A group of asylum-seekers who are being held in a closed detention centre in Poland have been on hunger strike for a month in protest against their treatment by authorities.
Ten men of Kurdish origin who have been held in the Lesznowola camp near Warsaw for months began their strike on May 4 and have not eaten for 30 days.
Activists told The National that the men were “very determined” not to break their strike until their demands, which include being moved to an open camp, are met.
“Firstly, they want independent psychologist to visit and assess them, and verify that they shouldn’t be in a closed camp,” said Maciek, a volunteer who helps refugees.
"They are all victims of violence in their own countries as well as more recently on the border with the Belarus."
The asylum-seekers have also asked that mediators from non-government organisations be allowed to enter the detention camps.
Closed camps, of which there are several in Poland, are generally cut off from access to the outside world, including to journalists and civil activists.
Inmates have described the centres as “prison-like” with thick walls, bars at the windows and barbed wire surrounding them.
No camera phones are allowed and no internet is provided. Except for lawyers, visitors are not allowed in and residents are not allowed out.
Inmates say there is scarce medical attention and that the bad living conditions have resulted in health problems, including scabies and mental health issues.
“They are treated like criminals. Most of them have the only crime of crossing the border from Belarus,” said Maciek, who spent time along the Polish border at the height of last year’s “migrant crisis”.
In the latter half of 2021, tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants, mainly from the Middle East and Afghanistan, began trying to enter the EU through the Belarusian borders with Poland and the Baltic countries.
A humanitarian crisis quickly grew as border guards from Poland and Belarus repeatedly pushed people back and forth across the forested territory between the countries, with hundreds left trapped in freezing conditions.
At least 20 people have died in the wooded area, including an infant and a pregnant woman, but activists and volunteers suspect the number is much higher.
More than 10,000 people made it to Western Europe through this route and at least 5,000 people were returned to their home countries, the European Commission says.
Those who were not pushed back and were caught by Polish police have been put in detention centres pending their asylum applications.
Data gathered from Grupa Granica, a social movement formed in response to the humanitarian crisis, as of early May 140 people were being held in the Lesznowola detention centre and 798 across all camps in Poland.
Maciek, who has volunteered with Grupa Granica, said humanitarians were also worried about the “chaotic” situation on the border, which “is perfect for smugglers and traffickers”.
“People can easily disappear there," he said. "I don’t understand how this is still happening when it is so dangerous for all us.
"We just let people chaotically move through the border without verifying them and then we stick innocent people in camps."
Last month, five Syrian asylum-seekers who were being held in Lesznowola for months went on hunger strike that ended after nine days when border guards released them and gave them their refugee papers.
Maciek says this time the border guards are far less communicative or sympathetic with the Kurdish strikers.
He thinks authorities don’t want to encourage other asylum-seekers to repeat the “success” of the Syrians’ strike and that a lack of awareness of the dangers facing Kurds has exacerbated an already hostile immigration policy.
“Kurds have fled Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey,” said Maciek, adding that three of the men on hunger strike fled Turkey because of their political activism.
"Neither place is recognised as dangerous countries which makes their situation much more difficult. Nobody is interested that if you are a Kurd in Turkey it is a political problem."
In Kurdistan, clashes between the Iraqi army and local groups allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party have increased in northern Iraq, while Iranian forces have also attacked the Kurdistan capital of Erbil and the surrounding area several times in recent months.
Many people are also fleeing Iraqi Kurdistan because of corruption and poverty. Political activists and some minority groups are at high risk of persecution.
Maciek says one of the Kurdish men on hunger strike was tortured in Iraq by a member of a militia, who poured hot oil on skin.
“There are a lot of these stories, each more dramatic than the other, but the worst thing for me is that the border guards don’t even want to treat people like individuals or humans, just as if they are terrorists,” he said.
A detainee in Lesznowola who is not on strike but checks on the Kurdish men regularly told The National that their health is rapidly deteriorating and that they cannot walk or talk much.
They have told him they will “continue until they die or are released".
“We are human, people like everyone else, not criminals," he said. "Poland is meant to be a free, European country but they don’t act like that."
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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
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Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
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- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
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The biog
Profession: Senior sports presenter and producer
Marital status: Single
Favourite book: Al Nabi by Jibran Khalil Jibran
Favourite food: Italian and Lebanese food
Favourite football player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
Website: www.liliane-tannoury.com
Forced%20Deportations
%3Cp%3EWhile%20the%20Lebanese%20government%20has%20deported%20a%20number%20of%20refugees%20back%20to%20Syria%20since%202011%2C%20the%20latest%20round%20is%20the%20first%20en-mass%20campaign%20of%20its%20kind%2C%20say%20the%20Access%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights%2C%20a%20non-governmental%20organization%20which%20monitors%20the%20conditions%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Lebanon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20past%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20General%20Security%20was%20responsible%20for%20the%20forced%20deportation%20operations%20of%20refugees%2C%20after%20forcing%20them%20to%20sign%20papers%20stating%20that%20they%20wished%20to%20return%20to%20Syria%20of%20their%20own%20free%20will.%20Now%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20army%2C%20specifically%20military%20intelligence%2C%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20security%20operation%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Mohammad%20Hasan%2C%20head%20of%20ACHR.%3Cbr%3EIn%20just%20the%20first%20four%20months%20of%202023%20the%20number%20of%20forced%20deportations%20is%20nearly%20double%20that%20of%20the%20entirety%20of%202022.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESince%20the%20beginning%20of%202023%2C%20ACHR%20has%20reported%20407%20forced%20deportations%20%E2%80%93%20200%20of%20which%20occurred%20in%20April%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20comparison%2C%20just%20154%20people%20were%20forcfully%20deported%20in%202022.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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%3Cp%3EInstances%20of%20violence%20against%20Syrian%20refugees%20are%20not%20uncommon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJust%20last%20month%2C%20security%20camera%20footage%20of%20men%20violently%20attacking%20and%20stabbing%20an%20employee%20at%20a%20mini-market%20went%20viral.%20The%20store%E2%80%99s%20employees%20had%20engaged%20in%20a%20verbal%20altercation%20with%20the%20men%20who%20had%20come%20to%20enforce%20an%20order%20to%20shutter%20shops%2C%20following%20the%20announcement%20of%20a%20municipal%20curfew%20for%20Syrian%20refugees.%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThey%20thought%20they%20were%20Syrian%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20the%20mayor%20of%20the%20Nahr%20el%20Bared%20municipality%2C%20Charbel%20Bou%20Raad%2C%20of%20the%20attackers.%3Cbr%3EIt%20later%20emerged%20the%20beaten%20employees%20were%20Lebanese.%20But%20the%20video%20was%20an%20exemplary%20instance%20of%20violence%20at%20a%20time%20when%20anti-Syrian%20rhetoric%20is%20particularly%20heated%20as%20Lebanese%20politicians%20call%20for%20the%20return%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20to%20Syria.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
