01:55Nesrin, 20, from Cizre in Turkey described her family's plight amid the escalating migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, speaking from a Grodno hospital on Thursday.
The woman, who said her family of seven had been on the road for a month in hope of reaching the EU, recounted staying in the forests on the border zone between Poland and Belarus and being pushed back by guards on both sides.
“Both countries' armed forces prevented us from crossing the border. They pushed us back to the forest into the wild mountains. We did not even know where we were. We had no food, no water, nothing with us,” she recounted.
“My mom and sister got sick. My father and brothers are all on the border now. I do not know others or their nationalities. We came here, and they are all there," she said.
Nesrin said her family had left their home because of persecution from the authorities and added she planned to return to the border and cross into the EU with her family.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a “hybrid war” designed to put pressure on the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the claims.
Poland last month strengthened border patrols on the frontier with Belarus and put up a barbed wire fence in place in an attempt to stem the flow.
Belarus: Migrant recounts ordeal on border with Poland
Nesrin, 20, from Cizre in Turkey described her family's plight amid the escalating migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, speaking from a Grodno hospital on Thursday.
The woman, who said her family of seven had been on the road for a month in hope of reaching the EU, recounted staying in the forests on the border zone between Poland and Belarus and being pushed back by guards on both sides.
“Both countries' armed forces prevented us from crossing the border. They pushed us back to the forest into the wild mountains. We did not even know where we were. We had no food, no water, nothing with us,” she recounted.
“My mom and sister got sick. My father and brothers are all on the border now. I do not know others or their nationalities. We came here, and they are all there," she said.
Nesrin said her family had left their home because of persecution from the authorities and added she planned to return to the border and cross into the EU with her family.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a “hybrid war” designed to put pressure on the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the claims.
Poland last month strengthened border patrols on the frontier with Belarus and put up a barbed wire fence in place in an attempt to stem the flow.
Nesrin, 20, from Cizre in Turkey described her family's plight amid the escalating migrant crisis on the Belarus-Poland border, speaking from a Grodno hospital on Thursday.
The woman, who said her family of seven had been on the road for a month in hope of reaching the EU, recounted staying in the forests on the border zone between Poland and Belarus and being pushed back by guards on both sides.
“Both countries' armed forces prevented us from crossing the border. They pushed us back to the forest into the wild mountains. We did not even know where we were. We had no food, no water, nothing with us,” she recounted.
“My mom and sister got sick. My father and brothers are all on the border now. I do not know others or their nationalities. We came here, and they are all there," she said.
Nesrin said her family had left their home because of persecution from the authorities and added she planned to return to the border and cross into the EU with her family.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a “hybrid war” designed to put pressure on the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the claims.
Poland last month strengthened border patrols on the frontier with Belarus and put up a barbed wire fence in place in an attempt to stem the flow.