About a week ago they were still at the Finnish-Russian border. Women, men and children, from countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and even Morocco. Dressed in thick winter coats, gloves and hats and packed with backpacks and bags, they arrived at the border. Some came on bicycles, others plowed through the deep snow on snowshoes or sneakers.
According to statistics from the Finnish Border Guard, more than 900 third-country migrants have attempted to cross the Russian-Finnish border at one of nine border crossings since October. Because of the sudden influx decided Finland to close its 1,340-kilometre-long border for at least two weeks from November 30, due to the “danger to public order and national security”. It has been quiet since then, as Finnish customs reported when asked NRC.
Last month it was different. Dozens of migrants, mainly men, appeared at the Finnish border every day. Despite inadequate paperwork, Russian customs allowed them through, but they were stopped on the Finnish side. In one case, according to Finnish and Russian media, there was a riot, during which tear gas was allegedly used as a deterrent. Although some were granted asylum, dozens of others had to return to Russia.
The sudden influx of migrants from third countries at the eastern border has been a concern for Helsinki for some time. According to the Finnish government, there is no crisis, but the migrants are being used by Moscow as an “illegal weapon” to “punish” the country. Finland has been a member of NATO since April this year, which means that the border that Russia shares with the military alliance has been significantly expanded in one fell swoop. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo spoke of a “systematic and organized action by the Russian authorities” and had the border region fortified last month with barbed wire, concrete blocks and soldiers. Bus connections between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg have also been suspended.
Estonia warns citizens
With the Finnish border closed, Estonia fears it will become the next target of Russia’s “hybrid war,” the government said. Indeed, last month dozens of migrants showed up at the border crossing in the northern city of Narva, one of six border posts. They were all sent away, according to Estonian Interior Minister Margus Tsahkna. The growing crisis, Tsahkna said, is “yet more proof that Russia is not only fighting in Ukraine, but also poses a threat to other countries.” Last Saturday, the government in Tallinn warned citizens not to travel to Russia for the time being, to prevent them from being unable to return in the event of a sudden border closure. Norway is also keeping a close eye on the situation on its almost two hundred kilometer long eastern border with the Far North of Russia.
The suspicion of the Finns and Estonians that the influx of migrants is being directed by Moscow was confirmed last month by residents of the Russian town of Kandalaksha, just above the Russian Arctic Circle south of Murmansk. Groups of migrants are said to have suddenly appeared in the town. A hotel employee told a journalist from the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, that agents of the Russian security service FSB arranged the transport and accommodation of the migrants. The FSB is said to have even provided bicycles to cover the last kilometers. Russian law prohibits entering the area on foot, which forced Helsinki to impose an ad hoc cycling ban at the border. Another employee confirmed opposite the Norwegian news site The Barents Observer that “our services” had brought a group of migrants to the border at night.
According to acclaimed Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, founder of human rights organization Memorial and director of a Russian organization that helps migrants, Russian consulates in African and Central Asian countries, in Syria and the Middle East are actively involved in trafficking and issuing of Russian visas to migrants. “A Syrian woman said she had paid $3,000 for a Russian visa for each family member. So they come to Russia legally, but once in Russia their asylum application is rejected and they end up illegally,” says Gannushkina by telephone from Moscow. Although it has no indications that the Russian authorities are actively helping the migrants to travel to the Finnish or Estonian borders, it does not rule out that the FSB, which controls the border areas, may provide ad hoc assistance.
Border Belarus and Poland
The situation is very similar to the situation that arose in 2014 and 2015, when thousands of migrants, mainly from Syria, crossed the Norwegian border by bicycle in temperatures of tens of degrees below zero in the Arctic region. After the Norwegians changed the law, the influx stopped. The Finnish government announced last month that it wanted to give customs officials the opportunity to issue a negative asylum decision at the border so that people can be sent away immediately and not travel on to reception centers. The law must be passed before Christmas.
From 2021 onwards, out of anger over European sanctions, Belarusian authorities also deliberately created a migration crisis at the borders with Lithuania and Poland. Migrants in third countries were encouraged to travel to Minsk, where they were housed in hotels by police and taken to the border. Illegal pushbacks on the European side left thousands of people trapped, where they were mistreated by Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish border officials. Some lost limbs from the cold, or died in forests.
Gannushkina says he has no indications that Russia is encouraging migrants to apply for Russian visas. “The Russian provocation consists in the fact that valid visas are no longer checked when leaving. Customs lets people through without a visa, after which the problem lies with Finland.”
The cold treatment of migrants, who are chased back and forth like playthings, has been the subject of much criticism from international human rights organizations for years. It is unclear what fate awaits the migrants upon return to Russia. At the end of November, Russian media reported the arrest of 150 migrants in Karelia who were on their way to the Finnish border with expired visas. According to the Russian newspaper RBK they can receive fines and face deportation.
Also read
this report about the Finnish border town of Savonlinna
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