TOgata Kubis shakes her head. Then he points his blue eyes at me: they are full of everything. Of all the images she took, of the horrors she documented, of the people she met in the Belarusian forest of Białowieża, on the border with Poland. In theory a natural park protected by Unesco, now a forest “of shame”: from summer 2021, hidden in the woods, thousands of migrants gather there. They arrive in Minsk from the Middle East, via Turkey, hoping to enter Europe.
The Belarusian authorities push them towards the Polish border which, in turn, thererejects them en masse. Forcing them to live trapped in the cold, without food or water.
Agata Kubis: “Rights violated: investigations and photo-reports”
Agata, 46, is a Polish freelance photojournalist. Feminist and LGBTQ+ activist, she participated to the “women’s strike” in Poland against the abortion ban in 2021 (“The law was approved, but what the authorities didn’t understand is that a new awareness has arisen in society,” he explains).
Last March she was celebrated in Milan for her work at the first edition of “Inge Feltrinelli Award-Telling the world, defending rights”. He won in the category “Rights violated: investigations and photo-reports” with his investigation The border trilogy: lives suspended between Belarus and Poland.
Her perspective as a journalist changed when she entered the Belarusian forest. Among the fronds and the pain of the migrants she felt that she was no longer just a photographer who documented, but a human being who had to help other human beings. She went into the dark forest every night and came across the very sad story of Josephine, who fled with her husband Manuel and their two children from the Congo and then from the Donbass before ending up in the dark jaws of the forests. “The Belarusians were yelling at them to dig under the barbed wire. They were on him with guns pointed at his head,” he says.
The woman later discovered she was pregnant in this “red zone” and lost the baby. “All we could do for her and her family was just bring drips, food and hot tea,” she adds, looking away.
Agata Kubis: «Photojournalist attentive to human rights»
You are part of the Polish Archive of Public Protests and collaborate with LGBTQ+ publications: how did it end up in Białowieża?
A colleague told me that a group of thirty-two migrants had just been stopped at the border. I didn’t think about it for a moment, I grabbed my camera and we set off to see what was going on. We wanted to understand.
And then what happened?
It was very difficult at the beginning, it was forbidden to approach the refugees. I found myself in an awkward position, I didn’t want to be just the one who watched from afar and photographed. Something clicked inside me. I tried to form a consortium of aid, and I came back. I realized that being a photojournalist didn’t preclude me from also being an activist, they are not mutually exclusive situations. The frustration was seeing that the recognized associations could unfortunately do little.
When did he go into the forest?
Every night, from ten to six in the morning. She with the fear of being stopped by the police anyway. Even those who help are criminalized. It’s a terrible place, dark, full of wild animals, with freezing temperatures and humidity. Migrants who end up in this “no man’s land”, in this no man’s land, are often exhausted, ill, are constantly rejected.
Agata Kubis: «Everyone suffers, women, men and children»
Children and women like Josephine, whose story she told, pay the ultimate price.
It’s heavy for everyone, no one is saved from suffering. Not healthy men, not women with children. There is a lot of violence from the Belarusian guards, they set dogs on migrants, as happened to Josephine who had her thigh slaughtered. Refugees are beaten, threatened with weapons, stripped of their belongings and left in the forest with nothing. I remember a family with two little girls. Despite the violence of the situation, these girls were able to play in the woods and enjoy themselves as if it were a great adventure.
Has anyone managed to save themselves?
Unfortunately there are very few cases with a happy ending. I followed the story of three Iraqi boys. They were intercepted by an Lgbtq+ association and transferred to Germany. But then, without political asylum, they were sent back as parcel post to Poland.
Where does his commitment go now?
I will return to the Polish border, the route is always open. Our job leads us to deal with a topic while it’s hot, but as a human being, and as a journalist, I can’t and won’t forget. I am in constant contact with the volunteers.
Journalism as a civil commitment.
I have participated in every possible and imaginable procession in my life, from environmental demonstrations to those for the right to abortion and against fascism. Photography is the tool to live and tell, but now also to help change consciences. I live in a deeply patriarchal country where the position of women never seems to change. We are actually making giant strides towards emancipation: the path is now irreversible.
Now Agata finally smiles.
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