Migrants in Bosnia stuck in deplorable conditions

A growing number of migrants are taking a new Balkan route in an attempt to reach the European Union (EU). With the Serbian border with EU countries now virtually impassable, many have been attempting to reach Croatia via Bosnia and Herzegovina instead.

As a result, several thousand are now living in makeshift camps in two areas in the west of Bosnia: Velika Kladusa and Bihac. Many of them are from Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan and Iraq. The conditions in the camps are miserable.

“This is not a refugee camp. It was good in Serbia. We had food and received clothing and good tents there. Here, we have nothing,’ said Kasim from Pakistan, in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

Being stolen from and beaten up by Croatian police is a common experience the migrants in the camp share.

Haji, from Mosul, Iraq, came to Bosnia with his wife and two small children. He told DW that Croatian police took his mobile phone and 1,000 Euros. A Bosnian smuggler then tricked Haji, taking his remaining money but not taking the family across the border. Haji is not sure how he will now be able to reach the EU.

The migrants survived a harsh winter, thanks to local residents who provided them with shelter in their homes and cooked for them.

Now both towns Velika Kladusa and Bihac have set up temporary migrant shelters but there is no government funding for them. As a result, migrants in the centers receive just one meal a day – thanks to the donations of citizens and the help of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations.

“We need two to three thousand euros a day to be able to keep our work here,” said Husein Klicic of the Red Cross. “We are on the very edge of what is possible. And if we withdraw, this place will erupt into utter chaos,” he added.

The Bosnian government has said it will set up a camp in an abandoned factory site in Velika Kladusa, complete with heated tents and regular food supply. There is resistance from local authorities, however, who fear that this will become a permanent setup.

TMP – 02/08/2018

Photo caption: May 15, 2018 – Child in a migrant camp in Bosnia Herzegovina