This archive report was first published on 18 November 2021.
Published on November 18, 2021, a Polish town near the Belarusian border has become a hub for asylum seekers trying to reach the European Union. In Michalowo, a resident has taken a bold step to help those in need.
Maria Ancipuk, the head of the local council, has put up a green light in her window, signaling to asylum seekers that they can find help in her home. 'It means that my house is a safe place for migrants to ask for help,' she said.
Local Residents Take Action ¶
Ms. Ancipuk's decision was sparked by a news report about a group of children from the Yazidi minority in Iraq who were taken from Michalowo and pushed back into the freezing forests of Belarus. 'You just don't forget such things,' she said, her voice trembling. 'I told myself: I will do everything so it would not happen here again.'
Ms. Ancipuk is part of an unofficial network of local residents, activists, and volunteer medics working to support asylum seekers. The challenges for those who manage to get across the border are immense, with many being pushed back into Belarus by Polish guards. The remainder are freezing, hungry, and often sick, and find that getting help is made almost impossible by a two-mile-wide exclusion zone.
Volunteers patrol the forests near the exclusion zone, leaving rescue packages containing food, water, and warm clothes in trees. Some people who live in the exclusion zone have also been able to aid migrants within areas barred to outsiders. Medics take care of those in need of treatment, while others help migrants prepare the paperwork for asylum requests, or distribute supplies sent from across the country.
Despite the risks, local residents like Roman, who asked to be identified only by his first name, are determined to help. 'I told myself: I cannot solve the bigger problem,' he said. 'I leave it to the United Nations, NATO, and the government. But no one will die in my forest.'
However, providing help is not without its challenges. Activists describe playing 'a game of cat and mouse' to get to stranded asylum seekers before border guards. The Polish government has been accused of illegally pushing asylum seekers back into Belarus, and some activists report being attacked or intimidated by right-wing groups.
