Germany remains the number one destination country for migrants in Europe, according to the Migration Report 2020, published by the German government on Wednesday. Overall immigration to Germany, however, fell by 23.9% compared to numbers in 2019.
In this episode of the InfoMigrants' podcast Tales from the Border, András Léderer from the Hungarian Helsinki Committe and reporter Idro Seferi head to the 'Afghan park' in Belgrade where they meet migrants, including Amir, a pharmacist from Iraq who is traveling with his wife and two small children.
In this episode of the InfoMigrants' podcast Tales from the border, András Léderer from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and reporter Idro Seferi journey further into Serbia, close to its border with Croatia and Romania. Here they meet a group of men camping out in the woods.
An investigative project by various media organizations reveals that Croatia, Romania, and Greece have been using EU funds to push migrants back across their borders, through violent and illegal tactics.
Eighteen people from Afghanistan and Romania have been arrested in a major cross-border police operation. The men are suspected of smuggling mostly Afghan migrants in lorries from Romania into Germany.
According to the EU border agency Frontex, the number of irregular border crossings to the European Union via the so-called ‘Balkan route’ is up 90% on last year. The majority of those arriving are from Syria and Afghanistan.
In northeast Serbia, hundreds of migrants are sheltering in the hope of being able to cross the border to Romania. The route is seen as an easier and cheaper way to reach Europe.
Adama* contacted InfoMigrants to talk about what he experienced on arrival in Romania. Beaten and humiliated by Romanian police after crossing the border from Serbia, the 36-year-old Malian is still traumatized by the violence he suffered.
Six Afghan migrants were discovered inside a Bulgarian lorry by German police in a motorway lorry park in southern Germany on Saturday, January 23.
According to some NGOs in Serbia, the number of migrants gathering on the Serbian border hoping to make it on to Western Europe are increasing.
After major coronavirus outbreaks at several businesses, German lawmakers are finally considering cracking down on the exploitation of foreign workers.
Just as lockdown measures are lifting, more than 200 employees at a slaughterhouse in western Germany have contracted COVID-19. DW spoke to workers living in dilapidated, crowded conditions.