02 December 2022
21:53
New people are pouring into the Obrenovac refugee camp in Serbia. They come from all over the world. There they are offered a medical examination, a shower, something to eat and shelter. Nobody intends to stand still.
“We can accommodate 200 people in our Emergency Centers. They stay here for about 2 weeks on average. So we have enough space,” said Nikola Lubomirovic, Commissioner for Refugees.
Azar and Bilal are two of the camp’s longest-serving residents. Both have spent years on the run and are tired of the dangerous border crossing. Both have applied for asylum.
“Here they have shown me respect and love and I have decided that I want to stay. I feel a little more relaxed here,” said Azhar Khan, a refugee from Pakistan.
Bilal also settles in the center. He fled the war in Syria 4 years ago and there is no going back. He hopes to stay and work in Serbia.
“In Syria I was a carpenter, just like my father, I learned the trade from him. When I left my country I intended to go to Germany, but then I decided to stay here. They gave me machines to work with and space – all I need to be able to make wooden figures and work here,” says Bilal Fakhro, a Syrian refugee.
Refugees also find time to play cricket. However, everyone is playing their own game, as they call their dangerous attempts to cross the border into the EU.
Their journey begins in a park near the main bus station in Belgrade, where people prepare to travel to settlements in the border areas of Croatia, Hungary and Romania. There they will pay smugglers thousands of dollars to cross the border.
“Bulgarian border guards beat me with batons, with their hands, with kicks,” said migrant and activist Nikola Kovacevich, Deutsche Welle reported, quoted by Nova TV.
My plan is to go to a European country where I will be safe,” he adds.
Refugees want to leave Serbia not only for security reasons, but also because they see a better chance of finding a job in the EU.
Serbia cannot stop them, says Kovacevic.
All of them fled war, poverty and persecution. The bus leaving from Belgrade station is just another step away. The Balkan route is also open to many. It’s their best option this winter.
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