Playing games with people’s lives: The migrants trapped at the Poland, Belarus border

Desperate for a new life, some migrants find themselves trapped by politics and a European border, reports Rory Sullivan

A family of asylum seekers are pictured next to Polish border guards in August

(Dawid Chalimioniuk )

The Polish and Belarusian governments are “playing games” with the lives of migrants trapped along the border between the two countries, charity workers and locals have warned.

After a steep increase in crossings from Belarus this summer, Warsaw heightened its border security and temporarily legalised pushbacks to thwart asylum claims, even though the policy is illegal under international law.

The Polish government blames its neighbour over the issue, suggesting that Alexander Lukashenko’s regime is encouraging asylum seekers’ attempts to enter the European Union in retaliation for sanctions brought against it by Brussels.