Since 2019, around a dozen migrants have been buried in the Humci cemetery in Bihac, but almost none of the graves are marked with names. Although authorities haven’t always been able to establish their identities, they have always determined their cause of death: None of them died "of natural causes."
In the town of Velika Kledusa, most migrants have only one ambition: to get to Croatia and continue their journey to western Europe. Some of them have already attempted the crossing more than twenty times. Each time they try, they risk being pushed back by force by Croatian police.
For most migrants, Bosnia is but a pit stop on their way to western Europe. Many live in squats in the northwestern town of Bihac, preparing to cross the border to Croatia irregularly. Whenever the squats are cleared by police, the migrants are brought back to the overcrowded Lipa camp – further away from the border.
Soufyan Ali, a Pakistani living in the Lipa camp in northern Bosnia for the past three months, has sent an open letter to MEPs, urging them to act on behalf of asylum seekers trapped in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The association No Name Kitchen forwarded his letter to InfoMigrants.
In January, the French state secretary for children and families announced a future "ban on the placement of children in hotels". The vast majority of young people placed in hotels by the child welfare agency are unaccompanied foreign minors. Fatima*, now an adult, remembers her time being moved from hotel to hotel. This is her story.
Since the beginning of December, the Migrant Solidarity Wilson group has been distributing meals to homeless migrants in Paris. Every Tuesday, outreach workers venture out on motorcycles to reach those who are becoming increasingly isolated in the French capital.
Lydia Veyrat, a healthcare assistant who works in a retirement home in Isère, will be given a residence permit, the French government announced. Previously she had been threatened with expulsion.
Following the demolition of an informal migrant camp on the Place de la République in central Paris, various NGOs have drawn attention to the fact that migrants are regularly victims of police violence across France. They also say that the use of force in such contexts is futile – especially without a coordinated migrant reception strategy.
Lydia Veyrat, a Beninese healthcare assistant employed in a home for the elderly, received an order to leave French territory. The local prefect argues that she is not sufficiently integrated into society. Her lawyer has filed a formal appeal with the interior ministry, denouncing the "ludicrous situation".
France has entered a new COVID-19 lockdown until December 1. President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to keep the country's public services running, including the asylum services. While authorities have adapted safety measures, there are some things to keep in mind. InfoMigrants took a look.
Roughly 300 migrants are camping out under the national highway in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. Nearly every morning police officers order them to get out; and food distribution points keep getting pushed farther away from the heart of the French capital.
As fighting in Libya intensified in recent weeks, the country reported its first cases of coronavirus. The Libyan people are being forced to choose between flight and confinement. For migrants trapped in this desperate situation, life has never been so difficult.