“You go into the forest, you go to the border”: refugees were warmed up with a description of the route to Finland

The strange situation with the invasion of refugees from third countries on the border of Russia and Finland raised questions: why did these people suddenly begin to choose such a route? This was a very timely reason for the Finns to close their checkpoints. We already wrote about thathow they discussed a “window” to Finland from Russia in refugee chats. Now new details have appeared.

We found another Arabic chat with refugees who tried to get through Belarus to Poland in 2021. It turns out that these people began to work on the option with Finland already in 2022.

We wrote instructions on how to enter Europe illegally.

“The first step is to come to Moscow. Then from Moscow to St. Petersburg (by train, bus, car). From St. Petersburg to Vyborg (taxi). From Vyborg towards the border, be sure to get out of the car 7–10 km before the border. You go into the forest and go to the border. Stay away from points near border crossings (travel plan is drawn). See the border, watch it, stay calm. Head deep into Finland, trying to only walk through forests. Go to the train stations closest to the border, shown in green on our plan.”

Apparently, the escape plan was developed by knowledgeable people. One of them wrote: “We are repeating the Polish scenario, the technique is the same, we are using the experience of people I know personally.”

Another piece of advice was given by another chat participant: “Take your time. Borders will be open, but often for a short period of time. But believe me, two months is enough for everyone to cross the border. If the Russians open the road, it will be easier than with Poland.”

We contacted the Deputy Chairman of the World Yazidi Congress, Khudo Bakoyan, who at one time acted as a translator and helped refugees from Iraq in Belarus.

— I’m not surprised that refugees are traveling from Belarus to the border with Finland. We realized that here (in Belarus. – Auth.) nothing to do. After all, there are many refugees left here from 2021. Some sat in the forests for almost two years, trying to get to Poland,” says Bakoyan. — As a rule, these attempts were unsuccessful. The Poles fenced themselves off with a wall and barbed wire, and installed video cameras. But the migrants did not give up.

At the beginning of September, a Yazidi woman from Syria came here, contacted an Arab-Kurdish group, and they promised to take her through the forests to Europe. Then she went missing. I looked for her for a long time. As a result, it turned out that she became ill in the forest; according to one version, she was bitten by a tick. She fell into a coma. The conductor put her against the fence so that the Belarusian border guards could take her away. She arrived at the hospital unconscious. She died two weeks later.

— Where do the guides who help refugees illegally cross the border come from?

— In the Middle East, entire companies and private individuals are engaged in such matters. They issue Russian and Belarusian visas to people through the Emirates and Turkey. They promise to take people to Europe. That same dead girl was supposed to be taken to Germany for 6,000 euros. But she only paid 1,500; she had to give the rest if everything worked out. Some naive refugees pay the entire amount at once.

— Have you communicated with the conductors?

“I found the guide who accompanied this girl. It turns out that he brought a whole group of refugees to Belarus. But we couldn’t talk. At first the man said that he did not understand Russian, only Arabic. And then he turned off the phone.

—Where do refugees get so much money to escape?

“They are helped by their relatives who live in Europe. As a rule, these relatives contact the guides.

At the moment, hundreds of refugees are sitting at the Salle checkpoint in the Murmansk region. The temperature there drops to minus 20. The regional governor described the situation as a humanitarian crisis. Warm tents, tea and buckwheat were organized for freezing refugees.

“The cold will not frighten refugees,” Khudo Bakoyan is sure. “They will stop at nothing.” They are afraid to return home. That’s what they say: we’d rather die, but never go back…

If Finland does close the border, then migrants will go to the Norwegian checkpoint, the only checkpoint that is located in the same Murmansk region. This option is already being discussed in chats.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29163 dated November 23, 2023

Newspaper headline:
“Let’s turn into frozen chickens”