Journalists Wisse Beets and Noortje Smeltink are producing a podcast documentary series for VPRO Bureau Buitenland and OVT about Schengen’s borders. For this series, they travelled through Poland in June 2026. This photo series was shot by Noortje Smeltink and follows humanitarian worker Aleksandra Chrzanowska.
Aleksandra Chrzanowska walks through the Białowieża Forest, one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. She moves confidently through roots, branches and leaves, wearing white rubber gloves, boots and long trousers. She knows her way around here. For years, ever since she moved to the Białowieża region near the Belarusian border, she has entered the forest almost daily. She is looking for people on the move – or for the traces they may have left behind: clothes, food wrappers, wet socks, empty bottles, a sleeping bag.
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