‘Please save us’: Refugees face death at Poland-Belarus border

Thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded at the Belarusian border trying to enter the EU Poland has denied him entry amid a standoff with Belarus. Fears are growing for their safety amid freezing conditions, a lack of vital supplies and medical care, and a flood of deaths on both sides of the border. Nidal Ibrahim, a Syrian refugee stranded at the border, tells Al Jazeera’s Sara Sinkurova about the suffering she and others have endured. Here is his story in his own words.

I am Nidal Ibrahim from Aleppo, I am 37 years old, and I am dying.

Me, my friend Muhammad and their four children came to the Belarusian border with other refugees. We had hoped that we would reach Europe, but now we are trapped in the forests without water, without drinking from the swamps, without food. The temperature outside is -5 or -7.

I am alive only because I also have three children who live in Turkey with my wife. For their sake, I must live. I love them and miss them very much.

I usually can’t sleep because of the cold and rain, but when I do, I dream about my wife and kids and how we can be together in a safe place. I dream of my children going to school. But I can die at any moment.

We have no place in the forest. My friend Muhammad has four children with us. I can’t describe what condition they are in. They are hungry and they cannot sleep. Either someone takes pity on us, or we die.

Before the war in Syria, I worked as a school teacher and an elementary school headmaster. My wife and I left Syria after losing some of our relatives. The war in Syria destroyed everything we dreamed of.

My wife studied law, but circumstances did not allow her to complete her studies in Syria. We got married and had three children, two girls and one boy.

When we first fled Syria, we tried to cross the Turkish border. We stayed at the border for 24 days. On 9 October 2014, we finally entered Turkey.

I lived in Turkey with my family for a long time, but my financial situation worsened after they fired me.

I was working in agriculture at the time: I had low wages and little work in winter due to rain and bad weather. So I decided to go to Europe from Libya and across the sea, but I could not make the crossing because of the active armed groups in Libya.

Then, I heard that the road to Europe would open through Belarus. I hoped that I would reach Europe and that my wife and children would later join me to lead a safe and dignified life.

I bought a visa and plane ticket for $800 from an online office with a Belarusian company. I was told that it would cost me another $500 to go to Poland. But when I reached the Polish border by car, my tragedy began. This was on 5 October.

On the outskirts I saw people dying of hunger, thirst and cold, but I could not do anything. I was running from death now.

Right now we usually sleep on the ground among the trees, but the weather is very cold. We can’t sleep. Sometimes we can light a fire because of the rain, and sometimes we can’t.

We were chased back and forth by Polish officers and the Belarusian army. The Polish authorities took our SIM cards from us. Now we can’t go anywhere from here.

Our feet hurt and we’re in pain. We can never rest.

Today, again, I couldn’t sleep because the temperature was too low. But yesterday we found a bag containing some bread and milk. we thank God.

It hurts so much when you die of cold and hunger at the door of Europe. I have nothing more to say but I am sad for my country which is being destroyed [Syrian President] Bashar Al Assad.

Right now, all I can think of is my kids, and how I’m supposed to survive. I talk to him and my wife on WhatsApp; I feel like they have lost everything too.

When I was leaving Turkey, I should have said farewell. Maybe that’s the last time I saw them.

Please, just help me live. Please someone, save us.