INCREASE IN WALK-IN TRAFFIC TO WARSAW'S CONSULAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001281

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017
TAGS: CMGT PREF PHUM ASEC RSOX PL
SUBJECT: INCREASE IN WALK-IN TRAFFIC TO WARSAW'S CONSULAR
SECTION: A CHANGING POPULATION

REF: A. (A) WARSAW 02516

B. (B) WARSAW 00266

WARSAW 00001281 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Consul General Lisa Piascik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In the last year Warsaw,s consular section
has seen an increase in both the number and diversity of
walk-ins seeking asylum or refugee status in the United
States. The majority of cases continue to come from
neighboring countries, primarily Belarus. However, recent
applicants are increasingly diverse, including applicants
from Nepal, Cuba, and Iraq. Consular walk-ins at Embassy
Warsaw typically seek refugee status in Poland, and are
fundamentally economic migrants.


2. (C) The number of walk-ins seen by the consular section at
Embassy Warsaw in the last ten months has increased to an
average of almost three a month. Unless pursuing a purely
visa-related matter, persons who appear at Embassy Warsaw's
Consular Information Booth speak with both a Consular Officer
and either an ARSO or the RSO. The 26 walk-ins in the last
ten months included ten Belarusians, four Russians, three
Ukrainians, two Cubans, two Nepalese, two North Koreans, one
Iraqi, one Bulgarian, and one Pole.


3. (U) The Embassy refers walk-ins, as appropriate, to the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Warsaw, the
Polish Office of Repatriation and Aliens, and/or the Helsinki
Foundation for further assistance (See Reftel A). All three
of these agencies work together closely in Warsaw, and their
assessments of applicant's situations are consistent, i.e.,
Poland is a safe third country upholding its EU refugee
safeguards. In fact, many persons appear at our consular
section have already begun the refugee application process
through UNHCR or Polish authorities. Interestingly, consular
officers have not been faced with refugee requests from
Chechens in the past year, though Chechens are the single
largest group of refugee seekers in Poland (Reftel A).


4. (C) The majority of consular walk-ins at Embassy Warsaw
are Belarusian citizens claiming persecution for
participation in opposition groups. Warsaw consular walk-ins
from Belarus have included many single males who clearly seem
to be economic migrants, though every Belarusian we see
claims in some way that their participation in the Belarusian
opposition has led them to seek asylum/refugee status. We
consistently hear from these aspirants that the Belarusian
authorities monitor their calls, make it difficult for them
to find work, and subject them to police persecution. The
three Ukrainian refugee seekers made similar claims, but none
were found to be credible. All four of the Russian refugee
aspirants were deemed mentally unstable.


5. (C) Walk-ins at Warsaw's Consular Section are increasingly
diverse. In October 2006 two Cubans, reportedly brother and
sister, appeared at Embassy Warsaw claiming that they were
sent to Ukraine on an exchange with a social group and then
made their way to Poland. The male said that he was a baker
by profession and that his sister was unemployed. Two North
Koreans appeared at Embassy Warsaw in February 2007, stating
that they had been sent to Ukraine to work in the forests and
that they made their way on foot across the Ukrainian-Polish
border to apply for refugee status in Poland. A Nepalese man
appeared in December 2006 saying that he had paid a smuggler
to take him to England, but that the smuggler had taken him
to Poland, then kept his passport and abandoned him here. One
Iraqi appeared in October 2006 seeking refugee status based
on his work for the U.S. military in Iraq. After appropriate
inquiries, Warsaw's DAO was unconvinced by his claims.


6. (C) All of the persons described were questioned to
ascertain their eligibility for refugee status based on
current guidance; the Embassy subsequently deemed them
unqualified for further processing. All but the Iraqi
reported coming to Poland through Ukraine or Belarus, and
many had applied for refugee status in Poland as soon as they
reached the Polish border. Though some expressed interest in
continuing on to other EU countries, European Union
regulations dictate that they stay in their country of first
application if they wish to pursue a European refugee/asylum
claim, forcing them to pursue their claims in Poland.


7. (U) All the walk-ins that consular officers see here are
typically looking for multiple options for resettlement, and

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generally seem to choose to pursue refugee status in the
United States for economic reasons. Although the Eastern
European refugee-seekers are relatively better off than
counterparts from poorer regions of the world, proximity to
Poland and the EU is sufficiently tempting for them to find a
way across the border and seek a better life elsewhere.


8. (C) COMMENT: Though it is impossible for consular
officers to verify the stories of walk-ins, we hear
consistently that economic conditions in Belarus are poor,
and notably worse for those who express any opposition to the
government. We expect an increasing number of walk-ins from
both Belarus and Ukraine as long as the social, economic, and
political situation in those countries is unstable and Poland
offers increasing opportunities. End Comment.

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