The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period 11.07.2016 – 17.07.2016

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. 

Gevgelija

Available facilities and conditions

The number of refugees in the camp amounts to 136. Three new refugees from Afghanistan have arrived in the camp.

A paved path has been set up all over the camp.

The situation in the camp is tense and worrying due to the refugees’ sense of uncertainty when it comes to their future.

The NGO Legis has been organizing educational and creative activities for the refugees in the camp, i.e. for the women and children.

Institutional treatment

In the course of the week, 14 refugees who had been accommodated in STC[1] Vinojug, 13 of whom are from Syria and 1 from Iraq, were issued certificates that the asylum requests they had submitted will be processed. Although they are asylum seekers, they have not been transferred to the Shelter Center for Refugees in Vizbegovo.

Kumanovo 

Available facilities and conditions

The number of refugees in the camp amounts to about 70. This number fluctuates  with the sporadic arrival and departure of refugees of various origin.

The refugees are worried about the uncertain situation they have found themselves into and the lack of information from the institutions. Their psychological state is worrying and they have a serious need of a psychologist.

Institutional treatment

In the course of the week, several individuals, as well as families, arrived and were sheltered in the camp. In separate cases, two families from Syria which were headed towards the camp in Preshevo, Serbia, were caught by the Serbian police and were sent back to Macedonia. After they returned to the camp on Tabanovce, they were provided with medical and humanitarian aid due to exhaustion. In another case, a refugee from Afghanistan arrived in the camp. According to him, he had come alone, on foot from Greece. On the same day, two more refugees from Pakistan arrived and were provided with accommodation in the camp. In the course of the next day, two more refugees originating from Congo arrived. They expressed willingness to go back to Greece and were consequently told that they will be sent to Gevgelija by train. Towards the end of the week, a woman from Syria arrived in the camp, who had allegedly travelled with her family, but got separated from them upon their arrival to Serbia as was the only one sent back to Macedonia. The woman was given a place in the camp, and the MLSA are making efforts to bring the family back together.

Situation in the Shelter Centers in the Republic of Macedonia 

At present, 39 refugees are accommodated in the Shelter Center for asylum-seekers in Vizbegovo, while the Shelter Center for Foreigners in Gazi Baba hosts about 30 refugees. In the Safe House, where members of vulnerable categories are sheltered, there are 12 refugees.

Irregular migration

In the course of this week, no criminal and legal incidents related to migrant-smuggling were registered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

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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.