In the summer of 2021, thousands of people travelled to Belarus intending to cross into the European Union (EU). Credible allegations have been made that the Belarusian government orchestrated the sharp increase in those attempting to cross into Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia from Belarus as a form of revenge. With few safe passages to Europe, and amid spiraling conflicts, crises, insecurity and deepening global inequality, Belarus has remained a transit country for people on the move. Throughout the crisis, people on the move have been wielded and manipulated in political rhetoric and dehumanised and placed at risk in the process.
From October 2021 to October 2023, MSF team in Belarus facilitated access to medical and humanitarian assistance to people on the move dispersed throughout the country. Our team assisted some 2,000 people on the move, originating from a multitude of different countries, including places caught up in civil war, unrest and insecurity, in the grip of repressive regimes. Children, women and men have asked MSF for medical help while transiting through Belarus; moreover, those exposed to heightened vulnerabilities have approached MSF for care: pregnant women, mothers with young babies, people with chronic diseases, the elderly, the injured, and children.