{"id":48432,"date":"2022-02-08T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T15:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/?p=48432"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:33:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:33:56","slug":"the-plight-of-child-migrants-at-the-poland-belarus-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/the-plight-of-child-migrants-at-the-poland-belarus-border\/","title":{"rendered":"The plight of child migrants at the Poland-Belarus border"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>In August 2021, Belarus orchestrated the transportation of thousands of migrants to the threshold of the European Union, triggering a migration crisis of unprecedented proportions. Hundreds of <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/displaced-children\/\"><strong>child migrants<\/strong><\/a><strong> were stranded at the Polish border in appalling circumstances and facing extreme weather conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What caused the crisis? An unprecedented \u2018attack against migration\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Belarusian response to EU sanctions&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Long before it became a migration crisis, the crisis between Belarus and Europe was one of diplomacy. Indeed, tensions between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a> and the European Union are not new and can be traced back to the re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020. The European Union deemed the election to have been riddled with irregularities and refused to recognise the legitimacy of the President, condemning the elections as &#8220;neither free nor fair&#8221;, with falsified results (Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In October 2020, following a brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, and journalists in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a>, the European Union imposed sanctions on some 40 individuals. These measures were essentially a prohibition on entering the European Union and a suspension of assets. Both Alexander Lukashenko and his son, Viktor Lukashenko, were subject to these restrictions (Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In May 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a> forced a Ryanair passenger plane with a journalist and an opposition activist on board to land in Minsk. This act was strongly sanctioned by the European Union, which banned Belarusian air carriers from flying over European airspace and from using airports within the European Union (Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The exploitation of migrants for political purposes&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It is against this backdrop of diplomatic tensions that Belarus began, as of June 2021, to organise flights and internal movements aimed at facilitating the entry of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/displaced-children\/\">migrants<\/a> into the European Union (Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne, 2021). In close cooperation with some airlines, Belarus has flown thousands of migrants to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/lithuania\/\">Lithuania<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/latvia\/\">Latvia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/poland\/\">Poland<\/a>. (Laure Stephan, 2021) This practice has been described by the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Cl\u00e9ment Beaune, as essentially \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/child-trafficking\/\">human trafficking<\/a>\u201d, and he has condemned the \u201cmigratory attack\u201d planned by the Belarusian regime&nbsp; (BFM TV, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The arrival of thousands of migrants in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a> is also the result of the unrelenting activities of Belarusian smuggling networks. For a few thousand dollars, smugglers promise migrants a visa and a new life in Europe. Several travel companies are involved in this trafficking and provide tourist air transport to Belarus. However, the outcome is rarely what was hoped for and for most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/family-and-childrensrights\/\">families<\/a>, the cost of such a trip means selling their home and possessions, making it impossible to return (Czarnecki, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On arrival at Minsk airport, the migrants think that the European dream is finally within reach. But the reality soon becomes quite the opposite. After spending one or two nights in a hotel in the Belarusian capital, the families are forced towards the Polish border, sometimes violently, by the Belarusian authorities (C dans l&#8217;air, 2021). But on both sides of the border, the authorities are intransigent: neither <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/poland\/\">Poland<\/a> nor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a> will accept them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>At the centre of the crisis: the plight of migrant children and their families<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dismal living conditions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the \u201cluckiest\u201d have been able to find refuge in a converted warehouse that serves as a reception centre where nearly a thousand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/displaced-children\/\">migrants<\/a> are crammed, most are living in disastrous conditions in the forest along the Belarusian border. It is in the heart of this forest that thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/family-and-childrensrights\/\">families<\/a>, women, and children \u2013 some very young \u2013 wait in the hope of crossing the European border. For several weeks, hundreds of children have been living without shelter, in freezing temperatures close to -10 degrees centigrade, with little or no access to drinking water and food (ONU, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-230x153.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122605-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Also on the threshold of the European Union are families with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/disabled-children\/\">disabled children<\/a> who hope to have access to the quality of care offered in Europe. There have been several reports of disabled children in the forest. Among them, Azhi, aged 4, came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/iraq\/\">Iraq<\/a> accompanied by his mother in the hope of obtaining a back operation (Qiblawi, 2021). However, despite their imminent need for care, many have been turned back by Polish border guards. This was the experience of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/syria\/\">Syrian<\/a> family, one of whom is a 7-year-old child suffering from cerebral palsy, who was turned back three times at the Polish border (Cincurova, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the beginning of the crisis, more than twenty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/displaced-children\/\">migrants<\/a> have died in the forest alongside the Belarusian border. (M\u00e9decins sans fronti\u00e8res, 2021)&nbsp; Among the victims, a one-year-old baby and a fourteen-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/child-rights\/\">child<\/a> were found dead last November (Info Migrants, 2021). However, as access to the area has been blocked by international and humanitarian organisations, it is difficult to assess the exact number of victims. Nevertheless, the most common cause of death is hypothermia. This is worrying given the persistent drop in temperatures at this time of year in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Violence, arrests, and detention on both sides of the border<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In flagrant violation of the principle of non-refoulment established by international law, which prohibits any state from sending a refugee back to a country where his or her life or freedom would be threatened, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/belarus\/\">Belarus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/poland\/\">Poland<\/a> systematically send migrants back and forth across the border without any prior examination of their asylum applications. Caught in the middle of this never-ending violent \u201cgame of ping-pong\u201d, families are also faced with abuses committed by the authorities, including physical violence and deprivation of food and water. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/child-rights\/\">Children<\/a> are also often separated from one or both of their parents or siblings (Human Rights Watch, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trapped in the back-and-forth between Belarus and Poland, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/displaced-children\/\">migrant children<\/a> are often mistreated and receive no preferential treatment. On the Polish side, when not directly returned to Belarus, children and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/family-and-childrensrights\/\">families<\/a> are systematically detained by the immigration authorities. These actions were deployed by the UN, which reiterated that \u201cdetention should be an exceptional measure of last resort and should only be used for a limited period of time, if at all\u201d (ONU, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Belarusian side, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/family-and-childrensrights\/\">families<\/a> are under constant threat of being sent back to their home country. To date, several thousand migrants have already been deported to their countries. These living conditions are likely to have serious repercussions on the physical and mental health of children whose trauma is unavoidable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What possible outcomes are there in terms of children&#8217;s rights?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From not respecting the right to asylum to violating human rights, the migration crisis orchestrated by Belarus is depriving hundreds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/child-rights\/\">children<\/a> of their most basic rights. The right to shelter and to live in decent conditions, the right to adequate and balanced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/food\/\">nutrition<\/a>, the right to be protected from violence, the right to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/fundamental-rights-2\/health\/\">health<\/a>, and the right to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/right-to-education\/\">education<\/a> are all rights protected by the International <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/convention\/\">Convention on the Rights of the Child<\/a>. Yet months into the crisis, hundreds of children are still stranded at the threshold of the European Union where their rights are blatantly ignored and violated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-48434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-230x153.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_2085122596-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/presentation\/\">Humanium<\/a>, as an organisation, condemns the unjust treatment of migrant children and works every day to create a world in which the rights of all children are respected and protected. We offer you the opportunity to contribute to the fight for children&#8217;s rights around the world by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/child-sponsorship\/\">sponsoring a child<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/donation\/\">making a donation,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/participate\/volunteer\/\">volunteering<\/a> or becoming a member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Written by Manon Lanselle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Reviewed internally by Aditi Partha<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Translated by Latika Rodway-Anand<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Proofread by Garen Gent-Randall<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bibliography:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfmtv.com\/politique\/gouvernement\/clement-beaune-sur-le-conflit-entre-la-bielorussie-et-la-pologne-ce-n-est-pas-une-crise-migratoire-c-est-une-attaque-migratoire_VN-202111110073.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BFM TV. (2021, Novembre 11). <em>Cl\u00e9ment Beaune sur le conflit entre la Bi\u00e9lorussie et la Pologne: &#8220;Ce n&#8217;est pas une crise migratoire, c&#8217;est une attaque migratoire&#8221;<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur BFM TV: https:\/\/www.bfmtv.com\/politique\/gouvernement\/clement-beaune-sur-le-conflit-entre-la-bielorussie-et-la-pologne-ce-n-est-pas-une-crise-migratoire-c-est-une-attaque-migratoire_VN-202111110073.html, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">C dans l&#8217;air. (2021, Novembre 11). <em>C dans l&#8217;air<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur BI\u00c9LORUSSIE : &#8220;L\u2019ATTAQUE MIGRATOIRE&#8221; CONTRE L\u2019EUROPE \u2013 11\/11\/21: https:\/\/podcasts-francais.fr\/podcast\/c-dans-l-air\/bielorussie-l-attaque-migratoire-contre-l-europe-1, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/11\/11\/we-are-dying-here-despair-on-the-belarus-poland-border\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cincurova, S. (2021, Novembre 11). <em>Fears grow for child refugees stranded on Belarus-Poland border<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Aljazeera: https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/11\/11\/we-are-dying-here-despair-on-the-belarus-poland-border, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2020\/08\/11\/belarus-declaration-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-european-union-on-the-presidential-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne. (2020, Ao\u00fbt 11). <em>Bi\u00e9lorussie: d\u00e9claration du haut repr\u00e9sentant, au nom de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne, sur l&#8217;\u00e9lection pr\u00e9sidentielle.<\/em> R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne: https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2020\/08\/11\/belarus-declaration-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-european-union-on-the-presidential-elections\/, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2020\/10\/02\/belarus-eu-imposes-sanctions-for-repression-and-election-falsification\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne. (2020, Octobre 2). <em>Bi\u00e9lorussie: l&#8217;UE institue des sanctions pour r\u00e9pression et falsification des r\u00e9sultats \u00e9lectoraux.<\/em> R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Conseil de l&#8217;Union Europ\u00e9enne: https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2020\/10\/02\/belarus-eu-imposes-sanctions-for-repression-and-election-falsification\/, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2021\/11\/09\/belarus-council-suspends-visa-facilitation-provisions-for-officials-of-the-belarus-regime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne. (2021, Novembre 9). <em>Bi\u00e9lorussie: le Conseil suspend des dispositions visant \u00e0 faciliter la d\u00e9livrance de visas pour ce qui est des fonctionnaires du r\u00e9gime bi\u00e9lorusse<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne: https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2021\/11\/09\/belarus-council-suspends-visa-facilitation-provisions-for-officials-of-the-belarus-regime\/, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2021\/06\/04\/eu-bans-belarusian-carriers-from-its-airspace-and-airports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Conseil de l&#8217;Union europ\u00e9enne. (2021, Juin 4). <em>L&#8217;UE interdit aux transporteurs bi\u00e9lorusses l&#8217;acc\u00e8s \u00e0 son espace a\u00e9rien et \u00e0 ses a\u00e9roports.<\/em> R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Conseil de l&#8217;Union Europ\u00e9enne: https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/fr\/press\/press-releases\/2021\/06\/04\/eu-bans-belarusian-carriers-from-its-airspace-and-airports\/, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courrierinternational.com\/article\/reportage-comment-la-bielorussie-organise-les-voyages-de-migrants-depuis-lirak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Czarnecki, M. (2021, Novembre 12). <em>Reportage.Comment la Bi\u00e9lorussie organise les voyages de migrants depuis l\u2019Irak<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Courrier International: https:\/\/www.courrierinternational.com\/article\/reportage-comment-la-bielorussie-organise-les-voyages-de-migrants-depuis-lirak, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/media_2021\/11\/eca_migrant1121_web_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Human Rights Watch. (2021). <em>\u201cDie Here or Go to Poland\u201d Belarus\u2019 and Poland\u2019s Shared Responsibility for Border Abuses.<\/em> R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Human Rights Watch: https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/media_2021\/11\/eca_migrant1121_web_0.pdf, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.infomigrants.net\/fr\/post\/36601\/un-bebe-dun-an-meurt-a-la-frontiere-polonobielorusse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Info Migrants. (2021, Novembre 19). <em>Un b\u00e9b\u00e9 d\u2019un an meurt \u00e0 la fronti\u00e8re polono-bi\u00e9lorusse<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Info Migrants: https:\/\/www.infomigrants.net\/fr\/post\/36601\/un-bebe-dun-an-meurt-a-la-frontiere-polonobielorusse, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/international\/article\/2021\/11\/10\/comment-la-bielorussie-fait-venir-des-charters-de-migrants-pour-mettre-la-pression-sur-l-union-europeenne_6101625_3210.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Laure Stephan, J. I. (2021, Novembre 10). <em>La Bi\u00e9lorussie orchestre l\u2019arriv\u00e9e de migrants par charters pour faire pression sur l\u2019Europe<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur Le Monde: https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/international\/article\/2021\/11\/10\/comment-la-bielorussie-fait-venir-des-charters-de-migrants-pour-mettre-la-pression-sur-l-union-europeenne_6101625_3210.html, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msf.org\/8-things-know-about-eubelarus-border-crisis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">M\u00e9decins sans fronti\u00e8res. (2021, D\u00e9cembre 31). <em>8 things to know about the EU\/Belarus border crisis<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur M\u00e9decins sans fronti\u00e8res: https:\/\/www.msf.org\/8-things-know-about-eubelarus-border-crisis, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/fr\/story\/2021\/12\/1111112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ONU. (2021, D\u00e9cembre 21). <em>B\u00e9larus et la Pologne accus\u00e9s de refoulement et de violence brutale \u00e0 l\u2019encontre des r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s en route vers l\u2019Union Europ\u00e9enne<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur ONU: https:\/\/news.un.org\/fr\/story\/2021\/12\/1111112, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/12\/12\/middleeast\/migration-iraq-syria-middle-east-cmd-intl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Qiblawi, T. (2021, D\u00e9cembre 12). <em>The trip could have killed them. But people fleeing economic wreckage in the Middle East say they&#8217;d do it 100 times over<\/em>. R\u00e9cup\u00e9r\u00e9 sur CNN: https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/12\/12\/middleeast\/migration-iraq-syria-middle-east-cmd-intl\/index.html, acc\u00e9d\u00e9 le 05\/01\/2022.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In August 2021, Belarus orchestrated the transportation of thousands of migrants to the threshold of the European Union, triggering a migration crisis of unprecedented proportions. Hundreds of child migrants were stranded at the Polish border in appalling circumstances and facing extreme weather conditions. What caused the crisis? An unprecedented \u2018attack against migration\u2019&nbsp; The Belarusian response [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":48435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,164,167,162,143,144],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-rights","category-exploitation","category-migration","category-poverty","category-refugees","category-violence"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The plight of child migrants at the Poland-Belarus border - Humanium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a migration crisis of unprecedented proportions, hundreds of child migrants were stranded in appalling circumstances.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/the-plight-of-child-migrants-at-the-poland-belarus-border\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The plight of child migrants at the Poland-Belarus border - 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