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Crise de migrantes Bielorrússia-UE infographic
A infografia mostra como a Bielorrússia está a usar os migrantes como arma contra a UE.
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POLÍTICA

Bielorrússia – atalho de migrantes para a UE

By Duncan Mil

November 12, 2021 - A maioria dos migrantes na fronteira da Bielorrússia com a União
Europeia usa agências de viagens recém-criadas para comprar pacotes
turísticos que incluem vistos dos consulados bielorrussos.

With the support of the EU, Poland and Lithuania accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of retaliating against them by channelling thousands of migrants across their frontier. Lithuania plans to build a 508-kilometre (316-mile) fence to control the flow, while Poland has declared a state of emergency along its border as the numbers increase.

Poland estimated that 4,000 people, mainly from the Middle East and Asia, are gathered at the Kuznica border crossing. Almost 16,000 migrants have attempted to cross the Belarus-Poland border illegally since August.

With little more than tents for shelter, they face freezing winter temperatures -- prompting growing calls from the international community to address their plight.

Documents found on the border between Belarus and Poland show that newly established travel agencies offer migrants the chance to travel to Belarus by selling them false hopes on entering European Union countries.

The package tours marketed to migrants cover both the actual trip and the necessary documents providing entry to Belarus, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

However, many of those who bought into such “group trips” noted that they only received a one-way ticket and an entry permit to Minsk, Belarus’ capital city.

In the United Nations Security Council on Thursday (November 11), Britain, Estonia, France, Norway, and the United States condemned what they called “the orchestrated instrumentalization of human beings whose lives and well-being have been put in danger for political purposes by Belarus.”

Sources
PUBLISHED: 12/11/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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