The situation at the border crossings Gevgelija and Kumanovo for the period 27.03.2017 – 31.03.2017
The 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 at the start of the week dropped to 14, after one refugee from Iran and her baby left.
The number of janitors hired to work in the camp has been cut.
Over these few days, high representatives of IOM and OSCE paid visits to the camp.
Police officers from the Czech Republic arrived to the camp.
Institutional treatment
On the first day of the week, an underage person originating from Algeria was brought, who had been in the hospital in Gevgelija for a few days, due to dehydration. The child was assigned a custodian, a social worker from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. A few days later the child was transported to a safe house in Skopje.
On 30.03.2017, a refugee originating from Syria was brought to the camp, after being caught in Strumica. According to his statement, he had reached Greece travelling from Turkey with the help of smugglers that he paid with 1400 EUR, and then came from Greece to Macedonia alone, on foot. He stayed in Macedonia for four days, before being caught by the police. After he was interviewed and registered by the police, he was transported back to Greece.
Kumanovo
Available facilities and conditions
The number of refugees during these 4 days moved from 30 to 45. There is constant influx of refugees coming into the camp, while those who are accommodated there, often leave. The number of refugees staying in the vicinity of the camp also varies.
Institutional treatment
On 27.03.2017, 14 refugees from Algeria and Morocco arrived to the camp, including 8 minor children. Only the minors were admitted to the camp, while the adults were not granted admission.
On 29.03.2017, in the course of the night 6 refugees originating from Afghanistan who were sent back from Serbia, arrived to the camp. On the same night 3 more refugees originating from Pakistan arrived to the camp. The new refugees who come to the camp and who are granted temporary accommodation, sleep in the big tents, on mattresses placed on the ground. On the next day, at police orders, all of these refugees were forced to leave the camp.
A refugee originating from Algeria who is staying in the vicinity of the camp informed us that he, along with a few friends who he was travelling with, on 31 March, were attacked and robbed by an armed group in the vicinity of Kumanovo. According to him, the attackers are Macedonian citizens, and during the attack the victims were robbed of their mobile phones and money.
The situation in the Shelter Centers in the Republic of Macedonia
The number of refugees in the Shelter Centers is not available.
Irregular migration
In the course of this period, the Ministry of Interior did not register any criminal or legal events related to refugee or migrant smuggling.