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Serbia and Migrants, Law and Solidarity

25/7/2020

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Do you know the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker? Do you know who family reunification applies to? Do you know if that applies to all EU countries? And did you realise that what the law says and what happens are different things?? During my time in Calais and Serbia I’ve learnt a lot about the laws surrounding migration and have had the opportunity to direct people towards further legal advice. Here’s a few key things I’ve learnt alongside the stories of some of my friends who I’ve helped to access more information. 


  1. It is the responsibility of the country (not the individual) to assess an asylum claim in the first EU country that they come to. If that person wants to reach another country for whatever reason, that is their choice.
  2. An asylum seeker is someone who is having their claim processed. They are in the system.
  3. A refugee is someone who has successfully claimed asylum
  4. A migrant is anyone not in their home country. I am a migrant in Serbia right now.
  5. 'People on the move' is the term we use here. We try and avoid the terms that have legal connotations so I tend to talk about 'my friends' and 'the guys'. 
  6. A push back from any country is illegal. That means that when the UK coastguard nudges boats in the Channel away from England and towards France, this is illegal. Just as the border guards of Croatia, Romania and Hungary are all acting illegally when they force people back into Serbia - whether violence is used or not. 
  7. Human rights apply to all people at all times. No level of violence is acceptable.

A big problem that I have found is that people on the move don’t actually know how to get legal advice. A lot of people I’ve met think that they may have a legal route to join family but they don’t know how to find out about it, let alone how to apply. Right now I have friends in Serbia with family in the U.K. They have a pretty good case for reunification but didn’t know where or how to access information or help. Imagine trying to fill in complicated government forms in your second or third language that ask very sensitive questions about your recent traumas. 

Here in Serbia I am fortunate to be working with Klikaktiv. They are a group of lawyers, social workers and translators who are able to offer advice about Serbian laws, wider European regulations and also provide support for us international volunteers. They rely on us here in the field to find people that need advice and to direct them to the right places. Each case is complicated, involving several countries and very sad and difficult stories. During the pandemic, there has been a strong military and police presence everywhere. Klikaktiv have also been able to help with how we should behave in these situations.

Similarly, my friend in France was being detained after the clearances in Calais. He had access to legal advice but doesn’t understand the French paper he has been given. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to not know what is happening to you. It’s also the case that papers and decisions are not carried out. A friend I have was in Germany going through the system and received a deportation notice, without knowing that Germany doesn't currently deport anyone to Sudan. It’s the case in the UK that asylum claims are often refused the first time and then granted on appeal, likely with the hope that some people will be scared off or not have access to advice or resources to challenge the decision. 

The hardest thing about trying to find legal advice for people here, is that most often the answer is “there’s nothing we can do.” Even for the funny, clever teenage boys living in the forest who have family in Western European countries. The law makes it incredibly difficult to help people. This leaves my friends risking their lives on the top of freight trains or in refrigerated trucks. They get so regularly beaten by Croatian border guards that they think nothing of it. We also get told about chain pushbacks - Austria deport to Slovenia, who deport to Croatia, who deport to Serbia. Imagine getting as far as Austria, a safe European country, and then getting illegally deported back over several countries! 
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It’s been difficult for me to talk about some of the things that happen here.

Because they are so terrible.
Because I don’t want to throw around the stories of my friends.
Because I know it is difficult for people at home to relate to.

But if by reading this you feel you want to do something, then reading and sharing information is very important. My organisation, No Name Kitchen, is part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network. We collect reports of illegal activities in order that it can be known what happens here and so we can stand in solidarity with those who have been wronged. Please will you read this report
, which was collected and written by my friend Stef. Making Border Violence Reports involves an indepth interview that needs to be conducted sensitively and Stef does an amazing job at listening to story after story of terrible situations. Share this post, say something about how it makes you feel to hear these stories. Tell just one friend and we can spread the message.



And if you still want to do more, you can donate to No Name Kitchen and you can write to your MP about how you feel about the situation.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome, especially as it can feel quite isolating here. 

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Sunflowers in Serbia, piano piece

13/7/2020

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On the way from France to Serbia, I had a tune in my head. I’d whistle it while we were driving across countries and hummed it while we wandered in the mountains and the towns on our breaks. Once settled in Šid with my piano at the ready, I felt the need for something creative and separated from work here. And here we have it. Let me know what you think.
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Dinner in Novi Sad, Serbia

9/7/2020

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We had a lovely dinner at Otvorena Kuhinja Ck13 yesterday evening. We collected donations of clothes and toiletries and raised some money too! It was great to chat to sympathetic people about our work in Šid and the situation for migrants in Serbia.

If you could make it and want to donate, you can do so here.
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Day to Day Life in ŠID, Serbia

7/7/2020

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The town sign written in Cyrillic
This tiny town, surrounded by fields of corn, wheat and sunflowers, feels like a different age. A trip to Serbian capital Belgrade was quite overwhelming after a week in the country. The shopping centre where I parked my little British car was a dissonance with the vegetable market and bakeries we frequent here. Upon my arrival in Šid, our branch of No Name Kitchen had to be restarted almost from nothing as operations had ceased during the coronavirus lockdown. We had to establish connections with people on the move and figure out how best to help them. Now we have a vague schedule which allows us to plan our time and resources, which looks something like this.

Shopping


Each day we go to the market to buy vegetables to cook with. We try and see what is cheapest in order to stretch our minimal budget as far as possible. We also buy bread from one of the many bakeries in town. 20-30 loaves of bread fit in this massive bag we have, a bit of a challenge to carry home!

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Helen and the bread!
Chopping

Our big kitchen is in the garden. We have a big table for chopping vegetables and some big gas burners for huge cooking pots. We’ll put some water on to heat for lentils, beans, rice or pasta, then peel tonnes of onions and chop thousands of potatoes. We’ve got pretty creative with the spices and flavours. Balsamic cabbage was a hit, and hummus was awesome. It’s a challenge to estimate how much food to make for 60-100 people each day on a tight budget.

Admin tasks


Each of us has a specific role within the organisation which requires time. Logistics involves obtaining clothes and supplies for us to use, as well as the management of volunteers arriving and plenty of other details. Finance is a complicated task of maintaining our financial records, applying for an appropriate budget and monitoring our spending. Violence reporting requires conducting interviews with people who have been victims of illegal pushback from another country to Serbia. The often violent crime that is committed by Croatian, Romanian or Hungarian border guards are reported by the Border Violence Monitoring Network. Communication involves creating content for social media as well as a weekly podcast that goes out in Spanish. Health involves first aid as well as directing people towards services that they can access, or facilitating payment for things they can’t afford. This is my role, and so far I have got someone a new frame for his glasses, and facilitated medications for people where the camp doctor doesn’t cover it. All these tasks have to fit into the day. This means meeting with people, writing reports, filling in forms and liaising with other organisations.

Distribution

In the afternoon we pack up the food, as well as powerbanks that we have charged overnight, and laundry that we have collected and washed the previous day. We also include hygiene items like toothbrushes, tissues and any medical supplies that have been requested. We load it all into our adventure van or my little British car and drive to the meeting point. We have to find meeting places away from where the police might see us, as the guys could get taken back to the camps if they are discovered. Being taken to the camp means they can’t try to cross the border and the camp conditions range from ‘not too bad’ to ‘utterly awful’. One place that we meet is teeming with mosquitoes, so we’re trying to provide bug spray and bite treatment to as many people as we can.

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Sunflowers in Serbia
By the end of the day there are usually some left-over tasks. Washing up, meetings or discussions can take up some time, we have to plan regular trips to Belgrade in order to restock on cheap food and meet with other organisations. Otherwise we can go for a walk in the sunflower fields with Una the Bosnian street dog and then wander to the centre of town. There’s a place for vegan ice cream as well as some friendly bars to relax in. Every day is busy and full and there are tough times. The stories of the violent pushbacks are the hardest to hear, and managing a tiny budget when trying to help so many people is difficult. It’s hard having to say no to so many requests for essential items, but we know we’re helping even if the lists seem endless at times.

To help us with our work here you can donate to No Name Kitchen here.

I'm always happy to answer questions about the work here and the migrant crisis in general. Let me know in the comments or contact form if you want to know more about it here.
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    Hannah the traveller

    is a travel and lifestyle blog with focus on running, vegan eating and of course global travel.

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