They threatened they’d kill us, so we wouldn’t come back. Firas’ pushback

For three months, between September and December 2024, Firas¹ The respondent’s name was changed. made attempts to enter Polish territory in order to submit an application for international protection.

– Did you ask for international protection or asylum in Poland at any point after you were caught?

– Yes, more than once. I tried to enter by car through a border crossing and ask for asylum, but they refused.

Firas says he was returned to Belarusian territory more than four times, the last time on the night of December 19, 2025. At that time, he was in a group of thirteen people from Syria and Yemen, including three unaccompanied minors.

There were Yemenis and Syrians and there were three kids, minors. They weren’t older than sixteen years.

The group was detained by fourteen armed men, Firas did not recognize their uniforms. He says that the officers held them for five hours. At night, in the forest. During this time, the officers beat the detainees, sprayed them with pepper spray, pointed weapons at them and destroyed their personal belongings. Firas recalls that he and his companions asked the Polish services for access to drinking water, but they were refused.

There were fourteen soldiers.I didn’t recognise them. They were fully armed. I think they were from the army. […] They were beating us, they sprayed us with pepper spray and they pointed their weapons at us. […] [They kept us for] five hours. It was very cold and we didn’t have warm clothes. We asked them for water, but they refused.They were beating us and they sprayed us with pepper spray. They destroyed all our mobile devices and our luggage. They weren’t suitable to use anymore. They destroyed everything. I was left without anything. I didn’t even have the simplest of things. No map, nothing to point me to the way back. It was the worst day of my life.

Firas reports that four people from his group got injured while crossing the Polish border barrier²Below: photos of infected cut wounds on the hands sent by Firas., but they did not receive adequate medical assistance from the Polish officers.

[…] Four of them were wounded. They were bleeding heavily, so they fainted from exhaustion.[…] They gave us very superficial first aid treatment. […] Not enough. They didn’t take us to a hospital. […] They sprayed us with pepper spray and pushed us back through the border.

Firas says that he and his group were pushed out at night to Belarusian territory. Polish officers threatened them and fired shots in their direction. Everyone from the group got pushed out, including the unaccompanied minors.

It was a dark night. It was really cold and our hearts were filled with fear. […] They pushed us back behind the wall. They were shooting live bullets at us. They threatened they’d kill us, so we wouldn’t come back and try again.

According to Firas, the group was separated during the pushback and each person was pushed into Belarus in a different place. Firas doesn’t know what happened to some of the people he crossed the border with, including those who were seriously injured.

[…] I don’t know what happened to those, who were seriously wounded, because when they pushed us back to the Belarusian forest, they separated us from each other. Everyone was on his own, without mercy, without a phone, without anything needed to stay alive.

Firas claims that people who got injured while crossing the Polish border barrier couldn’t ask for medical assistance in Belarus.³ People on the move who are in Belarus have limited access to medical care due to fear of being exposed to Belarusian services and the possibility of being deported to their countries of origin.

They couldn’t go to the hospital, because they are illegal migrants. They were treated in a flat with some basic materials.

Firas repeatedly mentions that he wanted to apply for international protection in Poland. He says that in his country of origin, Yemen, he is in danger, because the army is looking for both him and his companions.

We are wanted by the army in our country. If we are returned to our country, we will become victims.