Cold and Marooned in a Police State as Desperation Takes Hold

Poland uses water cannons against migrants at Belarus border

EU slaps new sanctions on Belarus as NATO warns Russia over military buildup

A scheme to use migrants to split the EU is likely to backfire

Some call it a humanitarian crisis; others say its a security threat. Appeals for asylum grow - as does the fear of deportation.

Familiar storylines on the seams of two nations.

A buildup of thousands of people along the border of Belarus and Poland - with more potentially arriving.

Many have traveled from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in hopes of entering the European Union.

General conditions (and weather) continue to worsen; tensions continue to rise between the people, Polish/Belarus authorities.

At least 11 people have died in recent weeks, according to latest reports.

 - a long-time Russian ally - has facilitated people gathering at the border it shares with Poland,  accusing Poland of violating international standards by not allowing these individuals to appeal for asylum. 



 - a member of NATO (an international defense alliance) as well as the European Union - accuses Belarus of creating a humanitarian crisis that amounts to a national security threat.

“I would rather die here in the cold than go back to Iraq.”  

32-year-old Rekar Hamid, an Iraqi Kurd, who traveled with his wife and two-year-old son to the border of Belarus/Poland (or what's described as "

. Like thousands of others, he's stuck in worsening, freezing, squalid conditions, as neither country wants to take in those in similar situations to Hamid.

Tension continues to build between Belarus/Russia and the European Union.

Belarus and Russia are holding military drills near the border with Poland; Poland has moved its military to defend the border.

The E.U. sanctioned Belarus after the govt. illegally diverted a Ryanair flight, alleging a (fake) hijacking, in order to arrest a journalist critical of the current president. 

Separately, Russia continues a military buildup along its border with Ukraine, raising concerns of an invasion.

reports the crisis at the border as a "concoction" of the Belarusian government - alleging the government has essentially recruited people from Iraq for a fee, flown them on the government's state-owned airlines, and led them to the border – in an attempt to create a divisive crisis within the European Union. Instead, it looks like the E.U. remains united in sanctioning Belarus. 

Current Events

Border Crisis in Belarus

Cold and Marooned in a Police State as Desperation Takes Hold (New York Times) 

Poland uses water cannons against migrants at Belarus border (Associa

Quick. Concise. Nonpartisan.

Jenna