The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period: 25.04.2016 – 01.05.2016
May 6, 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 number of refugees in the camp amounted to 113, after several more families left the camp.
Two table tennis tables were delivered to the camp as a donation from the NGO Legis, and were set up in one of the big tents. The refugees now spend more time doing leisure activities and playing table tennis.
With the drop in temperatures, the refugees complain that they are feeling cold at night, because their heaters have been taken.
Institutional treatment
At the start of the week, the group of 10 refugees originating from Iran who had been staying at the camp for a longer period time, were finally transported to the center for asylum seekers in Vizbegovo.
On 27.04.2016, around 45 refugees that the Red Cross provided food, water, blankets and hygiene products for, were taken to the police station in Gevgelija. A little later, another 100 refugees from the vicinity of Gevgelija were brought to the station. Allegedly, these groups are deported to Greek territory soon after.
Kumanovo
Available facilities and conditions
From the beginning until the end of the week, the number of refugees in the camp decreased on daily basis, so that at the start of the week it amounted to around 650, but by the end of the week it dropped to about 500 refugees. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the institutions and international organizations to register the exact number of refugees in the camp due to the daily fluctuations of their number.
On 25.04.2016, a group of around 20 refugees from Afghanistan came to the camp, and joined the Afghan groups in the camp. Due to the lack of a full list of people in the camp, it was impossible to find out exactly who those people were.
Institutional treatment
The refugees in the camp are suffering an increasingly deteriorated psychological well-being since they have been stranded in the camp for a longer period of time, without any activities or information about their status or future.
The Helsinki Committee recommends that the competent institutions on field, or to be more specific, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, provide counseling by a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist who will be available on field for sessions based on the needs of the refugees in the camp.
Irregular migration
In the course of this week, according to the official bulletin of the Ministry of Interior, a total of 5 criminal and legal events related to irregular migration and smuggling of immigrants were registered. Most of the events were registered in the vicinity of Gevgelija (Demir Kapija) and the villages in the vicinity of Kumanovo. Three suspects for smuggling migrants from the registered cases have been apprehended, while one has fled. Furthermore, 54 refugees originating from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan have been caught as victims of smugglers. The Ministry of Interior did not inform how the refugees were subsequently treated.
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.
