Problems that refugees face every day

During months of intensive fieldwork to provide free legal and psychosocial support to refugees, several topics remained constant in our conversations. One of them is police violence against refugees at the borders, whether it is the police of BiH, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, or Bulgaria - beatings, confiscation of money and personal belongings, as well as humiliation by the police are constant.

Another topic that is constantly dragging on is the complaints of refugees who are accommodated in the camp in Obrenovac that many buses will not stop and open their doors even at the starting station. According to them, there are a couple of drivers who regularly let them on the bus and most often they wait for buses with those drivers to arrive in Belgrade.

The third topic that is always present and to which people are in some way accustomed (just like regular beatings) is the bad treatment and treatment of them in camps (transit centers and asylum centers). About three weeks ago, in a conversation with a group of people in "Afghan Park" in Belgrade, refugees stated that in the camp in Obrenovac, it often happens that they do not get food if they do not clean the yard, just as they do not get clean blankets or pillows. As they say, while they sleep they put their arm or sneakers under the head, instead of pillows. One of the guys that day, when asked how is it in the camp answered that in the camp everything is normal, good, and then when asked - does that mean that he gets food, blankets, clothes, and other things there and that he doesn't have to do anything in return, he immediately answered - of course not, he has to clean the toilet, the yard in the camp and all refugees will be punished when they cross the line for the allocation of clothes or food. Of course, something like that is not normal and we tried to explain it to him immediately. We tried to explain to him that he was not in a concentration camp or a prison, but in a camp whose function was to provide people with accommodation and peace. They are in camps where they are guaranteed security and basic living needs, and the camp administration, as well as the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, are obliged to do so, as well as to respond with internal control and verification of some of the stories of violent behavior of staff in camps that probably reach them also. In addition, refugees state that in many camps they do not know when what is happening (eg distribution of food, blankets, or hygiene items) and that no one regularly informs them about it. Several guys who live in a tent in front of the camp in Sombor stated that they are no longer in the camp because it is dirty and because the staff forces them to open the door for them and address them as "sir" or "boss". The dirt that exists in that camp is so unbearable to people that they are willing to sleep in a clean tent outside the camp rather than in the overcrowded rooms in the camp itself. But one of the scariest stories we have been hearing for weeks and which people sadly state is that there is not enough hot water in the camp in Sombor. No water, but that's not the main problem. The problem is that some people have good water heaters and access to them, and some do not, and according to the guy who just two days before our conversation bought two liters of hot water to bathe, people who have hot water sell to those who do not have a liter of hot water 100 dinars or 1 euro. It happens between refugees, people who have sales to those who don't - water. But, if these allegations are true, where are the employees from the camps to make sure that everyone has access to hot water and that such things do not happen, as well as to make sure that there is no such trade in the camps (although, according to stories from people, currently that is the only source of hot water for them)? Where are the cleaners, craftsmen, and other people who are paid to do the work for which, according to the allegations, the employees from the camps force the refugees to work? Just as one guy said, it's okay to expect him to take care of the cleanliness and tidiness of his room and his bed, but refugees can't be used to collect garbage and clean the whole camp, under duress, when there are camp employed people who are paid and who have a duty to do so.