Synopsis
It is the summer of 2020 in Belarus, protests against the regime have been ongoing and violently repressed. Miles away, in Turkey, countless ads in Turkish, Kurdish and Farsi have appeared on social media and billboards, promoting Belarus as the easy gate to Europe to the thousands of refugees stuck in the camps. Far from a philanthropic desire, the Belarusian manoeuvre is pure cynicism: to play on Europe’s greatest xenophobic fear, in order to take revenge for the restrictions imposed on Belarus.
For weeks, refugees disembark at Minsk airport, but like A. and his family, they are slowly faced with the reality of the large-scale humanitarian scam led by Lukashenko.
A., 47, is a former baker from Mosoul. With his wife and their three children, they have been in Minsk for a few months now. The older, 19, spends her time on social media following her favourite influencers and texting with her childhood friends. Her younger brother, 16, wishes to become a game designer and the youngest, 6, has an autistic disorder and looks at the world with intense curiosity.
They have been trying for many years now to reach Europe and are now stuck in Belarus, and wish to try and cross the border again. As A.’s mother passes away, he has to come to terms with never being able to honor her grave. Meanwhile political repression starts to make things more difficult for volunteers. Volunteers, their friend, have to flee to Lithuania leaving their family. Kseniya, the director, exiled in Poland, wants to go to Mosoul to help him heal his wounds. When A. manages to get an interview with foreign officials, uncertainty remains: will he be able to cross the border?
For weeks, refugees disembark at Minsk airport, but like A. and his family, they are slowly faced with the reality of the large-scale humanitarian scam led by Lukashenko.
A., 47, is a former baker from Mosoul. With his wife and their three children, they have been in Minsk for a few months now. The older, 19, spends her time on social media following her favourite influencers and texting with her childhood friends. Her younger brother, 16, wishes to become a game designer and the youngest, 6, has an autistic disorder and looks at the world with intense curiosity.
They have been trying for many years now to reach Europe and are now stuck in Belarus, and wish to try and cross the border again. As A.’s mother passes away, he has to come to terms with never being able to honor her grave. Meanwhile political repression starts to make things more difficult for volunteers. Volunteers, their friend, have to flee to Lithuania leaving their family. Kseniya, the director, exiled in Poland, wants to go to Mosoul to help him heal his wounds. When A. manages to get an interview with foreign officials, uncertainty remains: will he be able to cross the border?
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