Support those who stand up against Fortress Europe on its eastern end!
Australia
In summer 2021 the border between Belarus and Poland, which marks the end (or beginning) of the European Union, became a significant new route for migration into Europe. People from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and elsewhere began to move through Russia and Belarus, towards Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Since that time, various structures of support have been set up by locals, activists, associations and humanitarian organisations. Direct material, medical and legal support are provided to pom (people on the move) crossing this border, while they are hunted by polish border guards, soldiers and cops.
At the beginning of this particular iteration of an undoubtedly global border crisis, Poland was ruled by a conservative and authoritarian party which boldly and openly implemented racist violence, including a practice of illegal pushbacks. In 2022 a wall was built along the whole length of the border, except where it is marked by rivers. At the end of 2023 the government in Poland changed, with a so-called democratic opposition coming into power. Shockingly to many, but certainly not to others, their attitude towards migration remained the same at its core. The main difference was a surface-level “respect” for the “rule of law”, which meant that under some circumstances (the presence of activists or locals, who collected details from pom, who then signed declarations of an intention to apply as well as powers of attorney), the applications for protection were being accepted. People who were caught before activists or locals managed to reach them were still being pushedback. This situation didn’t last long. The government used the death of a polish soldier in May 2024 (first recorded death of a polish citizen as a result of “attack” at the border, compared to nearly a 100 pom found dead on polish territory as a result of government policies) to introduce yet another exclusion zone and to follow it by drastically changing legislation: granting soldiers immunity when using firearms at the border and including a possibility to “temporarily” suspending the right to asylum altogether – an obvious violation of international laws and conventions. After paving the way, in April 2025, this suspension was implemented for 60 days and since then renewed.
Poland has an outstanding track record of anti-migration and anti-refugee sentiments, systematically fueled and propped up by most political parties and both of the main two. Crossing the border and entering an asylum system under these circumstances is obviously not only a risk to one’s health or well-being, it is very much a risk to one’s life. Supporting people on the move under these circumstances carries growing risks of criminalisation and other, direct forms of violence, from authorities as well as nazis.
In March 2022, the polish border guard detained four people who were involved in providing humanitarian aid at the border for a long time. The detention happened as they were helping 10 people, including a family with kids, by providing them transport. They were detained for 72 hours and accused of “organising an illegal border crossing”, for which they could face up to 8 years in prison. The prosecution attempted to keep them arrested for 3 months. One person, possessing a passport of another EU country, despite also having polish citizenship, was ordered to immediately leave the territory of Poland and was forbidden to return for 5 years. At the same time, the cops searched the property of one of the local residents, who also provides humanitarian aid at the border. In December 2023, the public prosecutor attached this person to the case while shifting the charges to “aiding those who illegally crossed the polish border”.
In polish legislation, these kinds of charges are applicable to those who charge money for transportation and aiding the crossing of borders, those we commonly refer to as “smugglers”. According to the public prosecutor the “crime” of H5 is supposed to concern delivering food and items of clothing as well as transporting people on the move “deeper into polish territory”, by which the prosecutor means transporting them literally a few kilometers from a nearby forest to the closest town. The public prosecutor states that the Five did this for personal gain – but not their own, but the gain of the people on the move, which is an obviously absurd and anti-logical proposition.
By now, we are done with three court hearings in the trial of the Five. The line presented by the prosecutor’s office clearly shows that the trial is aimed at undermining public solidarity with those involved in providing aid on the border. On the second hearing, prosecution asked for the inclusion in the files of materials secured on the cell phone seized by officers. “From the memory of this phone, screenshots of messages and voice recordings relating to migration were recovered,” – they argued. Th
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Australia
In summer 2021 the border between Belarus and Poland, which marks the end (or beginning) of the European Union, became a significant new route for migration into Europe. People from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and elsewhere began to move through Russia and Belarus, towards Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Since that time, various structures of support have been set up by locals, activists, associations and humanitarian organisations. Direct material, medical and legal support are provided to pom (people on the move) crossing this border, while they are hunted by polish border guards, soldiers and cops.
At the beginning of this particular iteration of an undoubtedly global border crisis, Poland was ruled by a conservative and authoritarian party which boldly and openly implemented racist violence, including a practice of illegal pushbacks. In 2022 a wall was built along the whole length of the border, except where it is marked by rivers. At the end of 2023 the government in Poland changed, with a so-called democratic opposition coming into power. Shockingly to many, but certainly not to others, their attitude towards migration remained the same at its core. The main difference was a surface-level “respect” for the “rule of law”, which meant that under some circumstances (the presence of activists or locals, who collected details from pom, who then signed declarations of an intention to apply as well as powers of attorney), the applications for protection were being accepted. People who were caught before activists or locals managed to reach them were still being pushedback. This situation didn’t last long. The government used the death of a polish soldier in May 2024 (first recorded death of a polish citizen as a result of “attack” at the border, compared to nearly a 100 pom found dead on polish territory as a result of government policies) to introduce yet another exclusion zone and to follow it by drastically changing legislation: granting soldiers immunity when using firearms at the border and including a possibility to “temporarily” suspending the right to asylum altogether – an obvious violation of international laws and conventions. After paving the way, in April 2025, this suspension was implemented for 60 days and since then renewed.
Poland has an outstanding track record of anti-migration and anti-refugee sentiments, systematically fueled and propped up by most political parties and both of the main two. Crossing the border and entering an asylum system under these circumstances is obviously not only a risk to one’s health or well-being, it is very much a risk to one’s life. Supporting people on the move under these circumstances carries growing risks of criminalisation and other, direct forms of violence, from authorities as well as nazis.
In March 2022, the polish border guard detained four people who were involved in providing humanitarian aid at the border for a long time. The detention happened as they were helping 10 people, including a family with kids, by providing them transport. They were detained for 72 hours and accused of “organising an illegal border crossing”, for which they could face up to 8 years in prison. The prosecution attempted to keep them arrested for 3 months. One person, possessing a passport of another EU country, despite also having polish citizenship, was ordered to immediately leave the territory of Poland and was forbidden to return for 5 years. At the same time, the cops searched the property of one of the local residents, who also provides humanitarian aid at the border. In December 2023, the public prosecutor attached this person to the case while shifting the charges to “aiding those who illegally crossed the polish border”.
In polish legislation, these kinds of charges are applicable to those who charge money for transportation and aiding the crossing of borders, those we commonly refer to as “smugglers”. According to the public prosecutor the “crime” of H5 is supposed to concern delivering food and items of clothing as well as transporting people on the move “deeper into polish territory”, by which the prosecutor means transporting them literally a few kilometers from a nearby forest to the closest town. The public prosecutor states that the Five did this for personal gain – but not their own, but the gain of the people on the move, which is an obviously absurd and anti-logical proposition.
By now, we are done with three court hearings in the trial of the Five. The line presented by the prosecutor’s office clearly shows that the trial is aimed at undermining public solidarity with those involved in providing aid on the border. On the second hearing, prosecution asked for the inclusion in the files of materials secured on the cell phone seized by officers. “From the memory of this phone, screenshots of messages and voice recordings relating to migration were recovered,” – they argued. Th
| ID | Name | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1244 | Listing Agent | [email protected] | |
| 1215 | Listing Agent | [email protected] |
