Between 2 and 3,000 men are waiting for the border to reopen on the Finnish side. Helsinki accuses Moscow of organizing this migratory pressure because of its membership in NATO.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants are desperately waiting in Russia for Finland to reopen its eastern border, a group of recently arrived Syrian asylum seekers told Yle.
Finnish border guards arrested four men near the border town of Parikkala in South Karelia last Wednesday on suspicion of trying to enter the country illegally.
They currently reside at the Joutseno reception center in Lappeenranta, where they were interviewed by Yle. None of the four men speak English, but they recounted their journey to Finland with the help of Moayad Salami, an English-speaking asylum seeker who arrived earlier.
Last week, a group of four Syrians attempted to enter Finland via the eastern border.
Through their interpreter, the men recounted how they had found a smuggler via Telegram instant messaging.
They each paid 6,000 euros to the smuggler to facilitate their passage to Finland, they said.
The journey began in St. Petersburg, where two taxis operating under the Yandex brand brought them near the border.
At that point, they were told that they would have to cross the border on their own, through the forest. They did not know that Finland had closed its borders with Russia and thought they would enter Finland through a checkpoint.
The group told Yle they did not know the identity of the smuggler who brought them to Finland, but said he was from an Arab country.
Moayad Salami, who served as an interpreter for the men during Yle’s interview, noted that there are many smugglers available on the Telegram platform.
For weeks, the Finnish authorities have accused Moscow of organizing migratory pressure at the border in retaliation after Finland’s accession to NATO.