BiH Update: 20.09.2018.
English text below.
BiH novosti: 20.09.2018
Zadnjih nekoliko dana smo nazad u Bosni i Hercegovini, kako bismo provjerili i ocijenili situaciju sa izbjeglicama, imigrantima, volonterima, kako mi možemo pomoći i šta je potrebno za zimu. Naše putovanje smo počeli upravo tamo gdje je sve i počelo prije ljeta: u Sarajevu, prije odlaska put Bihaća i Velike Kladuše. Nemamo mnogo vremena za procjenu, povezivanje i početak priprema za zimu, ali ćemo uraditi šta možemo u tako kratkom vremenu.
Čim smo stigli u Sarajevo, nismo imali vremena ni za cigaretu poslije autobusa od aerodroma, a već smo se zaista vratili. Slučajno se naš dolazak poklopio sa podjelom hrane, i već nakon nekoliko minuta, prepoznali smo neka lica volontera koji su ovdje cijelo vrijeme, ali čak i neka lica izbjeglica zaglavljenih u Sarajevu. Odmah su nas prepoznali i pozdravili širokim osmijesima i raširenim rukama. Razgovarali smo s kim smo mogli i obećali da ćemo doći pomoći sa večernjom podjelom. U tom momentu smo vidjeli pretežno muškarce izbjeglice i imigrante i lokalne romske porodice, ali je situacija bila mnogo drugačija nego prije. Napetosti su velike i mješavina nacija je drugačija.
Noć kad smo se vratili, osjećaj među ljudima je bio drugačiji u odnosu na onaj kad smo bili prije; velike napetosti i preovladavaju nesporazumi među ljudima različitih nacionalnosti. Izgleda da ima više ljudi u redu za hranu nego prije, iako svi govore da se sad u Sarajevu nalazi manje izbjeglica i navodno nema žena i djece. Čujemo o sve većem broju slučajeva nasilja i da neki ljudi čak nose noževe, za zaštitu. Nakon podjele hrane se sve smirilo i imali smo priliku da razgovaramo sa volonterima koji su tu već dugo, i vratili smo se do našeg unajmljenog auta parkiranog na željezničkoj stanici, kad smo začuli prodoran plač bebe. Pogledali smo uokolo i vidjeli mladu majku koja je sklonište potražila na otvorenom, u napuštenoj zgradi i uspavljivala dijete, a i sama je spavala na otvorenom, na betonu bez pokrivača ili šatora.
Sljedećeg dana, našeg jedinog cijelog dana u Sarajevu, iskoristili smo priliku da razgovaramo sa što većim brojem ljudi i procijenimo da li su otpočele ikakve pripreme za zimu. Izgleda da je komunikacija potpuno prestala između grupa međunarodnih volontera i da više ne rade zajedno, ne samo među njima, već i sa lokalnim stanovništvom, što je velika šteta. Mali broj međunarodnih volontera ne zna gdje i kako pomoći, a na podjelama hrane više nije bilo lokalnih volontera kao prije. Došlo je do potpunog prekida komunikacije, i važno je da se ona ponovo uspostavi, kao i poslovni odnosi prije teškoća koje će zima donijeti.
Na sjeveru, u Bihaću, situacija izgleda sasvim drugačije od Sarajeva. Ovdje je mnogo više izbjeglica, i izgleda da jedina pomoć dolazi od lokalnih volontera Crvenog krsta, sa nekoliko IOM uposlenika koji dolaze preko Crvenog krsta. Nismo vidjeli niti čuli o međunarodnim volonterima. Čujemo o brojkama od oko 3.000 izbjeglica od lokalnih volontera u Bihaću, i, znajući da je ukupna populacija ovog grada 56.000 stanovnika, ovakav priliv će neminovno uzrokovati pritisak na lokalno stanovništvo. Čujemo da oni sasosjećaju sa izbjeglicama, jer su i sami nekad bili izbjeglice.
Lokalni volonter nam je pokazao mjesta okupljanja izbjeglica, objasnio nam zadnja dešavanja i obezbijedio pristup zgradama i mjestima okupljanja, što sigurno ne bi bilo moguće bez ovakve veze sa lokalnim volonterima. Posjetili smo ratom uništenu zgradu bivšeg učeničkog doma, sad skloništa za hiljade izbjeglica, unutra i izvana. Na putu do zgrade, koju okružuje i kontroliše policija i osiguranje, mogli smo vidjeti stotine šatora i plastičnih nastrešnica i mnogo umornih ljudi koji leže na travi. Kao da ovo nije dovoljno strašno, unutar zgrade je bilo još gore. U najboljem slučaju, to je rizik za zdravlje i sigurnost. Nezgode će se sigurno desiti sa nejednakim stepeništem u mračnim uglovima ove ruinirane zgrade. Nejasno mi je kako neko već nije propao kroz rupe i poginuo.
Pokazali su nam i okolinu zgrade, sve je prljavo i smrdi na urin. Iako nismo htjeli da ugrožavamo rpivatnost ovih ljudi, ipak smo vidjeli neke prostore u kojima žive. Jedan dio, malo čistiji od ostalih i gdje su prostori odijeljeni čaršafima su nazvali “VIP” dijelom, vjerovatno zato što je u malo boljem stanju nego ostatak zgrade. Rečeno nam je da su ovdje samo muškarci, i da su porodice, žene i djeca smješteni u odvojenoj zgradi, koju održava UNHCR, IOM i Save the children. Ipak smo vidjeli žene i djecu i ovdje, i potvrdiel su da su tu i smještene. Kad smo ovo rekli, dobili smo informaciju da je to tačno, ali da su to žene i djeca koej su odabrale da budu smještene ovdje, iako im je bilo ponuđeno drugo, jer im je ovdje lakše da dobiju informacije i da dobiju upute kako da pređu granicu. Nekako se osjećaju dovoljno sigurnima da budu u ovim strašnim uslovima okružene hiljadama muškaraca.
Baš kad smo se spremali da idemo, video sam malu djevojčicu u dovratku jednog od prenosivih WCa i prepoznao sam ju, znao sam ju. Bial je to mala djevojčica iz Afganistana koju sam sreo u Sarajevu u pola noći, u šatoru u parku preko puta Vijećnice, koja je bila sama sa majkom. Pozvao sam je po imenu i ona se sjetila moga, dotrčala do mene sa osmijehom i zagrlila me. Pozvala je majku kojoj je takođe bilo drago da me vidi. Rekle su mi da trenutno nemaju internet u “kampu” ali i obećala da će mi poslati poruku kad mogne, sa novostima. Nadam se da hoće, ali u ovakvim situacijama se nikad ne zna šta nosi sljedeći dan. Nadam se da ću nekad ponovo pričati s njima, ali uvijek imam na umu da možda i neću.
Dalje na sjeveru, u Velikoj Kladuši, bliže granici sa Hrvatskom, nema velikog prisustva osiguranje ili policije kao u Bihaću, niti Crvenog krsta, ali je i broj izbjeglica znatno manji nego u Bihaću. Nekoliko neovisnih grupa lokalnog stanovništva i međunarodnih volontera brinu o izbjeglicama. Čim smo došli u grad, uputili smo se prema kampu. Dok smo hodali uskim prašnjavim putem nisam znao šta da očekujem. Kad smo prišli ulazu, podsjetilo me na džunglu u Calais-u: zbijeni šatori, komadi cerade razapeti na četiri štapa i mladići koji kuhaju ispod njih.
Djeca su hodala uokolo bez cipela, mala djeca. Pitali smo o broju djece, posebno bez odrasle pratnje – potvrdili su da ih ima. Pitali smo o zdravstvenim uslovima, hrani. Volonter s kojim smo pričali bio je divan i pružio nam je dosta informacija, potvrdio je da se hrana nabavlja sporadično, da je pomoć nedovoljna. Čak i dok smo stajali tu, ljudi su dolazili pitati za cipele, vreće za spavanje – ništa od toga volonteri nisu imali i nisu znali kad će ponovo imati. Vidjeli smo dosta ljudi bez obuće za van. Otišli smo ne znajući šta sve čeka ove ljude, osim zime.
Kad smo napustili Veliku Kladušu, ponovo smo se uputili u Bihać, i stali smo an benzinskoj pumpi da se pripremimo za dugačak put do Mostara sutradan. Primijetili smo dosta izbjeglica na pumpi i IOM uposlenika i pitali se šta se događa. Kako smo prišli bliže grupi, djevojčica me je prepoznala iz Sarajeva, i onda i koordinatora iz Srbije, koji ih je prije dvije godine učio da voze i popravljaju bicikle, u zajedničkom projektu Bridges Across Borders i “Biciklista preko granica” Evrope. Prije nego što smo napustili benzinsku pumpu, u kratkom susretu sa ovom porodicom iz Afganistana rekli su nam da su smješteni u objektu za porodice i da su ovdje već 3 mjeseca. Rekli su da su pokušali preći granicu više puta, i da su im zadnji put policajci Hrvatske oduzeli mobitele prije nego što su ih otjerali natrag. Postaje sve teže i teže pokušavati preći granicu i za mladu majku, koja osim djeteta putuje i sa roditeljima, koji su stari i imaju ozbiljne mentalne poteškoće, koji su na putu duže od dvije godine, živeći po raznim kampovima. Smještaj u kući im se sviđa, ipak, žele nastaviti pokušavati preći granicu. Prije nego što smo otišli, rekli smo im da se vraćam na zimu i da se nadamo da ih neemo tamo sresti, poželjeli im siguran put i da sigurno pređu.
Teško je znati šta čeka BAB volontere, tražimo od ljudi da pomognu, od potpunih stranaca, spremni da prodamo sve što imamo da bismo se mogli vratiti ove zime. I opet znati da možda nećemo moći uraditi dovoljno bez vaše pomoći.
English text.
Over the last few days we’ve been back in Bosnia Herzegovina to check out and assess the situation here regarding refugees, immigrants, volunteers and how we can help and what is needed for the winter. We began our journey back where it all started before the summer; in Sarajevo, before heading up north to Bihac and Velika Kladusa. We haven’t got much time here to assess, connect and begin to prepare for the winter but we’ll do what we can in the short time we’ve got.
As soon as we arrived in Sarajevo, we barely had time to have a cigarette after getting off the bus from the airport before we were straight back into it. Our arrival coincidentally coincided with the lunch-time food distro and already after just a few minutes we recognised some familiar faces. Volunteers who have been here the entire time and even a couple of refugees still stuck in Sarajevo. They recognised us immediately and greeted us with huge smiles and open arms. We spoke to who we could and told them we’d be back later to help out with the evening distro. At this point we were mainly seeing male refugees and immigrants and local Roma families, but the situation felt a lot different than before. Tensions were high and the mix of nationalities were different.
That night when we went back, the general feeling amongst the people was different to when we were here before; tensions high, and issues amongst the different nationalities prevalent. There does seem to be more people queuing for food than before despite everyone telling us that there are less refugees in Sarajevo now, and apparently no women and children. We hear of more instances of violence and even that some of the people are carrying knives; for protection. After the distro when everything was quiet and we had chance to catch up with a long-standing volunteer, as we returned back to our hire car which was parked in the train station we heard the piercing cry of a baby. We looked around to see where it was coming from and saw a young mother who had taken shelter for the night outside the abandoned market building soothing her child to sleep, she was sleeping outside on concrete without blankets or a tent.
The next day, and our only full day in Sarajevo we took opportunities to speak to as many people as we could to try and gauge what if any preparations have begun to take shape for the winter. Communications has seemed to have broken down with the core groups of volunteers and they are no longer working cooperatively not only between themselves but also with locals which is such a shame. The small number of new international volunteers do not know where or how they can help and there were no presence of locals at the distro like there were before. There has been a complete breakdown in communication again and it is important to reignite these working partnerships before the unforeseen hardships of the winter emerge.
Up north, in Bihac, the situation seems very different to Sarajevo. There are a lot more refugees, and it seems that the only source of support are from local red cross volunteers, with even some of the workers for IOM coming through the red cross. We did not see or hear of any internationals. We are hearing figures of approx. 3000 refugees in Bihac from local volunteers and considering that the local population only consists of approx. 56000 inhabitants this influx is bound to cause strain on the locals. We hear that the locals are very empathetic towards the situation of the refugees though, as they were once refugees themselves.
We were shown around refugee hot spots by a local volunteer, updated as to the situation and recent happenings and granted access to buildings and dwellings of refugees which for sure would not have been possible for us to do without this local connection. We visited a war-damaged building, which before the war was student accommodation, now it is home to thousands of refugees; inside and out. On the way up to the building, which is surrounded and controlled by police and security you can see hundreds of tents and plastic tarpaulin and lots of tired people strewn all over the grass. If this wasn’t bad enough, inside the building was much worse. At best it’s a health and safety hazard. Accidents waiting to happen with the uneven stairwells in dark dingy areas of this dilapidated building. How someone hasn’t fallen through the gaps and killed themselves I don’t know.
We were shown around this building, which was filthy and stank of urine and without wanting to impose on the private spaces of these people saw some of the spaces in which they now live. One area, which was slightly cleaner than the rest, with sheets for curtains and properly functioning tents was described to us as the “VIP” area, presumably for the slightly better conditions than the rest of the dwelling. We were told that this place was just for men and that families, women and children are housed in a separate building manned by UNHCR, IOM and Save the children however we did see women and children outside of the old student accommodation building who confirmed that they were staying here. When we pointed this out we were told that yes, some women and children choose to stay here instead of going to the other house as it is easier for them to get information to try and get routes to cross the border or “go on the game” as it’s known. Somehow they feel safe enough to stay in these horrific conditions surrounded by thousands of men.
Just as we were about to leave, I saw a little girl standing in the doorway of one of the portable toilet cabins, I knew her, I recognised her. It was the little Afghan girl whom I met in Sarajevo in the middle of the night; in the tent park opposite the national library who was alone with her mother. I called her name and she remembered mine, running up to me smiling and gave me a huge hug. She called her mother who also appeared happy to see me. They tell me they have no internet at the moment there at the ‘camp’ but assure me that they’ll send me a message when they do to keep me updated. I hope they do, but you never know in these situations what happens from one day to the next. I hope I get to speak to them again but I always bare in mind that I may not.
Further north, in Velika Kladusa, closer to the Croatian border, there is not the heavy presence of security or police like in Bihac nor the red cross, but the numbers of refugees there were significantly less than in Bihac. A couple of groups of independent local and international volunteers are looking after the refugees there and upon arriving in the town we immediately headed for the camp. Walking down the long single dirt track I didn’t know what quite to expect and as it became more visible as we approached the entrance it reminded me of the jungle in Calais; the tents, the closeness in proximity of the plastic held between four bits of wood and young men cooking on fires behind.
Children walked around with no shoes, small children. We asked about approximate numbers of children and particularly unaccompanied – they confirmed there are some. We asked about medical conditions, the food situation and aid amongst other things. The volunteer who we spoke to, who was great and gave us lots of very useful information confirmed that the food provisions were sporadic, aid is low and even as we stood there speaking people came up to ask for; shoes, sleeping bags and bags, none of which the volunteers had left nor did they know when they would next have some to give out. We saw many people without outdoor shoes. Then we left not knowing what’s coming for these people, apart from the winter.
We left VK heading back for Bihac, stopping at a petrol station along the road ready for our long drive to Mostar tomorrow. We noticed a lot of refugees in the petrol station and an IOM worker and was wondering what was going on. As we got closer to the group of the refugees a young girl recognised me from Sarajevo earlier in the year, and then also recognised the co-ordinator from Serbia where two years previous he had taught them to ride bikes and bicycle maintenance on a collaborative project between Bridges Across Borders and Cycle Across Borders Europe. These refugees from the project then went on to fix bicycles for the locals. Before we left the petrol station and during our brief encounter with this Afghan refugee family they told us that they were staying in the house for families mentioned above and that they had been here for 3 months. They told us that they have tried to cross the border many times since we last met but the last time they did they had their mobile phones taken by Croatian police before being pushed back. It is becoming more and more difficult for them to try and cross as the young mother of the child is also traveling with her parents who are elderly and have severe mental health issues from being on the road for more than two years and living in various camps and it is difficult for them. They like it in the house however they want to keep trying to cross the border. Before we left we told them that we’d be back in the winter and we hope that we do not see them here then, we wished them well for their journey and hope they make it safely across.
It’s hard to know what’s coming for BAB volunteers, asking people for help, complete strangers for help, prepared to sell everything you possess to be able to come back this winter and yet know you may not be able to do enough unless you can help us.
Thankyou to Danika Jurisic for use of the photos.