• Bosnia Shifts Vulnerable Migrants and Refugees to New Temporary Camp

    Despite opposition from Bosnian Serbs, migrants and refugees who were living rough are being resettled to a temporary reception centre near the village of Lipa in the country’s north-west.
    The authorities in the Una-Sana Canton, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, moved a first group of about 120 migrants and refugees to the new reception centre in Lipa, not far from the town of Bihac, on Tuesday.

    In total, about 1,000 people who have been living on the streets of Bihac and nearby towns in the recent weeks because there is not enough space at existing reception centres will be relocated to the Lipa camp.

    In mid-March, the Bosnian authorities imposed restrictions on the movement of migrants and refugees and ordered them into temporary reception centres as a part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    “Camp Lipa contains all the infrastructure needed to provide basic humanitarian needs to the users in the form of accommodation, food, hygiene, sanitation and medical care,” the Una-Sana cantonal government said in a press statement.

    The mayor of Bihac, Suhret Fazlic, told Bosnian media that moving these people to the new centre will allow their health and safety to be better monitored.

    According to police estimates, there are currently approximately 1,500 migrants in the Bihac area for whom there are no places in existing reception centres.

    Representatives of Serbs who returned to Bosnia’s Federation entity after fleeing during the war strongly opposed the construction of the camp near Lipa, a village where post-war Serb returnees live, because they claimed that the mainly Muslim migrants and refugees could be a threat to them.

    They argued that the construction of a migrant centre in near Lipa was a message to Serbs that they are not welcome in Bosnia’s Bosniak- and Croat-dominated Federation entity.

    They have threatened to block all access roads to the centre after the coronavirus epidemic ends, and have appealed for help to Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the tripartite Bosnian presidency.

    There are currently about 7,500 registered migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    https://balkaninsight.com/2020/04/21/bosnia-shifts-vulnerable-migrants-and-refugees-to-new-temporary-camp

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane #Serbe #Retour

  • Shelter Provided to Migrants Sleeping Rough in Bosnian Capital

    Migrants who have been sleeping on the streets of Sarajevo for the past weeks have been given accommodation at a temporary reception centre located in a military barracks near the city.
    The International Organization for Migration, IOM, the Danish Refugee Council, DRC, the Red Cross of the Federation entity in Bosnia, together with migrants who volunteered, on Friday set up heated isolation tents for migrants in the Blazuj army barracks, furnished with 1,000 beds, mattresses and blankets.

    The idea is to provide temporary accommodation for migrants and refugees who have previously been sleeping rough on the streets of Sarajevo.

    According to the IOM, the migrants will first go through a medical check-up pending registration after which they will have access to shelter, food, medical assistance and other humanitarian needs.

    In mid-March, the Sarajevo Canton, which includes the Bosnian capital and various nearby towns and villages, imposed restrictions on the movement of migrants, and ordered them into temporary reception centres as a part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

    However, since the existing temporary reception centres did not have the capacity to host all the migrants located in and around the Sarajevo Canton, more capacity was needed.

    A similar temporary reception centre is being built not far from the village of Lipa, in western Bosnia, in the Una-Sana Canton.

    However, Bosnian Serbs have called on the authorities not to build a tent camp near the village, where post-war Serb returnees live, because they claim the mainly Muslim migrants could be a threat to them.

    There are about 7,500 registered migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For at least 3,000 of them, there are no places in temporary reception centres set up by the authorities.

    https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/28/shelter-provided-to-migrants-sleeping-rough-in-bosnian-capital

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Bosnia, new migrant hosting center inaugurated in Bihac

    Bosnian authorities on April 22 inaugurated a new hosting center for migrants that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. The facility will be managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the village of Lipa, near Bihac, at the border with Croatia.

    A new hosting center for refugees and migrants that can accommodate up to 1,000 people was inaugurated on April 22 in the village of Lipa, close to Bihac, in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina near the border with Croatia. The center will be managed by the International Organization for Migrants (IOM).

    Police have already brought a number of migrants to the facility among those — an estimated 1,500 people — who are sleeping rough or living in abandoned homes in the area of Bihac.

    A reported 100 people will be transferred every day to the facility, where doctors will give them a medical checkup, including a coronavirus test. Authorities said the transfer of migrants will for this reason progress slowly and that it will be completed in a few days.

    Government is working on repatriation program

    The center is meant to provide stable accommodation to migrants who want to eventually travel to a European Union member State.

    Bosnian Security Minister Fahrudin Radoncic, however, is critical and wants to start a program to repatriate the migrants to their home countries. "Many thought that it was a humanitarian issue but they have finally understood that it is a matter of security and that this country is not able to sustain 7-8,000 migrants’’, the minister said.

    He added that he was not speaking about people fleeing war but about undocumented migrants who come from countries that are richer than Bosnia.

    Lipa residents against center

    Representatives of the 250 Serbian residents of the village of Lipa have said that they are against the center. They want to return to the homes they had prior to the war (1992-95) and have complained that migrants have electricity, running water and Wi-Fi at the center while they are still waiting for these municipal services.

    Lipa’s Serbians have already announced that they will organize protests once restrictions on gatherings due to the coronavirus emergency are lifted.

    https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/24334/bosnia-new-migrant-hosting-center-inaugurated-in-bihac

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Amnesty International: Decision to confine Thousands of Migrants into Camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina puts Lives at Risk

    Responding to the decision of the local authorities in Una-Sana Canton in Bosnia and Herzegovina to forcefully transfer and confine thousands of migrants living in the area to an inadequate tent camp in Lipa, Amnesty’s Europe Deputy Director Massimo Moratti said:

    “Forcing people, many of whom are already vulnerable, into a hastily set up remote tent facility without ensuring adequate access to water and sanitation, spaces to self-isolate and accessible medical care is inhumane and will put people at greater risk of infection and preventable deaths.

    Confining people in potentially harmful conditions cannot be justified on the grounds of public health, stated by Massimo Moratti, Amnesty International

    “Confining people in potentially harmful conditions cannot be justified on the grounds of public health. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities in Bosnia have a responsibility to address the needs of all marginalised groups and ensure humane living conditions, including access to water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as appropriate medical care, for all people, including migrants and asylum-seekers.

    “Restrictions on the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers in the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency have to be lawful, necessary and proportionate and should not discriminate against or put at risk already marginalised people. These measures fail on all counts.”

    Restrictions on the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers in the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency have to be lawful, necessary and proportionate

    Massimo Moratti, Amnesty International

    Background

    Thousands of refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers trying to make their way into Europe are currently stranded in Una-Sana Canton in the north-west of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While about 4,100 are accommodated in the temporary reception facilities managed by International Organization for Migration (IOM), an estimated 3,000 are sleeping in squats in abandoned buildings or sleeping rough and are now at risk of being relocated to the Lipa camp.

    Following declaration of emergency measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across BiH, the local authorities in Una-Sana Canton ordered a relocation of thousands of refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers currently sleeping rough on the territory of the canton into a temporary camp in the village of Lipa which is currently in preparation.

    In the past, the authorities in Una-Sana canton failed to provide adequate conditions for accommodation of refugees and migrants. The controversial Vucjak tent settlement built on a former landfill and close to a minefield from the Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, was finally closed in December and over 600 people transferred elsewhere following significant pressure by human rights groups and international community.

    https://www.sarajevotimes.com/amnesty-international-decision-to-confine-thousands-of-migrants-into-

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Relocation of Migrants to Newly opened Reception Camp on 83,000 Square Meters started

    The Una-Sana Canton (USC) police launched an action this morning to move migrants to a newly opened reception camp on the Lipa site, between Bihac and Bosanski Petrovac, Fena news agency reports.

    Police officers are currently deploying more than a hundred people who have previously stayed at the stadium of the Jedinstvo Football Club and the nearby (Gradska Aleja) City Walk in Bihac.

    It has also been confirmed that engaged medical teams will do triage when entering the Lipa camp.

    The current capacity of the newly opened reception camp accommodates around 1,000 people, while the relocation action could take several days due to detailed medical examinations.

    “Lipa” is equipped with all necessary infrastructure to provide the beneficiaries with basic humanitarian needs in the form of accommodation, food, hygiene, sanitation and medical care.

    In November last year, the City Council of the City of Bihac approved the location of Lipa as the only one owned by the City of Bihac to establish a temporary reception center for migrants, Klix.ba news portal reports.

    The settlement should contain 1,106 containers. According to the plan document, Camp Lipa should have 728 migrant housing containers, 252 sanitary containers, 126 administrative containers that will house police, the Red Cross, medical teams, registration area, NGOs and media, and a central kitchen with dining room. There is also space for entertaining, education and recreation.

    The future camp would be located on an area of nearly 83,000 square meters.

    Containers contain windows, parquet floors and everything that migrants need for a comfortable stay, and the outside is decorated in a variety of colors. A recreation area, walks and rest area with trees and benches are also provided. The kitchen will cover an area of nearly 18 thousand square meters. It is also important to emphasize that men will be separated of from woman and children.

    There are already existing roads to this location, but it is necessary to build 4,5 thousand meters of internal roads and to provide water, electricity and sewage.

    It is still unknown when construction will begin, but it is known that it should do so as soon as a new migrant wave is expected in the spring. Camp Lipa is located between Bosanski Petrovac and Bihać.

    The site could be accepted by the European Commission, given that it is city-owned and remote from populated areas.

    The problem could possibly be posed by the Republic of Croatia, given that this village is near the border with that country.

    https://www.sarajevotimes.com/relocation-of-migrants-to-newly-opened-reception-camp-on-83000-square

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Migrants in Lipa Message That Serbs Are Not Welcome

    The construction of a migrant centre in the Serb village of Lipa near Bihać is a message that Serbs are not welcome in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/, says Serb deputy to the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, Goran Broćeta.

    “The fact that the FBiH authorities managed to construct, in a very short time, an urban settlement for migrants in the Serb village of Lipa is a clear indication that they are only efficient when it comes to usurpation and destruction of Serb property in the FBiH,” Broćeta told SRNA.

    He notes that, on the other hand, a series of problems Serb returnees have been facing across the Federation of BiH will never be included in the agenda.

    “As they call it, the reception centre is the most humane refuge for migrants so far, so we can rightly doubt that it may be a permanent solution. However, pre-war residents were sent a clear message that they no longer have anything to look for there, while the rest of us will wonder what tomorrow will bring and whether Drvar, Grahovo or Glamoč might be new sites for accommodating migrants to finally break the most homogeneous Serb territory in the FBiH,” Broćeta emphasizes.

    He condemns the construction of a migrant centre in the Serb village of Lipa.

    “We would not allow them to do it if they did not insidiously, away from the public eye, take and advantage of the current situation in BiH,” Broćeta added.

    The International Organisation for Migration announced today that the Lipa camp near Bihać is ready for the reception for up to 1,000 migrants and refugees.

    The Committee for Serb Rights Protection in the FBiH said earlier that it was inadmissible to set up a migrant centre in the Serb village of Lipa, surrounded by Serb-populated villages.

    http://thesrpskatimes.com/migrants-in-lipa-message-that-serbs-are-not-welcome

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane #Serbes #Retour

  • Group of 120 migrants relocated to newly opened camp near Bihac

    A group of 120 migrants who underwent a triage examination for the new coronavirus have been relocated to the newly constructed migrant camp Lipa, situated between northwestern Bosnian towns of Bihac and Bosanski Petrovac, the authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

    "Today we accomplished only the first phase of this process of relocation of people who did not have any accommodation in the city of Bihac. We will continue to continuously work every day to relocate all people from abandoned buildings and streets and provide them with dignified living conditions,” said Mustafa Ruzic, the Prime Minister of Una Sana Canton whose administrative centre is Bihac.

    Campsite beneficiaries will be provided with necessities of life in a locality away from the urban area of Bihac, which will significantly improve the safety and epidemiological situation in the town, he added.

    http://ba.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a427323/Group-of-120-migrants-relocated-to-newly-opened-camp-near-Bihac.html

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • New camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    In Bosnia, local authorities in the northwest Una-Sana canton ordered the mandatory relocation of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers sleeping outdoors into a temporary camp currently under construction near the village of Lipa, some 25 kilometers from the Croatian border.

    Authorities have since agreed to have the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Danish Refugee Council manage the new camp on behalf of the government.

    An estimated 3,000 of those who are trying to make their way into the EU through Croatia are squatting in abandoned buildings or sleeping outdoors in the region, while another 4,100 are accommodated in facilities managed by IOM.

    “IOM is trying their best to create dignified conditions and ensure adequate access to health and other support services. However, the camps remain overcrowded and unfit for prolonged stay,” said Jelena Sesar, a researcher at Amnesty International.

    People who did not enter the official camps during the winter months cannot effectively self-isolate and are often barred from health institutions available to ordinary citizens.

    “The [Bosnian] state authorities for the past two years have done next to nothing to deal with the migrant crisis in the country and have practically left the Una-Sana canton to deal on its own with the flow of refugees,” Sesar told EURACTIV.

    Bosnian authorities have previously come under heavy criticism by civil rights groups for the Vucjak camp, built on a former landfill near the Croatian border in an area with landmines from the 1990s war, where migrants lived without heating, running water or toilets.

    Last December, authorities dismantled the Vucjak camp and transferred hundreds of people who were living at the site to a new camp near Sarajevo.

    Bosnia closes ’jungle’ migrant camp
    Bosnia on Wednesday (11 December) dismantled tents at the makeshift migrant camp known as the “jungle” for its harsh conditions, after transferring hundreds of people who were living at the site to Sarajevo.

    However, human rights organisations remain concerned about the capacity of Bosnian authorities to support the increasing number of refugees and migrants arriving into the country.

    “It’s simply difficult to see how now, in the crisis conditions, the local government is going to get organised so quickly and in a week do something that they have not been able to do over the past two years,” said Sesar.

    Authorities are procuring 40 tents which are each able to accommodate up to 50 people.

    “Such tents are already used in other camps. They don’t offer much privacy and there’s certainly no place for self-isolation or social distancing, the measures that are necessary to reduce the spread of the virus,” Sesar warned.

    Another issue is the safe transport of thousands of refugees to the new site while keeping distancing measures to prevent new infections.

    “At a time when governments across Europe have started thinking about releasing people from migration detention in order to decongest these areas where people are confined together and therefore at greater risk, Bosnia is doing the opposite,” said Sesar.

    “While finding adequate housing for refugees and migrants sleeping outdoors is certainly welcome and necessary, Bosnian authorities must ensure that this new camp gives maximum protection by providing access to clean water, sanitation and essential healthcare, as well as resources to ensure necessary physical distancing.”

    The EU on Wednesday (8 April) announced a €15.6 billion support package for foreign countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with €2.8 billion earmarked for research, health and water systems, which includes supporting equal access to health systems for migrants, refugees and host communities.

    However, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell confirmed that “there is no fresh money,” and that funding will come from reallocation of existing funds and programmes.

    EU unveils €15bn COVID rescue plan, but includes no new money
    The EU unveiled on Wednesday (8 April) a support package worth €15.6 billion for African and other partner countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but conceded that it includes no new money.

    Inside the bloc, the EU has been pushing to relocate vulnerable migrants to hotels and accommodation that are currently left empty during the pandemic.

    “What we should do now is to immediately evacuate the most vulnerable individuals out of these camps so that they can be secured in hotel rooms or apartments and not be affected if the virus breaks out in these camps,” home affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Deutsche Welle.

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/refugees-left-behind-in-coronavirus-crisis-aid-groups-warn

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Migrants Sleeping Rough in Bosnia Moved to Camp With Medical Services

    Migrants who were previously squatting in abandoned buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina began moving into a temporary camp near Bihać on April 21 as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, UN officials said. Peter Van der Auweraert, Western Balkans Coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), tweeted video from the camp at Lipa, saying the new guests would have access to shelter, doctors, food, and new clothes. The camp, which can reportedly accommodate up to 1,000 people, was erected with funds from the European Union and the United States, Van der Auweraert said. According to Bosnia news agency Fena, police were prioritizing migrants sleeping in abandoned buildings and on the streets of Bihać. All migrants passed through a “disinfection tunnel” and were screened for COVID-19 and other illnesses with the help of local Red Cross teams, Van der Auweraert added. Following the initiative of the Bihać City authorities and due to the need to establish additional accommodation for migrants and refugees who were stranded in different types of informal accommodation throughout the Una-Sana Canton, the emergency tent camp Lipa is ready to accommodate up to 1,000 persons following the finalization of the preparatory and construction works on site. Credit: Peter Van der Auweraert, IOM via Storyful

    https://www.news.com.au/national/migrants-sleeping-rough-in-bosnia-moved-to-camp-with-medical-services/video/9b49a6c59b3f5777539bb2705a8df776

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lipa #camp #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • USC police have begun relocating migrants to the Lipa camp near BIhać

    BIHAĆ, April 21 (FENA) - The police of the Una-Sana Canton (USC) this morning has begun the operation of relocating migrants to a newly opened reception camp at Lipa site, located between Bihać and Bosanski Petrovac.

    As announced, the police will primarily escort and transport migrants staying in abandoned facilities and on the streets of Bihać.

    Police officers are currently relocating more than a hundred people who have previously stayed at the stadium of the Jedinstvo Football Club and the nearby city promenade in Bihać. It has also been confirmed that medical teams have been engaged that will conduct a triage when entering the Lipa camp.

    Following the initiative of the Bihać City authorities and due to the need to establish additional accommodation for migrants and refugees who were stranded in different types of informal accommodation throughout the Una-Sana Canton, the emergency tent camp Lipa is ready to accommodate up to 1,000 persons following the finalization of the preparatory and construction works on site.

    After the initial funding provided from the budget of the City of Bihać, the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided financial assistance to establish an isolation camp where the migrants and refugees, who have been previously without medical care, will be attended.

    This is particularly relevant because of the current situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Emergency tent camp Lipa is equipped with all necessary infrastructure to provide the beneficiaries with basic humanitarian needs in the form of accommodation, food, hygiene, sanitation and medical care.

    http://fena.ba/article/1149995/usc-police-have-begun-relocating-migrants-to-the-lipa-camp-near-bihac

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Camp #Lipa #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Migrants Sleeping Rough in Bosnia Moved to Camp With Medical Services

    Migrants who were previously squatting in abandoned buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina began moving into a temporary camp near Bihać on April 21 as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, UN officials said.

    Peter Van der Auweraert, Western Balkans Coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), tweeted video from the camp at Lipa, saying the new guests would have access to shelter, doctors, food, and new clothes. The camp, which can reportedly accommodate up to 1,000 people, was erected with funds from the European Union and the United States, Van der Auweraert said.

    According to Bosnia news agency Fena, police were prioritizing migrants sleeping in abandoned buildings and on the streets of Bihać.

    All migrants passed through a “disinfection tunnel” and were screened for COVID-19 and other illnesses with the help of local Red Cross teams, Van der Auweraert added.

    Following the initiative of the Bihać City authorities and due to the need to establish additional accommodation for migrants and refugees who were stranded in different types of informal accommodation throughout the Una-Sana Canton, the emergency tent camp Lipa is ready to accommodate up to 1,000 persons following the finalization of the preparatory and construction works on site. Credit: Peter Van der Auweraert, IOM via Storyful

    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/migrants-sleeping-rough-bosnia-moved-181812508.html

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #camp #Lipa #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane

  • Bosnia Herzegovina: Bosnian Serbs protest new migrant camp

    Political representatives of the Federation’s Bosnian Serb community have called on the authorities of the Una-Sana Canton not to build a camp for migrants on the basis that the mostly Muslim immigrants will pose a threat to them.

    There is already a migrant center in the Federation near Bihac, the largest town in Una-Sana, but approximately 3,000 migrants are currently without accommodations. The authorities want to expedite the building of a new tent camp for them due to fears about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), according to a report at Balkan Insight.

    The proposed camp would be constructed near the village of Lipa, where ethnic Serbs who returned following the Bosnian War in the 1990s reside. It’s possible that the camp could be set up within the next few days, once tents and basic utilities are provided.

    The Serbs believe that the migrants, many of whom are Muslim, would pose a threat to their livelihoods and way of life. Also, many of the Serbs themselves live under rough conditions, and would not appreciate seeing resources given to people who are not even in the country legally.

    Djordje Radanovic, the Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Serb Rights in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that such a camp would be an “insult” to Serbs, adding that “bringing migrants from Bihac to Lipa would further worsen the situation in the village and discourage the possible return of Serbs, because local authorities have not yet provided them with basic necessities for a normal life.”

    The Committee has filed a criminal complaint against Bihac’s Mayor, Sufret Fazlic, for proposing the new camp. Others have said that the local authorities do not have the power to order such a camp to be built in the first place. Fazlic has responded that the measure is necessary in order to prevent the migrants from spreading the coronavirus to the local population.

    Like most of Europe, Bosnia and Herzegovina is already under lockdown in response to the pandemic. Last week, the Federation’s Minister of Security ordered authorities to begin removing migrants from the streets and relocate them to reception centers, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.

    https://voiceofeurope.com/2020/03/bosnia-herzegovina-bosnian-serbs-protest-new-migrant-camp

    #Covid-19 #Migrants #Migrations #Balkans #Bosnie-Herzégovine #camp #Lipa #Xénophobie #Retour #Serbes #Unasanacanton #Fédérationcroatomusulmane