Abdul Rashid, a former translator for the Polish forces in Afghanistan, was evacuated to Poland after the Taliban takeover. Now he is witnessing the pain of another escape, the mass displacement of people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For Rashid it was clear he needed to help.
Abdul Rashid knows well how escapes happen: wrapping up one's entire life in a bundle, hide from dangers to save one's life, fill in applications and more applications to get that sheet of paper: a humanitarian visa opening up another chapter in life, elsewhere.
His own escape began in August 2021 in Kabul, after the city fell into the hands of the Taliban. The difficult journey led the former translator for the Polish Special Forces in Afghanistan and his family from Kabul to Warsaw, passing through Islamabad.
He would never have imagined that in that chapter another escape would be seen: that of over two million people fleeing the war in Ukraine to Poland.
'Immediately clear what I should do'
"It was immediately clear what I should do," the Afghan refugee said while helping a woman at one of the stands set up outside the central train station in Warsaw.
The pain of two escapes intertwine, he says. "We suffered the same things in Afghanistan," the volunteer said, torn between the bitterness of bearing witness to another exodus and the comfort of "being able to give back what I was given."
He was been helping uninterruptedly for days.
"I do not know exactly how many refugees have gone through here but I do know that thousands every day come. Ten thousand, maybe more," he said. "The reaction from the Polish community is surprising: Everyone is helping to welcome the refugees."
"In the city there are several reception points offering hot food, medicine, clothes, and temporary lodgings," he added, noting that he was "proud of being part of this volunteer program."
Different treatment of refugees 'is racism'
Some 200 kilometers northeast, the welcoming scenes are replaced by ones of violence and pushbacks towards those who fell into the 'trap' of Belorussian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Men, women, and children -- many of whom of Afghan origins -- have been stuck in limbo since last summer between Poland and Belarus.
Abdul Rashid said that "there is only one way to call this different treatment of refugees: racism. Pushbacks violate international law. And then there is the question of humanity: they are people trying to save themselves, to have a chance at a better life."