The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period: 02.05.2016 – 08.05.2016

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

At the start of the week, the total number of refugees in the camp amounted to 101. From time to time a small number of refugees left the camp (a family of three and two boys). The number of refugees in the reception tent in front of the camp varies on daily basis.

Due to the low temperatures in the course of the night, the refugees were given heaters by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

Institutional treatment

In the course of this week, smaller and larger groups of refugees caught by the police down illegal roads were brought back to the reception tent on daily basis. Instead of taking them to the police station in Gevgelija, due to the lack of facilities, the refugees were brought to the camp and after a brief stay they were deported to Greek territory by the Macedonian officials. The number of refugees in the groups varies from the smallest groups with about 40 people, to the largest groups numbering around 200 people. The total number of refugees who were accommodated in the reception tent in the camp, and were later deported back to Greek territory amounts to nearly 1267. These groups are provided with medical aid and are given food and clothes by the Red Cross and the NGOs. As a regular procedure, the police officers separate the refugees by country of origin, as well as men from women and children, whereby they hold informative interviews with the men and perform detailed search in some of the cases.

The camp was also visited by the police service of the Republic of Poland, who will officially join the patrols through the Municipality of Gevgelija, the local roads and motorways, as well as down the south border, together with the Macedonian police.

Kumanovo

Available facilities and conditions

At the start of the week, the number of refugees in the camp amounted to 601, while by the end of the week this number dropped to less than 400 refugees. There is no specific information as to what is happening with the refugees who have left the camp.

Due to the serious negligence of the hygiene in the camp, rats have become a regular occurrence recently, topped by a significant presence of snakes as well.

Institutional treatment

There haven’t been any significant changes in this area at the camp.

Irregular migration

In the course of this week, the Ministry of Interior informed about five cases of migrant smuggling through its daily bulletins, most of which took place in the vicinity of Gevgelija. in fact, the total number of refugees involved in all of the cases amounted to 132, originating from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as one refugee from India and Congo each. Three of the suspect smugglers from these five cases have been apprehended by the police, while one is at large, and when it comes to the remaining two cases, the suspects were not found at the crime scene, as the migrants were discovered in cargo vehicles.

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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.