Name: Guinean mother deported from Belarus without her baby
Uploaded: 2026-01-15T14:07:56.201Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Description: 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.

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.

Conakry

Mariam Zouma, a 23-year-old from Guinea, was deported from Belarus and returned to Conakry without her newborn daughter. Zouma had traveled to Belarus in hopes of reaching Europe but became pregnant and gave birth there. After her baby was born prematurely, the child was hospitalized and later transferred to an orphanage without Zouma's consent. Belarusian authorities threatened Zouma with jail and informed her that her child would remain in their custody. The Guinean embassy in Moscow and a Belarusian human rights group are now following the case, but the prospect of Zouma reuniting with her daughter remains uncertain.

Guinean mother deported from Belarus without her baby

Mariam Zouma is back in Conakry, alone. The 23-year-old was separated from her daughter after being deported back to Guinea from Belarus. Zouma had initially gone to the Eastern European country in the hope of crossing into Europe to escape poverty. But while in Belarus, she fell pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl. So when I realised I was pregnant, I explained it to the father. He said, OK, it's fine, this and that. Then he left for Poland, you see. After that, I stayed on my own. I tried calling his number, but it didn't go through. I said to myself, OK, I'm here, I'm strong, and that's it. Maybe I'll have to fight on my own. When her daughter was born too early, the baby had to go into hospital and was eventually transferred to an orphanage without Zouma's consent. The mother was also presented with a staggeringly high hospital bill and immigration authorities threatened her. He said, if you set foot here, I will lock you up for a year. You have to leave. The child now belongs to us. You will not see a child. We will take care of the documents for the child. So that's how the baby became theirs, you see. I said, OK, there's no problem. But inside, I was crying. I was crying. The Guinean embassy in Moscow, also in charge of Belarus, has said that it was following the case and that it had demanded clarifications. An exiled Belarusian human rights group is also supporting Zouma. But whether she will see her daughter ever again remains uncertain.

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