This 8th of March, on International Women's Day, we would like to shed light on a central issue in the solidarity sector which is not talked about enough: the invisible weight of care work.
Read MoreWhat happens to Syrians seeking protection in the EU?
Read MoreFor people on the move, staying updated on news from home can be just as important as knowing what is happening around them; a phone helps people to stay in touch with their family and friends, offering comfort against feelings of isolation and loneliness while supporting psychological well-being.They can also help to gather evidence, documenting illegal pushbacks, and other violence exerted against them.Most importantly, phones can save lives. Yet, despite the vital role phones play, authorities often fail to recognise - or deliberately ignore - their importance. We have heard, worryingly, numerous accounts of Serbian, Croatian and Bulgarian police smashing or confiscating devices. Our Advocacy and Communications Officer in Sarajevo looks further into the issue…
Read MoreHow the AI Act Fails to Protect People on the Move and Strengthens Fortress Europe
Read MoreCaporalato is an Italian term that refers to illegal labour intermediation, commonly known as the ”gangmaster system” in English. It involves the recruitment of largely workers from migrant backgrounds to perform various types of labour, predominantly in agriculture.
Our Communications and Media volunteer Giovanna Bressan explains more about the phenomenon and what it means for people on the move.
According to the IOM Situation Report for the week 20-26 January 2025, the number of people on the move who arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina decreased significantly in 2024, dropping from 34.500 arrivals in 2023 to 25.200 in 2024. This decline, particularly noticeable from August, raises questions about the underlying causes of this trend.
Read MoreToday, we release a Briefing Note on our Bulgarian Needs Assessment, conducted at the end of January 2025.
It presents key findings from the assessment, background information, and country context, concluding with four recommendations to improve the lives of people on the move. It underscores Bulgaria’s failure to uphold its obligations concerning people’s fundamental rights, the critical need for advocacy to challenge these abuses, and the broader implications of Europe’s restrictive migration policies, which continue to prioritise deterrence over the safety and well-being of people on the move.
Read MorePeople living in Bulgaria’s biggest asylum centre in Harmanli, a town close to the border with Turkey, began a protest this Monday (January 20) against the mass rejection of Syrian asylum claims, and as part of a wider call to the Bulgarian and European authorities to take urgent action against the hostile and degrading policies and conditions which govern their lives.
Read MoreIn the last couple months, the team at Collective Aid have been discussing and reflecting upon our use of X, formerly known as Twitter, as an organisation. As we start 2025, we are in unanimous agreement that our continued presence would not just compromise our work, but also our core values. Our mission is to advocate for displaced people with compassionate and fact-based advocacy. It is no longer possible to operate in this capacity in the environment that Elon Musk has curated with X. For this reason we have decided to stop posting and engaging on the platform with immediate effect.
Read MoreWalking on the streets of Athens from Victoria Square towards Ameriki’s Square, the signs of transformation become evident. The once homogeneously Greek neighbourhoods have given way to a mosaic of languages, cultures, and faces. Shops owned by people from across the world and NGO spaces for people on the move paint the picture of the area’s evolving demographic landscape. Amidst this change, homelessness emerges as a growing and complex phenomenon.
Read MoreDear Friends and Supporters,
I am writing to share an important update regarding the Collective Aid France Programme.
After much thoughtful deliberation and consultation with our board of trustees, partners, and team, we have made the difficult decision to close our Calais project and pause our operations in France. This transition will include handing over our current operations, including NFI distribution, to our trusted partners who will remain operating on the ground.
As winter approaches in Serbia and the numbers of people sleeping outside show no signs of lessening, access to potentially life-saving essentials like tents, warm clothing, and food become more crucial than ever. However, in recent months, our team in northern Serbia has had to work harder than ever before in order to access the people who so desperately need these items. Escalating police surveillance and harassment has created an environment of fear, which is driving people on the move underground. In addition to the huge risks that people are now taking in order to evade detection, arrest, and violence, this has given rise to a new question: how can we continue to reach people who need to take more and more drastic measures not to be found?
Read MoreWinter is brutal without shelter.
Today, we’re launching our winter appeal fundraiser to ensure that we can keep our projects running and deliver vital support to those on the move during the coldest months of the year.
Earlier today, Collective Aid and a number of other signatories from humanitarian organisations sent a letter to Greek and EU authorities, warning them that they risk seriously violating the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers who will be accommodated in the soon-to-open Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) in Vastria, Lesvos.
The letter calls for freedom of movement for all people on the move, and demands the following:
Immediate cessation of the Vastria CCAC’s construction
The termination of all related plans for its opening
The immediate end to the unlawful practice of containing asylum seekers in inhuman conditions on the Greek islands in CCACs
There is no cause for celebration in this anniversary. This blog brings together writing from a week of commemoration to mark the 20-year anniversary of the European Border and Coastguard Agency, commonly known as Frontex. It considers some of its impacts across the project locations Collective Aid works in, before turning to consider matters further afield.
Read MoreIn Part 1 of this series, we looked at how the legal criminalisation of people on the move is linked to and supported by the institutional language used by the Coast Guard in its official reporting. Analysing report titles on the Coast Guard's news page between September 2023 and September 2024, we observed a growing trend of framing Search and Rescue Operations as ‘anti-smuggling’ efforts, using increasingly harsher language.
Read MoreThis two-part blog considers the increasing criminalisation of migration in Greece from the dual perspectives of state and media reporting. Part one is below, and part two will follow early next week.
Read MoreToday, Collective Aid joined a coalition of NGOs working in Northern France to send an open letter to the French authorities, demanding urgent action to improve access to WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities for refugees and displaced people, as recommended by the United Nations in 2023.
Read MoreAlmost every week, the bodies of people on the move are being recovered from Bosnia-Herzegovina’s borders. On the week beginning August 19th, these bodies included that of a baby girl called Lana, no older than nine months, and her mother.
Lana and her mother drowned after their boat, which was reportedly carrying around thirty people, capsized on the Drina River marking the border between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The boat capsized on August 22nd and to date twelve bodies have been recovered from the disaster, among them 15-year-old Mustafa and 20-year-old Ammar, both from Syria.
Since 2015, Luke Ćelovića Park, known colloquially as ‘Afghan park’, has been a significant hotspot for people on the move in the centre of Belgrade. With asylum centres around the area either closed or refusing to host displaced people that have not registered an asylum claim in Serbia, Afghan park has provided a meagre but crucial space for people to get some respite and wait until they continue on their journeys towards the EU.
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