The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period: 16.05.2016 – 22.05.2016
May 25, 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 remains unchanged compared to last week, and amounts to around 100. The number of refugees in the reception tent, on the other hand, varies on daily basis.
On 16.05.2015, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Macedonia paid a visit to the camp. He gained insight into the situation in the camp and had talks with most of the organizations active on field. The camp was visited by an Austrian police delegation.
The hygiene in the camp is at a satisfactory level, but bad hygienic conditions can be observed in the tent and in the toilets in front of the camp.
The road leading to the camp is being prepared for cementing.
Institutional treatment
In the course of this week, according to the Observations of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, off the record around 300 refugees were sent back to Greek territory, who had been caught up on illegal roads in the vicinity of Gevgelija. Amongst them there are refugees originating from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco and Algeria.
Kumanovo
Available facilities and conditions
In the course of this week, the number of refugees is around 250.
The situation in the camp remains unchanged and peaceful.
Institutional treatment
Due to a lack of information and constant uncertainty, the refugees are in a bad psychological state of mind. Consequently, misunderstandings and physical conflicts sometimes occur in the camp, which are then resolved by an intervention of the organizations deployed on field.
Irregular migration
In the course of this week, 3 criminal and legal events related to smuggling of migrants were registered. All of the events took place in the vicinity of Demir Kapija and all of the suspects were caught on the spot. At the same time, 36 refugees were caught as victims of the events originating from Syria (12), Pakistan (11) and Afghanistan (13). The perpetrators were taken to the police stations for informative talks, while the victims were transported to the Reception Center for Foreigners.
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.
