“Hostages to the situation”: Hundreds stranded at Brest checkpoint awaiting Polish entry

The situation in the queue is noticeably tense. One passenger, Yelena, described it as “unpleasant”. She explained: “We arrived yesterday at about 11 p.m. Only three buses have passed since then. My things are in a rented apartment, including large sums of money. It is unclear when we will get through.” Her bus is far from the front of the queue. Yelena estimates her chance of crossing the border in time as extremely low. “There is no chance. No way I will be able to make it, and everyone standing here understands this perfectly well. Hope dies last, so I’m waiting. But I think it’s unlikely that I will make it,” she added.

People in the queue, aware of the futility of their wait, discuss alternative travel plans; they are traveling for business, to see family, or on vacation. One of them, Irina, who lives in the Netherlands, has a flight from Warsaw on 12 September. “I arrived at the border on 10 September around 6 p.m. There was no movement at all during the night, and we only moved forward a little in the morning. I won’t make it home, and my family is there, I have three kids. They are, of course, worried. If I can’t get through, I’ll have to look for another route. But I’m not losing heart; we’re all hoping for a miracle,” she emphasized.

With just half a day remaining before Poland closes the border, people remain gathered in front of the Brest checkpoint. They gaze hopefully at the traffic ahead, clinging to the expectation that the Polish side will allow the next bus through and the queue will finally move.

A tourist bus was first in the queue to enter. “I think we’ll make it. There’s enough time before it closes. We arrived yesterday at nine in the evening. We’re going on holiday to Spain, but there may be questions about how to get back. Let’s hope they open the border,” said tourist Natalya.

There are also small children in the queue. Adults try to entertain them to make the wait less burdensome. Some people are attempting to find a spot in departing cars.

“We have been on the bus since 10 p.m. We still need to get through the border, so we are waiting. The queue has moved forward by 500 meters. Such are the circumstances; nothing can be done. We are all hostages to the situation. We are unlikely to make it. I will stay until the end, what else can I do? The bus will go back to Minsk, and, if necessary, I will return home on it,” said Minsk resident Mikhail.

According to the State Border Committee of Belarus, over the past 24 hours, customs officers at the Brest checkpoint promptly processed all cars and buses arriving from Poland, which is approximately 1,000 vehicles. Currently, 1,500 cars registered in the electronic queue are waiting to depart for Poland. These vehicles will be called to the checkpoint as soon as the Polish side is ready to accept them.