The waiting hall at Brest station, Belarus.
The waiting hall of the train station in the Belarusian city of Brest looks monumental, even grandiose — and yet startlingly cosy. Built in a Stalinist classical style, with arches, rosettes and salmon pink walls covered by marble-imitating claret-coloured material, this station used to be a showcase of the Soviet Union, its western door at the border with Poland.
Since the summer of 2016, the station has come to perform another role: a meeting space for dozens of Chechens trying to seek asylum in neighbouring Poland. Over the past several months, Poland has been denying refugees from Belarus entry and the right to claim asylum. The practice is a clear violation of EU asylum law and Poland's international obligations, but the country's authorities have made it clear that, in the current political climate, migrants are no longer welcome. Only randomly selected individuals make it into the country.
