Mariam Soumah, a 23-year-old from Guinea, claims Belarusian authorities deported her without her baby daughter Sabina in August 2025. Soumah last saw Sabina nine months ago, with the child now in a Minsk orphanage. The Guinean mother deported Belarus after attempting to renew her student visa while dealing with her premature baby's health issues.

Sabina arrived prematurely in November 2024, weighing 600 grams, and received intensive care in Belarus. Soumah faced restrictions on visiting her daughter due to unpaid medical bills of around $33,000. Authorities imprisoned Soumah in July 2025 for immigration violations before forcing her onto a flight.

Migration Route and Ongoing Challenges

Soumah travelled to Belarus on a student visa to escape poverty, aiming for the European Union via a land route. The EU has accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's regime of encouraging such migrations. This Guinean mother deported Belarus incident echoes broader migrant rights issues in the country.

Rights group Human Constanta criticised the separation as manipulative and illegal, noting no court ruling stripped Soumah of parental rights. Soumah has had only two video calls with Sabina since deportation. UN experts may push for reunion, while UNICEF Belarus could provide humanitarian aid.

"I begged them not to do it," Soumah told AFP, recalling her pleas to authorities.

UN experts called the forced separation "extremely concerning" in statements to AFP. The Guinean embassy in Moscow, overseeing Belarus, expressed "great humanitarian concern" and demanded clarifications from Belarusian officials.