The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period: 18.07.2016 – 24.07.2016

The weekly report on the situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo includes the following topics: Available facilities and conditions at the camp and Institutional treatment.

Gevgeilja

Available facilities and conditions

The number of refugees in the camp amounts to 129. The number changed several times over the week, since several families went back to Greece at their own initiative, while a few others arrived and were accommodated in the camp.

The laundry service (washing machines and dryers) in the camp has been put into operation and the refugees are able to use it.

A lack of products for personal hygiene has been observed in the shared toilets.

Institutional treatment

Due the uncertain future they are facing, the refugees in the camp are in a bad psychological condition; misunderstandings occur fairly easily and some of the refugees are having psychological problems.

At the start of the week, 4 refugees who had been staying the camp for a longer period of time (one from Iraq and three of Syria), left the camp. In a short while they were apprehended by the police and taken directly back to Greek territory.

A woman from Afghanistan who arrived in the camp two weeks ago with her two children, was taken to hospital in Skopje after an intervention of the Red Cross, due to her high-risk pregnancy.

In the vicinity of the village of Prdejci, Gevgelija, a woman originating from Syria who was travelling with her three children was caught by the police. She was caught in an attempt to leave in a van driven by smugglers, whereby she dropped her 5-year-old son. The woman was sheltered in the camp, but her son has not been found yet.

Near the end of the week, a family of four from Syria who had been staying the camp for a longer period of time, was taken back to Greek territory at their own initiative. The reason for this was their hopeless and uncertain situation in the camp and in the country.

On the 24.07.2016, in the vicinity of the Border Crossing Bogorodica, the border police caught a group of 85 refugees who were immediately sent back to Greek territory. Two families from Afghanistan were set aside from the group, since they needed medical aid. Two of the families were sheltered due to the women’s pregnancies, who are four and eight months along.

Kumanovo

Available facilities and conditions

The number of refugees in the camp amounts to around 70 registered ones. The number of unregistered refugees fluctuates, since they stay in the camp very briefly and then leave.

Institutional treatment

At the start of the week, 8 new refugees arrived, among whom a 21-year women with three children, one man with two juvenile children and two more adult men. Over the week 5 refugees originating from Afghanistan and two more originating from Algeria arrived. They were briefly sheltered in the camp, and then were told to leave the camp by the competent institutions.

The situation in the Shelter Centers in the Republic of Macedonia

The number of refugees accommodated in the Shelter Center for Asylum Seekers – Vizbegovo, amounts to 43, while the number of refugees in the Shelter Center for Foreigners – Gazi Baba is unfamiliar. 11 refugees are sheltered in the Safe House at the moment.

Irregular migration

In the course of this week, the Ministry of Internal Affairs registered two criminal and legal incidents related to smuggling of migrants. On 19.07.2016, in the vicinity of the village of Vaksince, Kumanovo, a vehicle with 6 refugees was stopped, 5 of whom originating from Sri Lanka and one from Pakistan. One of them was a juvenile. The suspect managed to flee the scene. The refugees were accommodated in the Shelter Center for Foreigners in Gazi Baba, while the juvenile was taken to the Safe House.

On 22.07.2016, between the Kumanovo villages of Lojane and Vaksince, a group of 31 migrants originating from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Morocco were caught in the open air.

On 20.07.2016, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported about the conducted operative action “Coyote” which cracked an organized criminal group operating in the area of Veles, Negotino, Gevgelija and Skopje. The organized group was charged with several crimes, including: criminal conspiracy, robbery, misrepresentation, unauthorized trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, smuggling of migrants and abuse of official position. From the operative investigations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed that the group organized the smuggling of 559 migrants in the course of the past year. What is most symptomatic is that the criminal group involved a number of police officers who have committed the criminal acts of  abuse of their official position, during and after their working hours. This operative action confirmed the allegations of the refugees who pointed out on several occasions that police officers were involved with the groups of smuggling.

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This report is made possible by the generous support of the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) within the project „Improvement of the rights protection for migrants and asylum seekers in the Republic of Macedonia“. The contents are the responsibility of the Helsinki Committee for Human rights of the Republic of Macedonia and do not necessarily reflect the views of FOSI.