Fall temperatures are so far mild in the forest of Białowieża along the border between Poland and Belarus. Border police patrol the area in armoured vehicles.

A makeshift sentry-box towers over the border. Behind it is a 186-kilometer fence dividing Poland from Belarus.

In the middle is a limbo that has been packed with migrants for the past two years.

"We have no idea how many people are still trapped in this no man's land," says Bartek, a spokesperson for Grupa Granica, a coalition of volunteers, which has been assisting migrants attempting to cross the border since the fall of 2021, along with NGOs and local residents.

Ongoing crisis for Afghans, Syrians, Ethiopians and Indians

Refugees and migrants include Afghans, Syrians, Ethiopians and Indians. They are all caught in a wider political game, says Grupa Granica.

On one side is the Belarus of President Alexander Lukashenko who has pushed people to the border in an alleged attempt to destabilize Europe.

On the other, Poland has responded with indiscriminate pushbacks, a sealed border, and pressure exercised on anyone providing aid, bordering on intimidation, activists say.

"The humanitarian crisis is still ongoing," stressed Bartek, highlighting a forgotten story that has once again gained public attention with the film Green Border by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland.

The five-meter-high wall erected by Polish authorities, which has an extensive surveillance system, is "an instrument of violence and torture that makes crossing the border even more dangerous," denounced Bartek.

Dozens of migrants dead and 4,000 border guards

So far, about 50 dead bodies have been found in the forest, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. However, activists believe the number of dead and missing persons is much higher.

Over the past few weeks, the area has been further sealed with the deployment of about 4,000 border guards. "The excuse is the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus but it is actually a strength test for electoral purposes," said Bertek.

The fight against immigration was the weapon brandished by Mateus Morawiecki's government to mobilize the vote of conservatives on Sunday, October 15, when a referendum was held, together with elections, in which two of the four questions focused on the border fence and the redistribution mechanism 'imposed by European bureaucrats' to host "thousands of illegal migrants from the Middle East and Africa".

'We are the State's enemies', activist

It is late at night. Agata (not her real name) sits exhausted on her couch after taking part in the umpteenth operation in the forest to aid migrants. After providing food, clothes and medicines, she had to flee the forest, running away from border guards. Agata, one of the women who has coordinated aid since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis, says guards are "aggressive, racist, armed to the teeth."

"We had to learn from our mistakes," she went on to say. "At the beginning, if someone was in need, it was natural to call the officers to ask for help. Then we understood: we were the State's enemies". She claimed activists are provoked, controlled, even subjected to violence because they are treated like traffickers in Poland.

"Giving someone a lift with the car can cost several years in jail", said Agata. And the pressure on those living close to the border who have decided to help refugees in unrelenting. Agata doesn't see any change on the horizon, even if the ruling party loses its majority following Sunday's elections, leading to a change in government.

"This has very little to do with Poland", she explained. "This is related to an idea of Europe, a fortress defending with violence a declining world. This is the political game in which we have ended up. This is the political game against which we will continue to resist," she concluded.

Author: Alessandra Briganti