditions in Lithuania or with the food provided to them.

“Clearly, people did not think much about the middle end of this trip. For them, it is unexpected, for them it is the stress, the money paid, the conditions are clearly not the best that the state can provide.

Now, of course, when the Alien Registration Center is crowded and located in premises that are not suitable (schools or gyms, where there are dozens of mattresses in a space), it is such a dissatisfaction that it has not yet turned into riots or unrest. It can be understood. But here is the path chosen by them, “said G. Mišutis.

Here, too, he points out that dissatisfaction can only increase with longer accommodation for migrants and restrictions on their freedom of movement.

“There is a certain danger that dissatisfaction could flare up somewhere in this. Therefore, it is very important to provide them with the requested information, which is complicated by the lack of communication itself, so that they understand their legal situation, their prospects, etc., to try to avoid an outbreak of discomfort. But it is something very difficult, because they are in conditions that they did not expect, many of them in one place, this makes the situation more complicated ”, said the representative of SBGS.

You also have to invite doctors

The health status of those arriving in Lithuania is also different. According to G. Mišutis, border guards sometimes have to call an ambulance, but no particularly serious health problems have been detected.

“They get a little stressed during their detention, it’s a foreign country, foreign officials, some kind of premises, detention, marriage, sometimes you have to invite doctors. And the pressure is mounting, and chronic diseases have gotten worse.

Whenever there are indications that something is wrong with that person, doctors are called immediately. They are removed, given medical attention, and then returned. There are not many special cases, ”said the representative of the border guards.

Give an example from the past few days when an Iraqi father informed border guards that his son was suffering. The doctors then took the man and the boy to the Santara clinic, where they were returned to the accommodation after receiving assistance.

“It often happens because they went through the wall at night, through the forest, through the scratches, they are scratches, scratches on the feet, brushing against the shoes. There are places where the swamps, the feet get wet, dry, they are natural things ”, said G. Mišutis.

Border guards estimate 3 percent. Asylum seekers suffer from COVID-19, but according to G. Mišutis, the disease usually manifests itself asymptomatically.

“Everyone was tested for COVID-19, it’s job number one. There were 32 cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday. infected of the total. But all, as a rule, are cleared up immediately after arrest. Because after arrest, they are transported to firewalls and all actions are legally suspended until a test result is obtained.

About 3 percent of those tests. they are positive. They are then transported to Abromiškės or to Verebiejus in the Alytus district. There they are cured, then they are returned. But there are no serious forms of COVID-19, even the vast majority are asymptomatic cases, ”said G. Mišutis.

Border guards claim that a large portion of those detained seek to enter Western European countries through Lithuania. Politicians call the influx of immigrants a hybrid attack by the Belarusian regime. Belarus says it is no longer holding immigrants due to EU sanctions.