People are dying of cold and hunger at the doors of Europe, Nidal Ibrahim tells Al Jazeera from the Belarusian border. Thousands of refugees and migrants trying to cross into the European Union are stranded along the Belarusian border as Poland has denied them entry amid a standoff with Belarus. Fears for their safety are growing due to freezing conditions, a lack of vital supplies and medical care, and a spate of deaths on both sides of the border. Nidal Ibrahim, a Syrian refugee stranded at the border, tells Al Jazeera’s Sara Cincurova about the suffering he and others have endured. Here is his story in his own words.

I am Nidal Ibrahim from Aleppo, I am 37 years old, and I am dying. Me, my friend Muhammad and his four children came to the Belarusian border along with other refugees. We hoped that we would reach Europe, but we are now stuck in the forests without water, drinking from swamps, without any food. The temperature outside is -5 or -7. I am only alive because I also have three children who stayed with my wife in Turkey. For their sake, I must survive. I love them and miss them very much. (…) In the woods, we have no shelter. My friend Muhammad’s four children are with us. I cannot describe the condition they are in. They are hungry and they cannot sleep. Either someone takes pity on us, or we die. Prior to the war in Syria, I used to work as a school teacher and a principal of a primary school. My wife and I left Syria after losing some of our relatives. The war in Syria destroyed everything that we dreamt about. (…) Right now, we usually sleep on the ground among the trees, but the weather is very cold. We cannot sleep. Sometimes, we can light a fire, and sometimes we cannot, because of the rain. We were pushed back and forth by Polish authorities and the Belarusian army. The Polish authorities took our SIM cards away from us. There is nowhere we can go from here now.

via al jazeera: ‘Please save us’: Refugees face death at Poland-Belarus border