Save 136 refugee children along EU-Serbia borders

In spite of continuous, harsh and violent pushbacks of people seeking refuge to Serbia, by Croatian, Hungarian and Romanian border authorities, irregular migration along the Balkan route didn’t stop, nor did willingness and attempts of refugees to enter EU from Serbia falter. On the contrary, more and more refugees and exiles are pouring into Serbia from N. Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bulgaria to get to EU zone. Among them many adolescents and youth coming mostly from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

Along Serbia’s northern borders with EU countries, pushbacks are daily and unavoidable practice for young exiles, who are suffering from police and smugglers’ violence, facing injuries and unbearable living conditions, freezing in the open, and risking their lives, trying in countless number of times to cross EU-Serbia borders and reach their desired final destination in the West.

Great many are ready to pay that price no matter how high or unpredictable it appears to be in the end. Often because they are misinformed, nourishing false ideas about the benevolence of the smugglers or human traffickers, about honesty and correctness of border EU police, about legality of existing border practices in EU countries and in Serbia.

Moreover, they are disregarding threats from COVID_19, lacking reliable information and knowledge about the virus, but also lacking means for protection from COVID_19 and lacking information on the local Serbian healthcare system and its functioning.

Even if they get into collective camp accommodation, minors and youth are still deprived of any trustworthy information regarding asylum procedure in Serbia or how to enter into legal frames in the country. Often confused, they are unable to distinct what kind of rights and obligations they are about to enjoy and respect, and if or how to report abuse, violence, misconduct, threats or maltreatment.

Even their ideas about their possibilities to stay and regularize their life in EU are based on gossips, rumors and big expectations embedded in prejudices and in widespread stories of certain and successful migration journey to the prosperous countries of Western Europe for anyone who dared to set out on it.

Along reporting period we have provided children/youth with valid information on COVID threats and ways of protecting themselves, on new developing circumstances related to the disease, but also providing information on their rights related to asylum system and on their obligations, problems and threats related to irregular stay in the country.

Moreover, we were intervening in situation when children/youth were in risk of having no accommodation, hygiene, food, nor basic living conditions or when they were in risk to be exposed to violence of local criminals or smugglers. With our field intervention and initiatives before local social welfare centers and other institutions, we were pulling children out from the streets and danger into safe setting.

Our mobile office – camper vehicle, secured a safe space for our beneficiaries to receive our holistic aid properly, they otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity, along the borders, but also in the large transit centers, remote areas, in suburbs of cities and in abandoned buildings & makeshift shelters. All in order to protect & empower children and youth, pulling them out of that irregular context and out of the reach of smugglers and criminals

We were moving to remoted areas in Southern Serbia (Presevo, Vranje, Bujanovac, Dimitrovgrad, Pirot, etc.) and Vojvodina Northern part of Serbia (Subotica, Prozivka, Backi Vinogradi, Zadruga, Makova sedmica, Suncani breg, Horgos, Novi Sad, Kikinda, Sombor, Sikara, Kelebija, Principovac, Adasevci, Šid, etc.), from our offices in Presevo, Belgrade and Subotica, that served us as a starting points and bases for our field operations. Our field trips are usually lasting for whole day long, and APC mobile team is working in the field during the whole day in order to serve as many refugee children and youth as possible, while being present at one location per time and in spite of weather conditions.

Once refugee children and youth enter Serbia they lack proper information and face no legal/psycho protection, lacking shelter, food, hygiene, health and other care. Refugee children are feeling afraid and disoriented, becoming easy pray of criminals and smugglers or corrupted individuals and even corrupted camps’ representatives, who are offering them various services to complement inefficient state system of reception and support. Unaccompanied minors are often perceived and treated as adults by institutions and the system itself.

With our APC mobile camper office we are moving swiftly and efficiently to any place we are aware of children in danger, along remoted border areas, camps or urban areas across Northern and Southern Serbia. Up to now in the reporting period, we provided 50 refugee children/youth with valid legal and other information on system functioning, on asylum procedures, on risks of traffickers, smugglers, criminals, on ways of recognizing threats, as well as on manners of protection and on manners of reporting existing risks, providing them our contacts and contacts of other responsible institutions.

Moreover, we are initiating guardian procedures and social protection procedures for minors encountered in the open, while our holistic legal, psychological, social and humanitarian aid is available to minors they otherwise wouldn't have in forests, along the borders, in the large transit centers, remote areas, in suburbs of cities, abandoned buildings & makeshift shelters, etc.

In that manner we protect and empower children, saving them from danger and securing them a safe space for counseling, information sharing, psychological and social support. They are recognizing our mobile APC camper team as their support and friends they can trust, they can rely on and seek for protection. Through relation of trust and by word of mouth, our APC camper lawyer, psychologist, social worker and interpreters are able to transmit information and be sure that children had understood it and had received it with trust.

On course of the reporting period, we ensured more of 15 vulnerable refugee children/youth access to asylum and to asylum guaranteed rights, to avoid irregular stay in local communities/open areas across Serbia,

We provided legal counselling to 30 minor migrants across Serbia, of which 5 were unaccompanied minors. Our lawyers helped minors to learn about their rights, and secured them to get accommodation in asylum camps and appropriate institutional accommodation where they were provided access to food, clothes, humanitarian and basic health aid. Our lawyer and social worker were intervening before local social welfare institutions and camps managements, to provide safe space and accommodation for children, separated from the adults and possible perpetrators.

Moreover, we are reporting any signs of same danger for unaccompanied minors to police, and social services, in order to prevent any risk and to act in the fastest possible manner. Often that proves crucial having in mind that camp managements, social and other system services are slow, inactive and usually without real information nor presence among refugee groups within camps.

Our team provided psychosocial support to 11 unaccompanied children in camps, helping them to overcome traumas they experienced on the road and difficult living conditions and other challenges in the camps.

APC mobile office team was sharing humanitarian aid to 115 children and youth in need of blankets, clothes, shoes, but also food and hygiene. APC mobile team was transporting humanitarian aid with camper vehicle and sharing it on course of its regular field, legal, psychosocial and other project activities.

APC started it own Social Bakery and use Bakery’s food production capacities to prepare and distribute traditional food, bread and pastry to children and youth across country. That add additional positive dimension to the project, having in mind that APC mobile team is now able to offer sustainable food support to beneficiaries living in destitute or lacking sufficient food rations in/out of collective accommodation on course of its field activities.

We were distributing COVID protection products, as masks, gloves, viziers, to children and youth lacking same protection means in state accommodation and in the open. In order to strengthen their immune system we were distributing liquids, vitamins, immune boosters. Very important was to provide sanitizers, soaps, shampoos, alcohol sprays and hygiene to beneficiaries, in order to improve their hygiene and responding to their specific needs.