Authorities in Poland are once again dealing with an increased number of migrants who are attempting to reach this country illegally through Belarus.
The increase in the number of migrants comes despite the wall built last year by Poland along its shared border with Belarus in an effort to prevent a surge in the number of migrants, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to Poland Border guard Straż Graniczna, on Monday alone, more than 130 people attempted to cross the EU’s eastern border. The majority of them came from Bangladesh, India, Eritrea, and Ethiopia while stressing that five Ukrainians and one Moldovan were arrested as suspected smugglers.
The surge in the number of arrivals was called a planned action by Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik, based on a report by InfoMigrants.
Authorities in Poland said that the decision to build a wall came as part of a fight against Russia. However, some human rights defenders saw it as a huge double standard after groups of white Christian refugees from Ukraine, the majority of them women, were welcomed, but Muslims from Syria, the majority of them men, were rejected and mistreated.
“The first sign of the war in Ukraine was (Belarus President) Alexander Lukashenko’s attack on the Polish border with Belarus. It was thanks to (our) political foresight and the anticipation of what may happen that we may focus now on helping Ukraine, which is fighting to protect its sovereignty,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pointed out back then.
Previously, authorities in European Union countries threw accusations towards Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating the entry of migrants to EU countries through Belarus.
As a result, the government of Poland declared a state of emergency, which was lifted on July 1, 2022. The decision to declare a state of emergency along the border with Belarus came after a large number of people attempted to reach Poland as well as Lithuania and Latvia.
The decision to abolish the state of emergency came after the finalization of the border wall along the border with Belarus, which aims to halt the illegal movement of migrants.
Polish authorities are increasing their efforts to find new and effective ways in order to manage the increased number of migrants.
Local media reports revealed that from March 24 until March 26, a total of 12 people who eased legal border crossing from Belarus to Poland were detained by the officers from the Podlaskie Branch of the Border Guard.