The Message

Since the summer of 2021, Lithuania and Poland have been brutally pushing back migrants attempting to cross the Eastern border of the EU. Thousands of them, including infants, endure hunger, cold, and violence from border guards. Many have already perished in forests and drowned in the Bug River, at the border with Poland. Numerous individuals were compelled into camps, forced to wait in a state of abeyance.

In the Medininkai Camp, southeast of Vilnius, the prisoners, both men and women, were prohibited from speaking directly to anyone outside. To circumvent this restriction, a Red Cross worker, Rokas Misikonis, asked them to create images. They were provided with paints, brushes, and, instead of canvases, doors dismantled from old buildings. The doors carry a message, but for many migrants, they still remain closed.

Authors: John Nsingi-Mwendo, Yaiza Khudeda, Haveen Jasim Haji, Aritin Amazed Dakhil, Holya Karo Quasim Quasim, Shilan Saleem, Roza.

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