MiniGrant: Activists operating on the Polish-Belarusian border will allocate a grant for further legal and humanitarian assistance, i.e. trips to centers, running cases, preparing parcels, and participation in research activities.

About the group

Refugees who come to Poland from the Belarusian border are particularly vulnerable to marginalization and violence due to the lack of basic humanitarian assistance, language barrier, ignorance of their rights, being locked up in centers, and not understanding of the situation they found themselves in and their status. We are often the only people who reach out to them and can help them.

The NoBorder Foundation was established on the initiative of activists (lawyers, journalists, volunteers), operating on the Polish-Belarusian border continuously since 2021. The main goal of the group is to help refugees by providing them with legal assistance and direct humanitarian support, which they do not receive from the Polish state. This assistance consists, among others, in conducting proceedings in international protection and detention cases, as well as visits to closed centers.

In our activities, we focus on doubly marginalized people whose rights are the most violated. We aid in proceedings against LGBT+ people, whose trauma often worsens during their stay in closed centers for foreigners. We strive to ensure that the Polish authorities finally recognize the premise of sexual orientation as a sufficient reason for granting protection and for release from detention in closed centers.

About the action

The NoBorder Foundation provides legal assistance and pro bono humanitarian assistance, but the work generates considerable costs related to, among others, commuting to centers or hearings throughout Poland. The Group plans to use the MiniGrant to continue its current activities and cover related costs: legal and humanitarian assistance, trips to centers, preparation of parcels, and participation in research activities.

Grant amount: 5300 PLN