Iraqi refugee: Americans treated us like cattle and Polish security forces are no different from them

Refugees have been staying in a camp near the Polish border for nine days already and, over this time, journalists have got acquainted with many of them. 56-year-old Ali, from Iraq, is among these people.

Since our first meeting, Ali looked extremely exhausted. He speaks Russian quite well (his younger brother graduated from the medical university in Samara) but this time he hardly said us hello in Russian. The man sincerely shared his story yesterday – which is, to put it mildly, sad.

“When American troops invaded Iraq in 2003, some of my friends – openly speaking – hoped that life in our country would turn to the better. However, they got mistaken. Americans behaved like masters, executed Saddam Hussein without trial, and treated the locals like cattle. That's when I experienced tear-gas for the first time... In general, the aggressors did everything possible to destroy our economy. It was a great challenge for me to find a job in Iraq (I was born in Tikrit), it was always temporary and low-paid,” Ali said.

The refugee continued, “This year, I decided to take a chance and go to Germany. We were invited there, right? As a result, for more than a week, I live in conditions far from those to which I am accustomed to. I’ve lost almost 10kg. My legs hurt and I have a runny nose. It's very cold here! We have a cold, coughing is heard at night in the camp. At the same time, I’ve got convinced that Belarusians are good people. They provide us with food and warm clothes. As for Polish border guards and the military... I have no words to describe them… I was on Poland’s territory three times but each time was literally thrown back – brutally beaten and poisoned with tear-gas. Today I was hit by a powerful jet of cold water from a water cannon and again my eyes were burned by gas... It turns out that Poles are just as cruel and heartless as their American allies: they are no different from them. Sometimes I thought I was going to die of pain and despair... Representatives of the Belarusian side have taken us from the border territory, saying that – for the first time in a long time – we’ll spend the night indoors and in comfortable conditions. We will be able to dry ourselves and eat hot meals. I’m sincerely grateful to hospitable Belarusians! Nevertheless, we are not going to give up on our goal. Write about this!”