Conditions in the Vucjak refugee camp in the northwest of the country are dire. The makeshift camp, which was put up in the summer, is dirty, unhygienic, and everything is in short supply as winter approaches.
When all you feel is the cold
The end of October brought a foretaste of the cold season to
Vucjak refugee camp. Temperatures in Bosnia have already dropped to well below
10 degrees Celsius. Most migrants are not equipped for the cold; they're
reliant on donated clothes and blankets. Some don’t even have a sturdy pair of
shoes.
Smoke poisoning, or freezing to death
To warm themselves just a little, the Syrians, Afghans and
Pakistanis who are stuck here collect firewood to heat their accommodation.
They are forced to choose between constantly freezing in a tent of thin
tarpaulin, or risking respiratory problems.
Living on a rubbish tip
Vucjak was created in June out of sheer necessity. There are
only around 7,000 - 8,000 migrants in Bosnia-Herzegovina right now, but the
majority are stuck in the northwest of the country near the small town of
Bihac. All the camps were full to overflowing, so Bihac erected the improvised
camp on a former landfill site. It doesn’t meet the standards required by
international organizations.
Highly dangerous
Aid organizations are urging the Bosnian authorities to close Vucjak and provide the migrants with better accommodation. "If people spend the winter there, there will be deaths — within a few days or weeks," warns Peter Van der Auweraert, Western Balkans Coordinator of the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
The EU: So near, and yet, so far
Vucjak is only about 8 kilometers from the border with Croatia. Many refugees try to cross into the EU illegally through the unfenced border areas. Many don’t succeed; they end up coming back to the camp, like these three men from Syria. They’re better off sticking to the road — this area is full of uncleared landmines left over from the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s.
Cold shower
Cold water from a canister is all there is in Vucjak. The
hygiene situation is disastrous. Diseases, like scabies, are spreading. What
medical care there is, is rudimentary. People are only taken to hospital if
they have a really serious disease or injury.
Connection with the outside world
Both water and electricity are in short supply. Anyone who
still has a cellphone, though, is lucky. Many refugees say their phones were
destroyed or stolen by Croatian policemen at the border. Croatia denies the
accusation. A cellphone is a migrant’s most important possession — with it,
they are able to stay in contact with their families and friends, and organize
their escape route.
A little piece of home
These men are trying to make the best of the little they
receive in Vucjak. They're baking flatbreads, the kind they eat at home. The
Red Cross supplies food, but it's often only enough for two meager meals a day.
In the summer, the head of the Red Cross, Selam Midzic, accused the central
government in Sarajevo of abandoning the region and leaving it to deal with the
migrants on its own.
Sticking together — and longing to get away
A fire alone is not enough to keep body and soul warm. These people want to get out of Vucjak as soon as possible. "I saw buildings for animals in Slovenia and Croatia that were better than this camp," says a man from Afghanistan. "This isn’t a camp. This is no place for humans."
Author: Uta Steinwehr
First published: November 11, 2019
Copyright DW - All rights reserved
DW is not responsible for the content of external websites
Source: dw.com