The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has accused the government of Belarus of “using human beings as pawns” in their desire to push back against the European Union (EU) for imposing sanctions on the regime, whilst calling on governments to "remember the human beings at the heart of this matter". 

In recent weeks, thousands of migrants have sought to enter the EU by crossing the border between Poland and Belarus, with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko accused of engineering a crisis. 

In a statement, the EEA describes how the Belarussian government has been facilitating the travel of Middle Eastern migrants to Belarus and then transporting them to the EU border.

It reads: "It is understandable that Latvia, Lithuania and Poland want to prevent migrants from crossing that border. And they do not want to do anything to encourage more people to come. However, 1000s of men, women and children are now suffering terribly: those still in Belarus, living without food or shelter. And those who have crossed into the EU are having to hide in the forest or are being kept in terrible conditions, often in closed camps."

The EEA says that efforts are being made to disrupt the “deliberate and shameful transfer” of migrants; however, there remains an urgent need for humanitarian aid for those migrants stuck on either side of the border. Latvia, Lithuania and Poland also need appropriate assistance from other nations in order to respond “compassionately and fairly” to the crisis.

The EEA is calling on Christians to pray that this crisis can be “swiftly resolved” in a way which “upholds Europe’s Judaeo-Christian values of human dignity, justice, compassion and solidarity” as well as urging “solidarity between European nations” to address the crisis in a unified manner.

You can read the EEA's full statement here.