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People interviewed said they had been trapped in the area between the two border fences, as well as inside Polish territory, being stranded in forests, wandering through swamps and rivers in freezing temperatures for days and weeks without food or water, and drinking swamp water to survive. One commander said that when people are caught close to the fence, border guards “invite” them to go back. The commanders said that as there is no formal readmission agreement with Belarus, guards simply take migrants and asylum seekers to the razor wire fence at the border and order them to go back. Human Rights Watch documented similar abuses, including violence and use of force by Polish and Belarusian border officials, in a November 2021 report.Ĭommanders at two border guard stations in Poland in May confirmed they summarily push people back, citing an October 2021 Polish law that permits the removal of foreigners from Polish territory to Belarus.
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Vulnerable groups, including families with children, older people, and people with health issues were among those summarily pushed back to Belarus. On the Belarusian side, people reported violence, inhuman and degrading treatment and other forms of coercion by Belarusian border guards. People interviewed said that Polish border guards had pushed them back to Belarus in March and April, sometimes violently, and without due process, despite their pleas for asylum. Human Rights Watch also interviewed representatives of two border guard stations and two detention centers for foreigners in Poland. Hundreds of people from countries including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Cuba attempting to seek asylum in the EU end up trapped in the inhospitable border area between the two countries.īetween March and May, Human Rights Watch conducted phone interviews with nine migrants, including families with children and single men, a human rights lawyer, and activists. The humanitarian crisis on the Poland-Belarus border began in 2021, with severe ill-treatment of migrants and asylum seekers by border forces on both sides. “The unlawful pushbacks of migrants to Belarus and subsequent abuse they face there stands in stark contrast to Poland’s open door policy to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.” “It’s unacceptable that an EU country is forcing people, many fleeing war and oppression, back into what can only be described as hellish conditions in Belarus,” said Lydia Gall, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. At least one person drowned and another disappeared in March 2022 in the course of being pushed back. Poland unlawfully, and sometimes violently, summarily pushes migrants and asylum seekers back to Belarus, where they face serious abuses, including beatings and rape by border guards and other security forces. (Brussels) – The effort by Belarus to confront the EU at the Polish border with migrants and asylum seekers as the victims persists, Human Rights Watch said today. For many, these images represent a small fragment of LGBT history that was repressed and concealed for so long.Halt Summary Returns, Ensure Accountability For Abuse There is little information about the individuals in the photos and it is quite extraordinary that these images still survive - as many old photos of homosexual couples are believed to have been purposely destroyed by family members.Īlthough it is unknown whether the people in these unique photos were related, gay or just friends - the tender and close relationship between the men pictured is poignantly evident. The images, taken from various websites, capture Victorian and early-twentieth century males in intimate positions - and showing a daring amount of openness with one another for the time.
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At a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence and harsh sentences were brought down upon gay men, these images of male affection from the 19th century are truly remarkable.Įmbracing each other, holding hands and reclining together, these incredible black-and-white photographs provide a rare glimpse into men showing physical love to other men in the 1800s and early 1900s.