The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period 23 – 29.05.2016
May 31, 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 course of the week increased minimally, due to the arrival of new families who are accommodated there for health reasons. By the end of the week, the number of refugees amounted to 143. There are 5 pregnant women amongst them, 3 of whom have high-risk pregnancies, while two of them are close to birth. A family of a woman with a fractured leg was also accommodated, whereby the woman was first taken to the city hospital in Gevgelija and then accommodated in the camp.
On 25.05.2016, the Minister of Interior, Mitko Chavkov, paid a visit to the camp, together with his counterpart from Poland.
Due to the developments on Greek territory, i.e. the relocation of the refugees from the Idomeni camp which started this week, the refugees in the camp in Gevgelija were notably stirred and visibly upset.
Institutional treatment
Around 285[1] refugees were admitted to the reception tent in front of the camp, where groups found on illegal roads are being accommodated. They stayed in the camp briefly, and then were transported back to Greek territory.
In several occasions, there were altercations and physical confrontations among the refugees in the reception tent, whereby the police intervened to resolve the incidents.
In the course of the week, around 35 people stated that they would like to seek asylum to the Republic of Macedonia, but were not allowed to do so by the official persons, under the pretext that there was no such option available since they were about to be deported to Greek territory.
The Helsinki Committee points out that this practice constitutes a violation of the refugees’ right to seek asylum and is contrary to the international standards.
Kumanovo
Available facilities and conditions
The number of refugees in the camp varied slightly, i.e. there were around 200 people during the entire week. On 29.05.2016, 28 refugees left the camp in Tabanovce and did not come back during the oncoming days, nor did they leave any information about their whereabouts to their families in the camp.
Several new containers were set up in the camp, at the location where the old cabins were. There is also work under way on improving the sewerage.
Institutional treatment
The situation is taking its toll on the psychological health of the refugees in the camp, due to the uncertainty they are facing.
The Helsinki Committee has already warned several times that they urgently need psycho-social help.
Irregular migration
In the course of this week, the official bulletin of the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted down two registered criminal and legal events related to smuggling of immigrants. The two events took place in the vicinity of Gevgelija and in both cases the suspected perpetrators are at large. In the two events, 43 refugees originating from various countries, i.e. Pakistan, India, Syria and Iraq, were caught as victims of smugglers.
[1] This number is unofficial and is solely based on the observations of the Helsinki Committee.
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.
