Episode 33: Preventing pushbacks at the Lithuania-Belarus border

In today's episode, we speak with Dalia, an activist from the Lithuanian human rights and medical aid organisation, Sienos Grupe (Border Group in English). She tells us about the conditions faced by people trapped at Lithuania's border with Belarus, which has been sending people towards the EU since 2021, and how Russia may also be involved.  Dalia describes how Sienos Grupe are helping to prevent pushbacks at the border and support people in the country's refugee camps, as well as those who decide to stay in Lithuania.  We also hear how some Sienos Grupe members have been criminalised for their human rights work.  ---Get in touch---Twitter: @FleetCivil Mastodon: @[email protected] [email protected] Support:  ko-fi.com/civilfleet ---Show Notes--- For more on the Sienos Grupe, visit their website here: sienosgrupe.com Follow Sienos Grupe on Facebook (with updates in English and Lithuanian): facebook.com/sienosgrupe For more on The Civil Fleet's stories on the Belarus border, see here: bit.ly/3WaC9xJ   Here's a map of Lithuania and Belarus: bit.ly/3Db62rd   Want to know more about the protests in Belarus? Check out these articles: bit.ly/3XaGpyz / bit.ly/3ZCiRo0 Here's an August 24, 2020 report by Al Jazeera on the protests in Belarus: bit.ly/3w4vpXG Read this December 2022 report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on the situation at Lithuania-Belarus border: bit.ly/3ZzZpYU  Here a 2021 monitoring report by the Lithuanian Red Cross on the situation at the border: bit.ly/3QGJMLl