Chechens Under Arrest

Akai47, Nie, 2009-12-20 14:43 English

A few days ago we wrote about a group of Chechen refugees which blocked the rail border with Germany. The refugees claimed they were going to Strasburg to complain about the conditions in the refugee centers in Poland and the fact that they are rarely given refugee status. (Usually they are considered "tolerated people" which mean that they don't have to leave Poland, but they also cannot work.)

Over 230 people were in the group. They were brought by the border guards to the station in Zgorzelec. 38 of the people detained did not have proper papers and were arrested for deportation. Another 33 people - Chechens and Georgians - are being held in arrest since the police police they are a flight risk and will try again to cross the border.

The head of the Office for Refugee and Foreigner Affairs claimed that she has "no idea" why the Chechens are complaining about their treatment in Poland. Other bureacrats and politicians commenting on the situation proved to be equally ignorant.

The treatment of refugees in Poland was then criticized by Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Chechnya. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radek Sikorski replied that if Chechnya were a democracy, there wouldn't be refugees. Like most politicians who commented, he pretended not to know about the problems refugees are facing.

The main problem is that

Akai47, Nie, 2009-12-20 15:07

The main problem is that people are not allowed to work or supported very much but rather expected to live in overcrowded refugee centers outside of main urban centers.

In some urban centers now, xenophobic residents have driven the refugees out of the cities, demanding that the refugee centers be closed.

We met one woman who came to Warsaw from Silesia, were refugees were driven out. Although this woman had been in Poland quite a long time and even received refugee status, she was unable to find a job and complained of constant discrimination. She was entitled to apply for public housing, but the local bureaucrats claimed that, as a foreigner, she wasn't entitled, treated her rudely and told her to get out. KOL intervened with the local bureaucrats and the woman received housing.

This kind of treatment is typical for refugees who are often told to fuck off and that they are "taking" resources "away" from Polish people.

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