In Lithuania, illegal immigrants from Belarus complicate border control / Article

Illegal immigrants continue to arrive in Lithuania from Belarus, making border controls more difficult. The expert group of the European Union border guard agency “Frontex” has already rushed to the rescue.

Lithuania accuses Minsk of waging a hybrid war against the European Union through migration.

So far, we have done so, but we will no longer stop the flow of smuggling and illegal immigrants across the Belarusian border, Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko said at the end of May, in response to the international sanctions imposed on Minsk.

Vilnius is convinced that Lukashenko has kept his promise, as the number of border crossings has increased significantly recently. This year, 387 people, mostly Iraqi citizens, have tried to enter Lithuania across the Belarusian border. This is almost five times more than last year throughout the year.

Lithuania is now investing millions of euros to improve security at the border with Belarus. The expert group of the European Union border guard agency Frontex has also rushed to the rescue.

A brand new migrant camp has also been built near the town of Pabrade, just a 20-minute drive from the border. It currently houses more than 70 people. Some speak languages ​​that are relatively small in Lithuania.

“One of the most significant problems is the lack of interpreters. People from all over the world end up in an unknown environment. They are experiencing stress. If you look at the law, it is said that people should receive information on how to apply for asylum in a language they understand. This is indeed a national issue, and we have discussed it. Perhaps we will write a recommendation to the government to address this issue. The second aspect is legal aid. It is also necessary, ”said the Seimas ombudsman Augustins Normants.

The tent camp set up in the center is divided into two blocks: the first for isolating migrants and the second for accommodation. The camp area also has the necessary amenities, including showers, laundry rooms, toilets and dining facilities. The isolation block can accommodate up to 60 people, and the second – up to 290 people. Authorities have found that crossing migrants correlates with flights arriving in Minsk from Iraq and Turkey.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonīte said that Belarusian travel agencies, which had been specially contracted for the work, had also helped to bring migrants from the Middle East: “This is no coincidence, migrants. And here, in a few weeks, we will see a sharp increase in the number of people crossing the border illegally. ”

“We see anecdotal evidence that border police officers are hiding their feet so that they can only tell our officers that no, those people are not coming from them,” Šimonīte said.

The State Border Guard Service has said that there may currently be around 1,500 migrants in the Belarusian capital planning to enter the European Union illegally.

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