Migrant life in Belgrade warehouse

(24 Nov 2016) Mohammad Yassin says there are no words to describe the horror of migrant life in an abandoned warehouse in central Belgrade, home to hundreds of people trapped in Serbia en route to the European Union.
The 28-year-old former news reporter from Afghanistan has been squatting for days in the socialist-era concrete hall in the capital city, waiting for a chance to cross the heavily guarded borders of neighbouring EU member states Hungary or Croatia.
About 1,000 migrants have occupied the rubbish-strewn sprawling complex in search for protection from the cold and rain.
But the crumbling building with no facilities, wide glassless windows and gaping holes in the towering wooden roof, has offered little shelter.
Aid groups have warned that thousands of people like Yassin are scattered throughout the Balkans and in Greece, living in conditions that are far from appropriate and not ready for the rapidly approaching winter.
In a statement this week, the International Rescue Committee said the lives of thousands of refugees and migrants in the Greek islands and mainland, as well as Serbia, are at risk from staying in overcrowded camps, unheated tents and short-term and sub-standard facilities.
Migrants heading for the EU remained stranded along the former Balkan migrant route — leading from Turkey through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia — after nations closed their borders one after another in March.
The shutdown has reduced the influx, but new migants continue to pour in using clandestine routes.
It usually takes weeks, or even months, before they manage to move on to their destinations.
Rados Djurovic from Serbia's Asylum Protection Centre, said up to 2,000 migrants have been living out in the open in parks and abandoned houses, in addition to several thousand, mostly families with children, in overcrowded refugee camps.
Djurovic said harsh living conditions and lack of hope have taken their toll on the migrants, who have become exhausted and irritable.
Minors are particularly at risk, Djurovic said, facing harassment from both smugglers and police.
They also fight among themselves, one such clash in central Belgrade left one person dead and one injured this week.
Migrants in the Belgrade warehouse have refused government offers to move to some of the country's camps where they can apply for asylum legally, fearing possible deportation or being pushed too far away from the EU borders.
Many have become sick, infected with lice or skin allergies.
Their condition has worsened further after the Serbian government recently instructed aid groups to halt food deliveries outside official camps, hoping migrants would pull away from the streets.
Inside the camps there are choking odours of urine and smoke, as groups of migrants sit by several small fires lit for warmth and to prepare food.
Lined up on the concrete floor were dozens of dusty blankets and migrants' personal belongings.
Some men were sleeping wrapped in blankets, wearing jackets, woolen caps and gloves.
Others listened to music on their cell phones or washed their clothes at the only water tap available.
One migrant stripped half-naked, shivering as he washed himself with freezing water, a widening pool forming under his feet.
By one of the fires, 16-year-old Zabir Zahid said he had eaten nothing but potato and bread for weeks.
He said he tried once to cross into Hungary, but was pushed back by the Hungarian police.
Still, Zahid said he is determined to reach Austria and never return to Afghanistan.


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