I am often asked, by reporters and friends, why people leave their home countries. There are some generalisations to be made - war, Taliban, religious persecution. But there are an incredible number of individual reasons. I met one guy who is a musician and wants to be a rock guitarist. This isn't possible in Iran, it was dangerous for him to express himself with music. It is the same for this man, the man with the tattoos. I met him only once, he asked me to take the following report for the Internal Violence reporting system we have, and to tell everyone, to share the news of how illegal and inhumane the treatment of people is here in Bosnia. We had a kind translator who helped with the report, a person on the move with incredible language skills. After the translator had gone we managed to chat with his English, a bit of Google but mostly non-verbally. We had tattoos in common, enjoyed hanging out for a bit. He doesn't have Facebook, he wrote down my number, but I never heard from him again. The reports we make are anonymous but I am very sorry that I didn't ask his name. I hope I never meet him again because he was successful in crossing to Italy and he is already beginning the asylum process.
The following report is a common occurrence. Everyone I meet has been beaten, robbed and humiliated. This is not ok.
The following report is a common occurrence. Everyone I meet has been beaten, robbed and humiliated. This is not ok.
On 25th August 2020, 20 or 30 people were sleeping outside of Borici camp in Bihac, Bosnia. The man making this report is a 37 year old from Iran. He described how, at 6am, 6 police came and woke them up, three officers were in blue clothes and three were in black clothes. Some people ran away but others were caught. Four police cars came to take them to the police station where they were taken one by one into another room. Each person was beaten - the reporter particularly mentions his friends, a 17 year old, 19 year old and 32 year old from Kurdish Iran. The reporter had bruising on his back and arms from being hit with a police baton. The police asked about the reporter’s tattoos and why he has white hair (he looks different to most people on the move so stands out) - he said that each of his many tattoos symbolise freedom and peace. Later the entire group from outside Borici, plus other people gathered from around the city were deported to Otoka. 200 people were taken on buses, including minors. Otoka is a deserted field between the Federation and Republika Srpska. People on the move are trapped by the river to the north, train tracks to the south, the Srpska police to the east and Federation police to the west. There is no shop, no water, no shelter.
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