#krnjaca

#Midnight_Traveler

http://d1023456-2104.hosting.hegerys.com/projet/multimedia/film/35676.jpg

Lorsque les talibans mettent sa tête à prix, le réalisateur afghan Hassan Fazili est forcé de prendre la fuite avec sa femme et ses deux jeunes filles. Saisissant leur parcours incertain à l’aide de trois smartphones, Fazili montre à la fois le danger et le désespoir auxquels sont confrontés les réfugiés demandeurs d’asile mais aussi l’immense amour qui le lie à sa famille.

« Lorsque les talibans mettent sa tête à prix, le réalisateur afghan Hassan Fazili, sa femme et leurs deux filles sont contraints de fuir leur pays. Leur crime ? Avoir ouvert un café proposant des activités culturelles. D’abord réfugiés au Tadjikistan, l’impossibilité d’obtenir l’asile les pousse à prendre à nouveau la route, cette fois pour l’Europe. Commence alors un périple incertain et dangereux qui les met à la merci des passeurs. Pendant trois ans, Hassan Fazili filme sa famille et leur vie d’attente, de peur, d’ennui. Cinéaste sans autre caméra que son téléphone portable, il filme la lutte quotidienne qu’est devenue leur existence, ses filles qui grandissent dans des camps de transit, et l’amour qui les unit. Il filme pour ne pas être oublié. Il filme pour ne pas devenir fou. Ce désir impérieux de créer, même dans les pires conditions, Midnight Traveler nous le fait partager avec une intensité rare. Pour nos yeux tristement accoutumés aux images des migrants, le film est non seulement une odyssée familiale bouleversante, mais aussi une réflexion sur la nature et le pouvoir de ces images. »

▻http://www.film-documentaire.fr/4DACTION/w_actualite_film/55325

–-> film réalisé avec un téléphone portable

#film #film_documentaire #documentaire

#Tadjikistan #migrations #talibans #Afghanistan #Hassan_Fazili #asile #réfugiés #réfugiés_afghans #Iran #Qom #frontière_Iran-Turquie #Iran #Turquie #Istanbul #Bulgarie #Sofia #passeurs #camps_de_réfugiés #Ovcha_Kupel #Dimitrovgrad #forêt #Belgrade #Serbie #route_des_Balkans #Krnjaca #Hongrie #Röszke #centre_de_transit

Réfugiés en #Serbie : isolement total dans les #centres_d’accueil

Ils sont 9000 réfugiés et demandeurs d’asile, enfermés depuis le 15 mars dans les centres d’accueil en Serbie, placés sous la garde de l’armée, au nom des mesures de confinement destinés à lutter contre le Covid-19. Les ONG évoquent une situation humanitaire catastrophique et dénoncent des mesures anticonstitutionnelles et discriminatoires.

« Personne ne peut dire que les conditions de vie sont bonnes », déplore Nanayao, originaire du Ghana, enfermé dans le Centre d’accueil de demandeurs d’asile de #Krnjača, près de Belgrade, depuis le 15 mars et la proclamation de l’état d’urgence en Serbie. « Pour notre sécurité, je ne vois rien de mal dans les mesures prises visant à empêcher que nos familles et nous-mêmes entrions en contact avec ce virus dangereux, mais ici, on n’est pas bien. Jusqu’à présent on pouvait sortir et rentrer à notre guise. À présent, c’est interdit. »

En isolement total dans des centres aux quatre coins de la Serbie, près de 9000 réfugiés, migrants et demandeurs d’asile peuvent uniquement se promener dans leurs enceintes. Depuis le 15 mars, les centres sont même surveillés par l’armée. Tous les migrants et réfugiés qui dormaient dehors ont été transférés dans des camps par l’armée et la police. Selon le Commissariat pour les réfugiés, les centres d’accueil, prévus pour héberger 6000 personnes au total, en accueillent aujourd’hui 8839.

« Faute de place, on a installé des chapiteaux et des tentes avec un accès à l’eau potable et des toilettes », précise un porte-parole du Commissariat pour les réfugiés. « Les migrants ont droit à trois repas chauds par jour. Deux centres temporaires ont été ouverts à #Morović, près de la frontière avec la Croatie, et à #Miratovac, dans le sud du pays, tandis que le centre d’accueil de #Divljana, au sud-est du pays, est à nouveau opérationnel. »

Camps surpeuplés, régime semi-carcéral

Tout en reconnaissant que les mesures strictes « se sont avérées efficaces puisqu’aucun cas de contagion du coronavirus n’a été constaté parmi les migrants », les ONG soulignent que certains camps sont surpeuplés et que la situation est en train de se dégrader. En témoignent deux récentes tentatives d’évasion à #Adaševci, le camp établi dans une ancienne station-service de l’autoroute, près de la frontière serbo-croate, et à Krnjača, au cours desquelles l’armée serbe a tiré en l’air « pour calmer la situation », selon le ministre de la Défense Aleksandar Vulin. « Un scandale humanitaire absolu », dénonce Gordan Paunović, de l’ONG Info Park.

Le 15 mars, toutes les activités des ONG ont été suspendues, sauf celles qui luttent directement pour la prévention et contre la propagation de la maladie. « Nous continuons à fournir du conseil légal par téléphone sur la procédure de demande d’asile, ainsi qu’une assistance psychosociale, qui est très importante en ce moment », explique Mirjana Milenkovski, chargée des relations publiques du Bureau du Haut-Commissariat des Nations-unies pour les réfugiés (UNHCR) à Belgrade.

« De nombreux demandeurs d’asile qui travaillaient pour des ONG ont été licenciés, tandis que les enfants ne peuvent pas suivre les cours à distance ’organisés par les écoles serbes », note l’UNHCR. « Comme en Grèce et dans d’autres pays, l’UNHCR est prêt à soutenir la Serbie pour trouver un logement alternatif et mieux sécurisé pour les demandeurs d’asile, les enfants non-accompagnés et ceux séparés de leurs parents sur la route. »

« Toutes les organisations s’efforcent de maintenir leurs activités et d’identifier des méthodes alternatives, mais rien ne peut remplacer le contact physique avec la personne qui a besoin d’un tel soutien », insiste pourtant Gordan Paunović. « Des dizaines de gens nous sollicitent pour recevoir de l’aide par téléphone. Toutes les conversations se terminent par la même question : quand est-ce que tout ça va finir ? Ces gens sont pratiquement emprisonnés. »

Des mesures anticonstitutionnelles ?

L’ONG Initiative A11 a lancé une initiative d’examen de la constitutionnalité de l’article 3 du décret prescrivant les mesures d’#état_d’urgence qui a imposé l’isolement total dans les centres. L’organisation envisage aussi de déposer une #plainte contre le gouvernement serbe. « Au-delà de la décision inconstitutionnelle et illégale de priver tous les citoyens de cette #liberté, le problème réside aussi dans les critères discriminatoires sur lesquels elle est fondée, ces personnes ayant été défavorisées uniquement en raison de leur statut », s’indigne Danilo Ćurčić de l’Initiative A11. « On n’explique pas pourquoi ils sont enfermés dans des centres surpeuplés où l’on ne peut pas surveiller l’application des mesures contre la propagation de la contagion et d’autres mesures sanitaires. »

L’Union européenne a annoncé qu’elle fournirait des couvertures, des matelas et des tentes. L’UNHCR s’attache à son tour à aider. « Jusqu’à présent, les Nations-unies et l’UNHCR ont surtout fourni des produits d’hygiène », affirme Mirjana Milenkovski. « Nous travaillons tous pour améliorer la connexion Wi-Fi. Il n’a effectivement jamais été si important qu’ils aient accès à Internet pour pouvoir rester informés. De petits magasins ont aussi ouvert dans certains centres. Cela ne peut certainement pas remplacer la liberté de circulation, les sorties et les promenades, mais on essaie de leur faciliter le quotidien le plus possible. »

Alors que le gouvernement serbe commence à assouplir les mesures de confinement, les réfugiés et les migrants restent en isolement total. Le Commissariat pour les réfugiés assure que des mesures de #déconfinement des camps sont actuellement à l’examen et qu’« elles seront adoptées à temps, en tenant compte la sécurité des migrants et des citoyens de Serbie ».

▻https://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Refugies-en-serbie-isolement-total-dans-les-centres-d-accueil
#isolement #covid-19 #coronavirus #asile #migrations #réfugiés #Krnjaca #Morovic #Adasevc #surpopulation #discrimination #liberté_de_mouvement

ping @luciebacon

AYS Weekend Digest 11–12/04/20

GREECE

Coast guard ordered to prevent any crossing from Turkey
Following news from Turkey (see above), Greek media went into a frenzy on a possible second wave of what they like to call “the Turkish invasion”. According to these racist and colonial rhetorics, people on the move are nothing more than pawns used by Turkey to destroy Greek and European civilisation. The Greek coastguard has received orders to stay alert, “prevent any vessel carrying migrants from entering Greek territorial waters” and avoid any crossing from Turkey “on grounds of national security and public health”, Giorgos Christides reports.
Since early February, Greek media have embraced war-like rhetoric and fake news in their coverage of people on the move in the country. Not only have they been described as ‘biological weapons’ armed by Turkey, but the number of positive Covid-19 tests are constantly given in separate figures for “citizens” and “non-citizens”. A racist attitude that is expanding to other groups:

Criminal complaint filed against Greek coast guard for push-backs from Samos coast

Greece: CHIOS
No running water in Vial camp, Chios
From Jenny Zinovia Kali, in the Solidarity in Chios group:
Μessages keep coming from the residents of Vial about the unacceptable conditions they are experiencing in the camp despite the pandemic.
As of yesterday, VIAL does not have running water. People can neither shower nor wash their hands. The mothers have no water to clean the little ones.
Even worse, the administration has also banned the distribution of basic necessities to voluntary groups outside Vial, but no distributions have taken place since the pandemic started from Vial’s first reception. So the residents do not have any sanitary ware, diapers, sanitary napkins, etc.
How do you ask 6000 people — roughly — to follow the protection measures when they don’t provide them with the basics ??????

Greece: LESVOS
Hunger strike in Moria’s PRO.KE.KA carries on
As reported by Deportation Monitoring Aegean, the prisoners detained in Moria pre-removal detention centre (PRO.KE.K.A) in Lesvos have been on hunger strike since 5th April 2020. The PRO.KE.K.A hunger strikers demand their immediate release to avoid the disastrous consequences of a virus outbreak in the prison.

As we previously reported, this week one boy was killed in Moria camp. Violence and fights erupted in the following hours. Nonetheless, the self-organised Moria White Helmets and the Moria Corona Awareness team are continuing to do what they can to improve the conditions in the camp. People are reportedly scared to line in queues for food and water and on Friday they held a large peaceful protest demanding safety, protection and the evacuation of everybody.

While UNHCR is reportedly looking for hotels and ships on the eastern Greek islands to house vulnerable people from RICs, it is also reported that West Lesvos Municipality “grudgingly” accepted to restore and reopen the “old” Stage-2 transit camp in Skala Sykamnias as a quarantine facility to house new arrivals. This was used until the beginning of the year, but it was closed following a decision of the same municipality. It was later attacked by arsonists in March.

GREECE: Samos
Med’EqualiTeam is looking for doctors and nurses on Samos
We need your help!
Med’EqualiTeam is the only medical NGO on the Greek island of Samos offering primary healthcare to the 7000+ refugee population. Focusing on triage, treatment and wound care, the team sees currently up to 100 patients per day.
The team are urgently looking for doctors and nurses who can stay 1 month or more.
(All new team members must self-isolate for 2 weeks upon arrival to ensure safety of patients.)
Please apply on ▻https://www.medequali.team/de/volunteer/application

GREECE: Athens
More reports of racial profiling and police violence during so-called Covid-19 checks
One young man was stopped, beaten, humiliated and had his papers destroyed in Athens. Read the full report (in Greek and English) HERE

SERBIA
People are once again being placed in Miratovac and Krnjača camps.

A local solidarity group reports that the situation in Serbia is increasingly tense. Corona virus has allowed the Government to close the camps, turning them into jails. The army is stationed outside while inside there are the Comisariat, a department of the police. There are reports that a child was hit by one of the workers this week, which was followed by the presence of armed police using tear gas as we reported last week. Local activists are calling on people to spread the news of what is happening.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Violence Continues in camps and at borders
Local groups report that workers from the private security agency that is involved in the camp Blažuj have physically attacked people staying at the camp. When they stood up against this violence, the police were brought in.
When people try to leave these conditions and cross over into Croatia, further violence awaits for them.

▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-weekend-digest-11-12-04-2020-how-many-have-to-die-for-europe-sins-7157f1

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Grèce #Xénophobie #Chios #Vial #Camp #Lesbos #Moria #Grèvedelafaim #Révolte #Violence #Quarantaine #Skalasykamnias #Samos #Athènes #Miratovac #Krnjaca #Serbie #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Blažuj

AYS Daily Digest 10/04/2020: Police violence in Serbian refugee camp

Feature
The Asylum Protection Center in Serbia reports that a 14-year-old boy from Syria approached camp administrators at the Krajaca refugee camp, located 10km from Belgrade, to request his pyjamas but was then physically assaulted by the employee.
The news of the young boy’s assault by the staff at the refugee camp angered many of the camp’s residents, who headed to the gate of the camp to complain and wait for the police under the belief that the police would assist them in seeking justice.
At 3 pm a large group of police officers arrived at the camp entrance, with initial reports indicating the arrival of 10 police cars. An announcement rang out across the camp demanding that everyone return back to their rooms.
The police marched through the camp and started to arrest people. It is believed they were using a list provided by the camp officials to find and locate individuals. Reports from inside the camp indicate the police used gas and excessive violence resulting in multiple injuries including a suspected broken arm. The videos show people including women and children running from their buildings coughing and covering their faces because of the gas, with one woman fainting outside the building.
The Asylum Protection Center reports the camp residents did not get an explanation of what the gas was and why the use of this gas and violence was necessary. Two buses of people were taken from the camp, but it is unclear as to why or where they were taken.

Greece
After placing two refugee and migrant camps into lockdown, the Greek health authorities have additionally placed quarantine measures onto a Roma settlement in Larissa. The Roma settlement houses an estimated 3,000 people of which 18 people have so far tested positive.
Speaking to the state-run Athens-Macedonian News Agency, Mayor Apostolos Kalogiannis said this incident “confirms the worst-case scenario”.
Info migrants have recently published a list of helpful services, NGOs and aid groups that migrants and refugees can turn to in times of need. The full list includes organisations that can assist unaccompanied minors, help facilitate medical care for people without documents, provide food distribution and general outreach.
Caritas Greece: The Catholic charity provides social support services to migrants and refugees. Their activities include the distribution of food and clothes as well as educational and psychological support services. The main office is in Athens, and 10 additional regional offices are spread throughout Greece. Contact them on Facebook — CaritasHellas — or call +30 210 52 47879.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has expanded its activities in Greece in response to COVID-19. The organization is active on Lesbos and Samos as well as in Athens. Their activities include “vaccinating migrant children against common childhood diseases, providing sexual and reproductive healthcare, treating chronic diseases and providing care for victims of torture and sexual violence.” Contact MSF on Facebook or call +30 21 0520 0500
Solidarity Clinics (KIFA): The solidarity clinics operate throughout Greece and are funded by NGOs and private donations. They offer free treatment and medicines to undocumented migrants as well as to people who have insurance but still cannot afford medication.
For a full list of organisations please follow the link:
Help for refugees and undocumented migrants in Greece
Many migrants and refugees are struggling to get by in Greece. The coronavirus pandemic has made things even worse, as…

Following the death of a young boy in the Moria camp, hundreds of people have decided to peacefully protest against the camp’s current security situation. Demonstrators held banners saying “Moria is not safe for Hazara people” and “We want rights and security”. The anger and frustration of the camp residents come after a continuing deterioration of the situation within the camp, with three tents having caught fire and one young boy tragically dying within the last 24 hours.
Videos uploaded by the Moria Corona Awareness team show people peacefully sitting on the ground. One participant of the protest explains:
“We are here together to make a peaceful demonstration, as there are a lot of problems inside the camp. So we don’t want any more fighting, war and anarchism inside the camp. So our demand from the Greek organizations, the Greek government, from UNICEF and other organizations that are all working for the refugees, our demand is that Moria is not safe for every refugee from every camp. Last night we lost a young boy, a minor aged 16 because we didn’t have good medical care here, the boy was bleeding a lot. Because of the bleeding, he died.”

▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-daily-digest-10-04-2020-police-violence-in-serbian-refugee-camp-71f045fa

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Serbie #Krnjaca #Incident #Révolte #Grèce #Roms #Larissa #Moria #ilesgrecques

Info Park Weekly 8– 14 April 2020

Flashback

Serbia
➢ In the reporting period, Info Park identified 109 new arrivals to Belgrade - mostly from Afghanistan, followed by Pakistan and Syria. The number shows that COVID- 19 pandemic and the imposed state of emergency did not prevent migrants from coming to Serbia. Given no local or national public transport, the new arrivals completely depend on smugglers’ networks. This was proven by the arrest in Vranje of a local with 9 migrants he transported. In the reporting period, 90 of the newly arrived benefited from Info Park services and a provision of a warm meal during waiting time for transportation to camps. All of them were temporarily accommodated overnight in OSP Miksalište, expecting adequate referral, mainly to a new makeshift camp in Miratovac for 28 days long quarantine, or to a newly open tent camp in the village of Morović (Vojvodina, near the border with Croatia) originally planned to quarantine the locals, with dubious hygienic standards. Given that the overcrowding remained the main issue with nearly 9,000 residents in the camps originally built for 6,000, it was not surprising that Miratovac RC got filled up with 280 migrants in mere 24 hours upon opening.
➢ Serbia registers a constant rise of confirmed COVID-19 cases (tested: 20,958; confirmed cases: 4,054; deaths: 85) making refugees and all other migrants even more concerned about their safety. Dr. Predrag Kon, lead Serbian epidemiologist, said that Roma and migrant population are at higher risk from COVID-19 since they are accommodated in collective centers often lacking adequate conditions for successful prevention. So far, there are no infected among these communities. However, it is encouraging that medical workers continued testing migrants, treating them as equal as Serbian nationals.
➢ Situation in some of the Serbia’s biggest reception and asylum centers did not get any calmer in the past week. On contrary, a further rise of tensions has continued in Krnjača AC, peaking with a riot police intervention on Saturday 12 April which was carried out with an aim to detain the perpetrators of Monday 7 incident we already reported in Weekly 012. Unfortunately, as reported by various witnesses, the police used excessive force including tear gas in an inappropriate manner so unnecessary stress was put on vulnerable population, including children. Two buses of “troublemakers” were sent to newly open camp Morović. It seems that a relation of trust between beneficiaries and authorities is currently on an extremely low level; most of the refugees and migrants in Krnjača AC complain that MoI special units sadly continued intimidating beneficiaries with loud night visits of riot police or helicopters flying low above the camp.
➢ After a long break, the first serious pushback from Serbia was reported on the border with North Macedonia. A group of migrants from Tutin AC (from Algeria, Morocco and Iran) was told by the camp authorities they will be transported to Preševo RC, south of Serbia; instead they were pushed 350km away to a North Macedonia territory near Lojane village. This was a regular practice before 2018, especially with mischiefs from Preševo camp. Lojane village is a long-term smuggling hub and organize crime stronghold.
Hungary
➢ A number of intercepted attempts to cross the Serbo-Hungarian border remained
low, with 48 attempts for 7 days, ranging between 1 and 11 per day.
Info Park
➢ Info Park remained its daily presence in Belgrade Savamala area and continued the outreach operations in Pirot and Bujanovac camps with 4 information sharing workshops last week. We are happy to report a reasonably peaceful atmosphere in these camps where almost none of the gaps and issues typical for big camps are noticeable thanks to significant efforts of the SCRM staff and proactive approach of the clients.
Last week, Info Park organized the 7th coordination meeting online, with the participation of representatives from Atina, Praxis, CYI and CRPC. The main topics included current state of emergency and Covid-19 crisis response. None of them have plans of coming back to the field work in the coming weeks, at least not before May.
Greece
➢ The emergency suspension of asylum applications between 1 and 31 March has ended and got replaced by general suspension of activities of the Greek Asylum Service until at the end of April. Meanwhile, Malakasa camp, north of Athens has been quarantined due to a confirmed corona virus case. This is the second Greek camp which had to be closed over the pandemic.
Europe
➢ Nine European member states (Germany, France, Portugal, Finland, Lithuania, Croatia, Ireland, Belgium and Bulgaria) pledged in early 2020 to accept a total of 1,600 unaccompanied children to be relocated from camps on the Greek islands. Germany is the first to fulfil the promise. According to DW, German officials have expressed regret over the lackluster response from other eight EU states on resettling unaccompanied boys and girls. Two non-EU countries, Switzerland and Serbia, also pledged to do the same, but with no follow up so far. Serbian authorities agreed to relocate 100 unaccompanied children from Greece.

Info Park Weekly 08-14 April 2020 5

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Grèce #Serbie #RépubliquedeMacédoine #Refoulement #Frontières #Camps #Transfert ##Belgrade #Miksaliste #Morovic #Croatie
#Miratovac #Presevo #Krnjaca #Encampement #Tutin #Lojane #Pirot #Bujanovac #Malakasa #Suspensionasile #Allemagne, #France, #Portugal, #Finlande,#Lituanie, #Croatie #Irlande, #Belgique and #Bulgarie #Révolte

Movement Ban Worsens Migrants’ Plight in #Serbia, #Bosnia-and-Herzegovina

▻https://balkaninsight.com/2020/04/09/movement-ban-worsens-migrants-plight-in-serbia-bosnia

Ivana Jeremic, Milica Stojanovic and Anja VladisavljevicBelgrade, Zagreb BIRN April 9, 202013:08

The complete ban of moving in and out of #camps imposed in the current pandemic has left those locked inside them feeling more isolated, frustrated and information-starved than ever.
Local and international #organisations that assist migrants and refugees are no longer able to enter reception centres in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the complete ban on movement in and out of the camps related to the #COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides leaving the people in the camps in a state of forced #isolation and inactivity, these organisations warn that it is also leading to a lack of information and support which, combined with the ban on movement, could lead to incidents.

Serbia imposed a state of quarantine on all its reception centres on March 17. Since then, people have not been allowed out of the centres unless it is to seek medical care, or with special permission. The ban works both ways, so no staff from rights organization can enter the facilities either.

It has left the migrants and asylum-seekers inside without support, help or information, the director of the #Belgrade -based NGO Asylum Protection Center, Rados Djurovic, said.

“Since the crisis began, for almost a month, access has been denied to anyone providing psychological, legal or other assistance, so they have no activities and are locked in the camps,” Djurovic told BIRN.

Instead, the camp inmates “receive information through social networks and by phone contact with some of us”, he added.

Media reports say at least two violent incidents have occurred in the last few days among migrants and asylum-seekers in centres in Serbia, one in #Krnjaca and the other in #Obrenovac, both in the wider area of Belgrade. Reports said #police and the #armée had to intervene to calm things down.

“The problem here is that these people have been quarantined (#quarantaine) for 24 hours a day for almost a month now,” Djurovic told BIRN. “These people are completely shut inside in all the centres … and they have needs that can hardly be met in this way, so it causes a lot of fear and … affects their psycho-physical condition,” he added.

The number of people affected by the quarantine measures in camps in Serbia is not small. On April 4, Serbia’s Commissariat for Refugees and Migrants said the camps in Serbia hosted a total of 8,703 persons.

Djurovic said the measures imposed or recommended for Serbian citizens, especially when it comes to social distancing, were clearly not being applied to migrants and asylum-seekers cooped up in close proximity to one another in camps.

“This is a group that is completely sidelined. Measures are being implemented for them that at first glance are the opposite of what our citizens are told, like [the need for] social distancing,” he said.

“Everyone is put in one basket here, they are secured under arms and do not get enough information or enough protection,” Djurovic told BIRN.

A video that BIRN has seen, sent by a person located in a centre in the town of Obrenovac, shows a lot of people waiting in a close line for food and then having their dinner in a crowded area. There is no social distancing.

Bosnia’s crowded camps have only got worse:

In neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the movement of migrants and refugees is also restricted as a result of the pandemic, creating additional problems in already overcrowded reception centres.

Bosnia’s #Una-SanaCanton, in the west of the country, near the border with EU-member Croatia, has been hardest hit by the migrant crisis, owing to the number of people piling up there, hoping to cross over into the EU.

On March 16, the Crisis Staff of the canton’s Health, Labour and Social Policy ministry ordered “a complete restriction on the movement of migrants outside the temporary centres”, which are estimated to hold about 2,000 persons.

“It is forbidden to transport migrants by any means of transport – train, bus, van, taxi, etc – to the Una-Sana Canton, or use transportation in the Una-Sana Canton. In addition … the entry of migrants on foot into the Una-Sana Canton is prohibited,” the authorities said.

IPSIA, an Italian NGO that has been working in Bosnia since 1997 and is helping migrants and refugees in the northwestern town of #Bihac, said it feared migrants camping in squats and improvised camps could end up living in even more dangerous conditions.

“The police in any case cannot monitor whether the migrants are respecting these measures because of the large number of people [staying] outside the camps,” IPSIA told BIRN.

“In general, the situation in the Bihac camps is not bad, even if it is somehow boring and sad, since many organizations cannot work inside them, as group activities and workshops can no longer be done,” it said.

“Many NGOs in the camps have had to suspend their activities in the field, but are still working at a distance –for example [by providing], legal or psychological support,” it added.

The #SarajevoCanton, which includes the Bosnian capital and various nearby towns and villages, has also imposed restrictions on the movement of migrants and ordered them into temporary reception centres.

On April 8, the #Sarajevo Cantonal police told the media that they were actively working to remove migrants from the streets to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading.

The canton’s Interior Ministry said the police would “carry out direct external security and checking of migrant centres in the Sarajevo Canton” and would “continue the activity of relocating migrants who may be found outside the reception centres”.

Can’t go out to buy food or tobacco:

The International Organization for Migration, #IOM, which manages temporary reception centres for migrants and refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told BIRN it had so far found no cases of the coronavirus among the roughly 6,500 migrants held in them.

But IPSIA said that situation was “frustrating” for migrants and refugees due to restrictions on the “basic right of freedom of movement, even if at this moment nobody has so much freedom because of COVID-19”, because they “can’t go to buy the food they like or recharge phone credits or buy cigarettes”.

It said that the IOM had come up with a temporary solution for some camps in the area, such as #Miral, #Sedra and #Bira, however. Here, private companies (#compagniesprivées) are now bringing in food in vans and selling it to people for regular prices.

With the cooperation of the IOM, IPSIA volunteers are helping migrants and refugees in the Borici camp, located on the outskirts of Bihac, by buying supplies for them from the local supermarket.

The restrictions on the movement of migrants have also had one another side-effect. Few migrants in Bosnia can now run the gauntlet of trying to cross the nearby border into #Croatia – a process known locally among migrants and refugees as “The Game”.

Are You Syrious Daily Digest 6/4/20

▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-daily-digest-6-4-20-riot-police-violently-raids-a-detention-centre-in-gr

70members of the riot police stormed a detention centre and were beating the confined people confined with batons. Reportedly, there are five people in a critical condition, many were injured and people had not been given food for a long time, according to the first reports that AYS and other groups received.
The most comprehensive report of the incident reads: The government and the Minister of Civil Protection are responsible for the barbaric crackdown on migrant protests over food in the midst of the corona pandemic. Not only are they cynically indifferent to the human lives of the 450 migrants held in the PRO.KE.K.A (Pre-removal Detention Centre), but they are endangering their health with bad food and that of poor nutrition quality.
On April 3, when the food arrived, they found that it was not eatable, and refused to eat it. This kind of food was simply “not for humans”.
Officials have promised that this will change, which did not happen, however.
Then, starting with a large group of Arab protesters came out of the cells, almost everybody went to the rooftop and started a hunger strike. This was followed by an attack of the police in full battle gear. The police took them out of the cells, hitting them with batons, while they also used electric tasers, as the people complained. Dozens of people were beaten for taking part while lying in the yard, it is reported.
They smashed the cameras on their phones so they can’t take pictures of the injuries. And they haven’t given them food since then. According to police sources, a man was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Underlying racism in official reporting

There is underlying racism in the way Greece reports about COVID-19, separating the report on the general number of infected people and the number of infected people inside the camps. It is clear that if COVID-19 is present in the camps, it came from outside the camps. These types of reports leave room for interpretations, and all kinds of conclusions and conspiracy theories that connect people on the move currently trapped in the camps with COVID-19. In this way they spread a dehumanizing rhetoric very present in governmental reporting, but also within the bureaucratic reports of the big organisations following their lead.

Illegal Deportations and Pushbacks to Turkey, Ordered by the Greek Government, Executed by the Greek Coast Guard
Aegean Boat Report reports:
“While the eyes of the world are occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, Greek government seems to be taking advantage of the situation, a new tactic to tackle flows towards the Greek Aegean islands has been implemented.
In the last weeks at least nine incidents of people being found drifting in the sea, in life rafts without propellant, has been reported by Turkish coast guard. This could easily have been disregarded as Turkish propaganda, if it hadn’t been for the evidence from Samos.
April 1th at 08.00 a boat landed on Mourtia Beach, Samos east, carrying approximately 25 people. There where several people on the beach this morning witnessing the landing, pictures, and videos was taken. Port police were called by a person on-site, later port police denied having received any information on such incident, and that no new arrivals had been reported on Samos.
Witnesses report that two boats from HCG arrived in Mourtia bay after the landing, the refugees were taken on one of the boats from port police, a boat took off heading southeast. A picture taken by a local journalist shows that two boats from HCG were in fact in Mourtia bay this morning, but port police deny that any of their vessels were in the area this morning.
The last boat that landed in Mourtia beach was February 19th, nevertheless, later this very day people who walk on this beach every day, found a rubber boat, engine, a fuel tank and clothes that weren’t there the day before. Port police told people who contacted them about this that there had been no arrivals, and that they should remember that it was April fools day.
Turkish Coast guard picked up 26 people 13.30 this same day, in a life raft that had drifted towards Aydin national park, 10 children, 6 women and 10 men. According to the statement from the passengers, obtained by TCG, they claimed that they had crossed to the island of Samos; were later rounded up by the Greek Coast guard, put on a life raft, and dragged to Turkish waters.
Pictures taken by locals from Mourtia Beach, compared to pictures taken by Turkish coast guard leaves no doubt, people photographed on Samos is the same that TCG found drifting in a raft outside Aydin national park. When we also take into account the statements from locals regarding this landing, the evidence is overwhelming.
If this had been an isolated incident, this could have been an HCG crew taking things in their own hands, but it’s not. Nine known cases in the last two weeks, from Simi in the south to Lesvos in the north, shows that this is not an isolated incident, this is boat crews acting on orders from the top.”

Due to a dispute between local government and the Greek Ministry of migration, 152 new arrivals on Lesvos are still stuck out in the open without any sufficient infrastructure which meets basic needs, such as electricity, toilets or other sanitary facilities, @f_grillmeier (Twitter) reported. 25 people of those 152 who also arrived after March 1 have been staying in a discarded bus at Mytilini Harbour close to an old swimming pool, but have now been tranferred to Kara Tepe.

56people are in tents and underneath broken boats close to Petra, 32 people are reportedly in staying tents at mountain-region of Agios Stefanos, 39 in a chapel close to Kliou, north. According to the media, the local government has not indicated a safe temporary place for those who have to quarantine for 14 days after arrival. The Ministry of Migration says that it is the responsibility of local authorities.

Anxiety and Despair Among People Confined in Camps Across the Country
As a consequence of the locked camps’ regime that seems to be unsustainable in the long run, as it is now, there is growing despair among the people held in the centres across Serbia, guarded by the army. The people staying in these camps are complaining that they are not allowed to provide their families and themselves with enough proper food for a healthier survival within the facilities in which they are held. They say that in the Krnjača camp there is a small shop with no clear pricing, and everything is much more expensive than in the other shops outside of the camp. They are forced to buy food in these shops which they claim are owned by some of the staff, and even there not everyone gets to have a chance to shop.

The SCRM introduced obligatory isolation for new arrivals sent to Preševo camp, which with a population of 1,501 making it the largest camp .
Growing mental health issues, gaps in service provision and supply, conflicts between different groups and the toxic influence of smugglers’ propaganda inspiring some to protest violently, these are some of the issues InfoPark documented from the testimonies of people held in these centres.

CROATIA
Pushbacks continue
Although the official sources claim the “pressure on the border” has reduced, and that there are not that many people trying to cross the green border into Croatia, the reports on pushbacks have not ceased. AYS has received information on several cases of pushbacks in the area close to Velika Kladuša in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, L’ ALTRA VOCE have recently shared an account of a pushback of a group of boys who tried to enter Croatia, but were beaten up and had their belongings taken away, they say. The images they sent them display heavily bruised arms and extremities on the boys’ bodies.
Sixteen cops beat them with great violence using steel bars. They insulted and beat them. Then they took everything away from him: cell phones, money, shoes, jackets. And they pushed them into the cold water of a river.

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Grèce #Détention #Camp #Racisme #Refoulement #Merégée #Turquie #Samos #Mourtia #Mythilène #karatepe #Agiosstefanos #Petra #Kliou #Klidi #Sintiki #Privatisation #Serbie #Armée #Presevo #Krnjaca #Santémentale #Croatie #Refoulement #Velikakladusa #Bosnie-Herzégovine

INFOPARK Weekly : 1 – 7 April 2020 - 012

Serbia

Beginning of April was marked with a significant deterioration of atmosphere in some of the camps, especially the big ones. Two massive fights occurred in Obrenovac RC (5 April) and Krnjaca AC (6 April) centers, involving up to 150 persons. In both incidents, the migrants tried to escape, the SCRM staff was attacked so gendarmerie and army had to intervene, including shooting live bullets in the air in Krnjača. Since yesterday, Obrenovac camp is loaded with a heavy presence of Ministry of Interior (MoI) forces controlling the situation, while Krnjača is guarded by armored vehicles. In many camps security forces scaled up the measures to prevent migrants from attempts to escape, although in smaller centers the situation remained calmer.

Info Park believes that negative developments came as a consequence of locked camps’ regime that seems to be unsustainable on a long run as it is now. Info Park learned from migrants about growing mental health issues, gaps in service provision and supply, conflicts between different ethnic groups and toxic influence of smugglers’ propaganda inspiring some to protest violently. At the end of this bulletin please kindly find enclosed an appendix on Mental Health of Refugees and Migrants written by Info Park protection expert Ivana Anđelković (PhD candidate at University of Nis, department of psychology).

As Serbia registers constant rise of COVID-19 cases (8,552 tested, 2,200 infected and death toll of 58), fortunately there is still no confirmed coronavirus among migrants in the country, even though migrant population is at higher risk being with limited access to information and healthcare services. Until this weekend, 8 migrants were tested, all negative. The SCRM introduced an obligatory isolation for new arrivals sent to Preševo camp which is the largest camp with 1,501 migrants currently placed.

Number of migrants in Serbia continued to slowly rise due to pushbacks from Hungary, returns from Bosnia and new arrivals. Currently, 8,743 migrants are in 17 camps. The Miratovac makeshift camp is completed but is still waiting for the first visitors.

The recently established anti-migrant Facebook group “STOP Naseljavanju migranata” (Stop Populating Migrants in Serbia) stirred a lot of controversy due to high presence of hate speech and fake news. One of the group founders from Obrenovac was detained for 48 hours following a report from a CyberCrime unit of MoI, after he publicly called for murdering migrants. The group was joined by 265,000 members in mere 10 days, marking an alarming rise of extreme right wing focused on migrant issue in Serbia.

After Bujanovac, Adasevci, Vranje and Principovac, migrants in Sombor Reception Center have also started sewing protective face masks for the employees of the Serbian Commissariat and themselves. This way they are not only contributing to the COVID-19 response but also sharing and returning solidarity and care.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

According to the Bosnian authorities and International Organization for Migration, there are no COVID-19 cases among thousands of migrants and refugees hosted in B&H centers. However, several hundred of those recently arrived are placed in isolation as a precautionary measure.

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Serbie #Camp #Obrenovac #Krnjaca #Armée #Gendarmerie #Violence #Infopark #Santémentale #Presevo #Refoulement #frontière #Hongrie #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Miratovac #Xenophobie #Violence #Bujanovac #Adasevci #Vranje #Principovac #Sombor