Bericht von Oxfam International, 6.4.2017 (engl. Originalfassung)
In 2015 and 2016, more than a million people arrived in Europe after crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece and continuing their journey along the so-called Western Balkan route. In response, European Union Member States and other European countries hastily erected fences on their borders. In March 2016, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia shut their borders and left thousands of people stuck in limbo, many in inadequate or unsafe accommodation. At present, there are about 7,800 displaced people in Serbia, and 350 people in Macedonia. Many of these people have come from conflict affected countries seeking protection, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria. Roughly 1,100 of those in Serbia and over 200 in Macedonia are not housed in government-run facilities and are forced to sleep rough.
Rather than being places of safety, countries on the Western Balkan route have failed to offer protection or due process to many new arrivals and instead have pushed them back to their previous country of transit or even another country, without giving them a chance to claim asylum. Pushbacks are happening in different ways. Hungary and Croatia – both EU member states – have used brutal tactics, such as attack dogs and forcing people to strip naked in freezing temperatures. The Serbian authorities have generated a climate of fear and uncertainty amongst migrants by expelling groups of people who have been legally registered and were expecting to receive their right to an individual hearing. This practice meant that in mid-winter, in freezing temperatures of -20ºC, people were afraid to stay in government centres for fear of being pushed back to Macedonia or Bulgaria. Interviewees also accused Bulgarian authorities of treating people in such a brutal manner that they are afraid to return.
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