Urgent call from Dimitrovgrad

There will be only 2 or 3 Volunteers left in Dimitrovgrad, who don’t even have a car, they are from Croatia and Canada, can translate Farsi and speak a bit of Croatian. Here in Dimitrovgrad there are 200 up to 300 mostly Afghan men, some women arriving here, the repression of the officials is getting worse, the prices of the busses rose from 35 to 40, so the refugees start walking to Pirot, Nis or even Belgrade. In the nigth it is around 3 degrees, probably less up there in the mountains.

Things we need: donations [warm clothes like jakets, shoes, socks, pants, hats, scarves, etc.], money for food and a CAR to get the stuff here and at least 4 people!!

Arrivals: Red /  Departures: Green

12 km from Brezice, Slovenia (Camp Dobova)

Report from last night:
Around 2.000 people are staying out in a farm field, with neither food nor water given to them. This area is only 100 meters away from the Croatian border. Some are warming their hands on little camp fires, only a few have blankets. Police are in riot gear, some carry machine guns. A helicopter is wheeling over the area, turning flashlights on the people. People are crying for water. From quite a distance, you hear them chanting: „Let us go!“
Police are kettling up the crowd, no one is allowed to enter except for three doctors from the Red Cross.
The helpers want to bring food and clothes but are only briefly allowed to do so – Police say it would cause riots. After two hours, we receive permission to distribute baby clothing, oranges and water. People are staying out, sleeping in the grass. The outside temperature is 1°C.
Fortunately, we manage to connect to Croatian activists and catch a large group of people, around 1.500, shortly before they enter the camp at Dobova. This makes it easier to provide them with food or water, since police aren’t around yet.

Later on, the police are guarding a large group away from the field, still holding them in a kettle, on a 12-km march to the camp in Brezice. We, as volunteers, now are permitted to at least hand out some waterbottles and carry two babies.

Both Dobova and Brezice (and seemingly other Slovenian camps, too) are by now being controlled and guarded by a Civil Task Force that practically prohibits any kind of volunteer help. You seem to have to get an accreditation.

Today, at around 11 am, the road is closed, the very field were people had to camp out is still being used to herd people together. Mounted police is present, around ten tanks (!) are arranged around the field.
Since the nearby bridge is closed, people are wading through the river that markes the border to come here.

At Brezice, no more tents are on fire.

Report from Moria / Lesbos by Infomobil

“Hot Spot” reminds of war zone

++Refugees left to survive in Moria under inhuman conditions++Vulnerable groups unprotected for days in war zone like areal++

2,500 persons can be registered daily in Moria according to local media, while more than 10,000 arrived within the last 24 hours. Refugees are queueing kilometers in and outside the registration camp that was originally constructed as a prison. At the same time the registration camp lacks any form of a functioning queuing system as well as dignified infrastructures and basic needs provision. Refugees are sitting and sleeping for hours between mud and garbage, being pushed by the crowd, insulted and beaten by police forces and sometimes even thrown tear gas. They get sick and injured under the life threatening living conditions in Moria.
Read the full report

News from a kitchen working at the spot:

• in the morning the UNHCR set up another tent
• at 6 pm a train with 1800 people arrived in Cakovec
• people were sent with buses to Sredisce
• 300 came to Petisovci, 1200 stayed, 300 to Brezice?
• at the night: 2000-4000 people apparently crossed the Croatian-Slovenian border by foot (Brogova / Dobrova)
• Brezice ist the main registration center, structures and support are there. Food is provided, but probably now warm food.
• NEEDED: men‘s clothes, shoes size 40 and taller, warm & rain clothes (jackets & coats)

News from a kitchen working at the spot:

• about 11 pm 5 buses with refugees arrived in Petisovsci (Slovenia) from Cakovec (Croatia)
• people got hot food & clothes & left over night again
• 10,000 people reached Croatia
• they don‘t seem to accept Slovenia‘s restriction of only 2,500 people per day, so more could come over

From No Border Zagreb:

Since Hungary effectively closed its border for migrants the route has been redirected by the Croatian state towards Slovenia. Slovenian government agreed to allow the passage as long as Austria and Germany keep their borders open, but only for up to 2500 persons per day (although, on saturdey they took in some 3600). This is supposedly the number for which they have a capacity to accommodate/process/transfer.

This would effectively mean a slowdown, as the average number of people crossing from Serbia to Croatia in the last weeks was around 5000 people per day. The consequences of this approach were felt from the first day: Croatian side slowed down the flow from the border with Serbia, which results in hundreds and eventually thousands of people stranded in the area of Sid/Berkasovo/Bapska/Tovarnik for longer and longer periods of time.

So, in a way, while we expected the worst case scenario of the chain-closings of the borders, we are seeing the effect of not the complete closure but a slowdown instead. While the part of the route on Croatia-Slovenia-Austria part seems to be going well for now (see the report from Slovenia below) as it is organised by state actors – with limited or no access for independent activists and taking away any autonomy of the migrants, we will see how the situation will develop on Croatia-Serbia border.

Already on Sunday we see desperate calls for volunteers from the area of Sid and Bapska, as a lot of activities moved to the area of Presevo where the needs were greater over the previous week. Even the RC in Opatovac camp seem to be in need for more volunteers. However, it looks like croatian government will only allow the crossing of a certain number of people from serbian side, for which they can provide accommodation space in the camp(s). After that, the same as Slovenia with Austria, the will allow in the same number of people as Slovenia takes in…

Report from the press conference of the Slovenian government

Boštjan Šefic, Ministry of Internal Affairs

– “yesterday was succesful without jams (3300 migrants have arrived), we took care of all of them (**comment from Fronta: As we know there was a very problematic jam at Obrežje yesterday where 6 buses had to wait for several hours; there was no infrastructure there (toilets, food, water)
– “because AUT has taken 600 the qouta of max. 2500 per day was met”
– “the train had to wait for the capacities of the arrival centers to be ready again”
– the stucture: Syria, Pakistan, Afganistan, Irak; 528 minors, 1355 women, 1417 men
– 4 Afgans asked for asylum!
Slovenia (2pm) weiterlesen →

The situation when it comes to refugee route through Slovenia:

State authorities established two types of centers, registration centers on the border with Croatia and accommodation centers on the border with Austria. Registration centers are Dolga vas, Petišovci, Središče ob Dravi, Gruškovje and Obrežje. Accommodation centers are Šentilj and Gornja Radgona. Registration centers are under the police authority, accommodation under Civil Protection.

Refugees travel by trains from Croatian Serbian border until Čakovec in Croatia. There they are divided in smaller groups and continue their journey either by buses to Dolga vas, Petišovci, Gruškovje and Obrežje either by train to Središče ob Dravi (the biggest group of around 1200 people). Registration takes place in big tents. Around one person in two minutes. Police takes photo and fingerprints. Although in Petišovci yesterday they did not take fingerprints due to problems with machine. Upon this they issue permit to stay for six months. This is permit issued to person that is in process of deportation but can not be deported for various reasons. In short time they are taken by buses to accommodation centers where they can have rest and are agin quite quickly escorted by foot to Austrian side of the border, where Austrian police receives them and submit them to another registration procedure. Austrian police than transports refugees to Graz and Vienna. It seem that cooperation between Austrian and Slovenia police is strengthened. In registration centers there is presence of Austrian police officers.
Slovenia weiterlesen →

Report from Dimitrovgrad

Dimitrovgrad urgently needs people! There are only six people and actually all of them want to leave as soon as possible (as soon as someone arrives).

The situation is pretty critical and also very scary. There are far to less volunteers at place providing tea, soup and blankets to 500-700 arriving people every day, a lot of them amilies. The built up two pavillons, one for cooking and one for shelter. Red Cross is there during the day with a mini camp but still leaving the place from the afternoon to the morning and not providing blankets. People have to wait up to 24 hours for busses to Belgrade.

Scary Locals have threatened volunteers and forced them to remove any information for refugees on their criminal taxi business (direction Belgrade) as well as any arabic and farsi signs („because the taxi drivers cant read it“). The volunters there were really scared as the leading guys of the local „mafia“ showed up and kind of „cooperated“ to calm down the situation and prevent violent escalation. The local police is also making their corrupt business. Since yesterday night refugees are forced to pay a ten euro fee for registration which is no legal.

Also police at Dimitrovgrad is very uncooperative and tried to force people to remove the tents as there is no official permission. At the moment, volunteers can continue their work but police threatens with eviction.

Arriving people describe Bulgaria as a horror. There are a large number of personal reports about refugees who had been robbed in Bulgaria by police, taken away everything, passport,money, mobile phones. Many people and also families had been taken into custody, beaten up violently, tortured and forced to give fingerprints. A lot of people at Dimitrovgrad have injuries caused by Bulgarian police. Several reports by arriving people of illegal pushbacks and of at least three dead lying on the trails at Bulgarian-Turkish and Bulgarian-Serbian border.