'Politics Over Lives' in Bottleneck Bosnia

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By Elaine Sanderson

In Bosnia, thousands of migrants and refugees find themselves battling sub-zero temperatures, internal power struggles and squalid conditions. A humanitarian crisis has arrived on the nation’s doorstep as allegations of border abuse reign from neighbouring Croatia. 

The different routes through the Balkans. (DW)

The 2015 European “refugee crisis” gave rise to the Balkan route. In a bid to reach Northern Europe, migrants started in Turkey and made their way to Greece over the Aegean Sea. The dangerous route made headlines in 2012 when the lifeless body of a three-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach.

Over 70,000 migrants have entered Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2018. While the majority have made their way to Western Europe, around 8,000 are still in the country. 

In a bid to stop overcrowding and quash coronavirus fears, the Lipa camp was constructed in April by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) close to the Croatian border. Designed as a temporary response to the pandemic, the camp housed around 1,400 migrants and refugees. Flimsy tents, a lack of clean water and zero access to electricity created unsafe conditions. In December, it was announced Lipa was going to be dismantled. Aid groups suggested it was safer to shelter in derelict buildings after a prayer tent collapsed earlier in the month. 

Conditions were exacerbated by a fire that was started after the closure was announced. Any infrastructure that survived was severely damaged.

An aid worker told Die Zeit, “After the fire, they were on their own and occupied empty houses outside the camp. Some have even converted toilets into homes.” 

Hundreds were forced to return to Lipa as attempts to transfer the migrants were blocked by local authorities and residents. 

The aid worker continued, “There is no running water and no electricity. The tents also offer little protection from the cold. Temperatures are often below zero, as Lipa is at a relatively high altitude. In protest against these conditions, some of the residents went on hunger strike on New Year’s Day. According to our information, several hundred people are taking part. They apparently ended it only yesterday. People have written banners with slogans like ‘We want freedom’ and ‘We are not animals.’”

Harsh weather conditions hit the Lipa camp. (Kemal Softic | AP)

Although the EU have instructed that migrants and refugees should be taken to alternative accommodation, they are yet to heavily intervene at the Bosnia-Croatia border. On Nov. 18, 2020, German paper Der Spiegel ran an investigative report detailing the human rights violations enacted at the Croatian border. NGO’s, the United Nations Refugee Agency and other aid groups have collected further testimonies depicting the same violent happenings. During the interview, one refugee named Ibrahim recalled the violence he and other migrants suffered. 

“They were beating me like crazy,” he said.

Croatian authorities have vehemently denied the brutal acts. Croatia’s Interior Ministry said the findings contained “a series of inconsistencies and contradictions, both in the behaviour as well as in the clothing of the participants, therefore it is impossible to confirm with certainty that these are regular members of the Croatian police.” Human Rights Watch gathered accounts of violence through interviews as well as confirming physical evidence was consistent with their testimonies.

Push-backs violate both European and Croatian asylum law. Between the violence at the border and the fragmented Bosnian governance, it’s difficult to understand where these people are meant to seek refuge.  

Injuries sustained after trying to cross the border. (Danish Refugee Council)

An EU funded reception center known as Bira sits unused in the city of Bihac. Local authorities and populations strongly opposed the opening and have blocked it from being used. This decision has been critical in aiding a humanitarian disaster. Men, women and children are at risk of freezing in a camp that was unable to be winterized.

Migrants and refugees leave the burnt-out camp (Reuters)

Bihac mayor, Suhret Fazlic, said, “We also oppose the temporary return of illegal migrants to this center in the center of the city because we have already been deceived in the same way. That’s why I’m here too because we just can’t let the inner city zone be run over any more. We are ready to provide meals and necessities for the people of Lipa camp and even with dignity to accommodate a certain number of these people in active centers of private accommodation, but we cannot allow the Bira.” 

The EU has urged authorities of Bosnia to relocate those living in the Lipa camp. 13.8 million euros were given in humanitarian aid to provide emergency assistance, yet it is not clear where this funding has been used. Conflict between local and central government has kept migrants in limbo. Unless the EU directly intervenes in the malpractice towards these people, the situation is likely going to escalate into a larger-scale disaster. 

Heated tents finally arrived in the camp as of Jan. 8, 2021.

It would be inaccurate to suggest refugees are being held in inhumane conditions for anything other than a political power play. In the words of Merima Cuturic, a farmer living yards from the border, “It reminds me of the war.”

Elaine is a political writer for La Tonique. You can follow Elaine on Twitter @sando_99.