Innocent victims of the West
Rulers of ‘developed democracies’ turning into brutal murderers, why
Minsk hosted a large international conference dedicated to an acute problem of modern times on November 15th. About 150 participants gathered at the National Library of Belarus to discuss ways of countering illegal migration and developing regional co-operation in this area. Among those present there were many foreigners, and that was a positive sign.
The states that are the true root cause of the current migration crisis failed to send their representatives, and that was definitely bad. They – especially Poland and Lithuania – actually demonstrated the commitment to their long-lasting tradition of cowardice. As a result, Belarus remains the only voice crying in the wilderness.
The Belarusian leadership has the courage and honesty to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves: pregnant women, children and the elderly who are daily dying on the Polish‑Belarusian border and whom Polish border guards continue to treat inhumanly.
Belarus’ Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov clearly confirmed at the conference that the Belarusian state is open to discussing this important humanitarian issue with those in the West who are actually aggravating this tragedy. This means that President Aleksandr Lukashenko is still extending an olive branch to the country’s western neighbours with a proposal to resume negotiations on resolving the refugee-related problems.
When did human life cease to be of any value? Why do the countries – that are boasting of their developed democracy – are actually playing people's destinies, considering themselves superior and more elitist than others? Why are they still arranging a horrible ghetto with real barbed wire, which actually reminds us of the Nazis atrocities in WWII concentration camps, for many unfortunate people?
The European Union fails to take even a minute to think of the health and well-being of these unfortunate people, who are forced to flee wars and conflicts unleashed by the well-fed West. They want bread, but the West gives them a stone. That's what has happened to the promises of freedom and prosperity that the liberal West has been bragging about in its media for years.
The few delegates representing the western countries frostily acknowledged the existence of the problem, but did not go into details in their statements. When journalists asked them for an interview after the conference, no one wanted to speak officially. Meanwhile, unofficially, everyone knows what is happening, but they are not allowed to even mention the suffering of refugees: the standard practice of the West says that there is no problem if it is not voiced.
Of course, it is great that the conference of the kind took place, but so far there is no opportunity for interested participating countries to put pressure on those who were absent in order to resume dialogue on the issue. Meanwhile, an increasing number of people continue to die at the border, being killed as a result of the wildest ousting measures applied by the Polish border authorities: they literally throw those who pass through the fences back into the Belarusian territory. People – already dead or following severe beatings – are ousted like wild animals.
In my opinion, it is important to more widely speak up and openly show how unfortunate people are treated by the liberal West. The Belarusian leadership has to independently take care of refugees, although it is in no case contributed to the ongoing crisis – and it is a tragedy and a shame for the whole world. The efforts that Belarus and its President are making to save people are an example of humanity and courage, and they at least evoke a sense of deep respect.
As a person who moved from the European Union to live in Belarus, I am grateful for what is being done for migrants in the republic. At the same time, I feel pain and shame for the West (where I was born), which – like a cynical bloody maniac – closes its eyes to what it has done with its own hands.
By Davide Carbonaro
