'I begged them': the Guinean mother deported from Belarus without her baby

Africanews (in English)

'I begged them': the Guinean mother deported from Belarus without her baby  23-year-old Mariam Soumah initially came to Belarus in the hope of getting to Europe. There, she gave birth to her daughter - and was deported back to her home country without her child. The Guinean embassy in Moscow, which oversees Belarus, is reportedly following the case.  READ MORE : http://www.africanews.com/2026/01/15/i-begged-them-the-guinean-mother-deported-from-belarus-without-her-baby  Subscribe on our Dailymotion channel and receive all the latest news from the continent.    Africanews is available in English and French.  Website : www.africanews.com  Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/africanews.channel/  Twitter : https://twitter.com/africanews

Transcript

00:00Mariam Souma is back in Conakry, alone.

00:05The 23-year-old was separated from her daughter after being deported back to Guinea from Belarus.

00:11Souma had initially gone to the Eastern European country in the hope of crossing into Europe to escape poverty.

00:18But while in Belarus, she fell pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl.

00:24So when I realized I was pregnant, I explained it to the father.

00:28And he said, OK, it's fine, this and that.

00:31Then he left for Poland, you see.

00:34After that, I stayed on my own.

00:36I tried calling his number, but it didn't go through.

00:39I said to myself, OK, I'm here, I'm strong, and that's it.

00:44Maybe I'll have to fight on my own.

00:47When her daughter was born too early, the baby had to go into hospital

00:51and was eventually transferred to an orphanage without Souma's consent.

00:56The mother was also presented with a staggeringly high hospital bill,

01:01and immigration authorities threatened her.

01:05He said, if you set foot here, I will lock you up for a year.

01:08You have to leave.

01:09The child now belongs to us.

01:11You will not see a child.

01:13We will take care of the documents for the child.

01:15So that's how the baby became theirs, you see.

01:18I said, OK, there's no problem.

01:21But inside, I was crying.

01:23I was crying.

01:25The Guinean embassy in Moscow, also in charge of Belarus,

01:29has said that it was following the case

01:31and that it had demanded clarifications.

01:34An exiled Belarusian human rights group is also supporting Souma.

01:38But whether she will see her daughter ever again remains uncertain.

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