The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period: 11.01.2016 – 17.01.2016

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.

Gevgelija 

Available facilities and conditions in the camp

A total of 12,917 refugees were registered during this period, which is 13% more than the previous week, when 11,211 refugees were registered.

The decline in the number of refugees is most probably due to the weather conditions and the stormy sea.

What is new in the camp is that they have started with the construction of a canopy in the immediate vicinity of the camp, at the place where the refugees enter, the purpose of which shall be to protect the refugees and police officers from the cruel weather while they are submitting their documents for registration. Although they have started setting up electricity posts to light up the route from the Camp to Elevation 59 at the Greek border, the route is still unlit and consequently the refugees have difficulties moving at night.

On 16.01.2016, the camp was visited by the Ministers of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia.

With the drop in temperatures, the need of medical aid for the refugees increases, since there is a higher number of sick and frostbitten people.

Due to the increased rain and  snowfall, there is an increased need of clothes and footwear in all sizes and for all ages, as well as winter accessories (gloves and scarves)

Institutional treatment

The actions of the police officers are professional and conscientious. The Hungarian police which is deployed in the camp assists in the refugees’ entrance to the camp, as well as during their boarding, by maintaining order in the process.

We commend the practice of the police officers who let women with babies and young children pass first.

Kumanovo

Available facilities and conditions

New containers have been put into operation in the camp which have been adjusted for the refugees to sleep in.

On the 16.01.2016, the camp was visited by the Minister of labour and social policy, Frosina Remenski, who got acquainted with the way in which the camp functions.

Institutional treatment

On the 15.01.2016, at 0:15, in the vicinity of the petrol station Detoil, along the motorway in the vicinity of the village of Rechica, Kumanovo, the observer from the Helsinki Committee at the Refugee Border Crossing Tabanovce encountered a group of so-called “economic migrants” from Morocco who were in a bad condition. When approached, they informed the observer that they had been attacked by an armed group of three people who came out of a silver BMW X5 and went after them. The attackers physically attacked the refugees and robbed them of their personal belongings. One of the group members possessed a gun, while the other were armed with knives. The observer of the Helsinki Committee informed that this was the third group of attacked refugees that mention the silver BMW X5. The observer immediately reported the incident to the regional branch of MoI in Kumanovo.

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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.