In recent weeks, Collective Aid has witnessed regular taxi stop-and-searches. These often take place on the outskirts of Subotica on the way to the Serbian-Hungarian border and living sites. They even occur at the entrance of Subotica’s reception centre. We have received reports recently that people on the move are being stolen from taxis by the Serbian police conducting these stop-and-searches.
Read More“In camp, they feed us pork… do they not know we are Muslims?”
Ahmed*, a Moroccan in his early twenties, asked me this outside Collective Aid’s WASH centre in Belgrade. The centre is a unique spot in the city for people on the move, where we offer laundry services and hot showers for free to those passing through Serbia’s capital. It was not the first time I was asked a question like this, nor was it the first time I was stumped for an answer.
Read MoreIn the months of April and May, Collective Aid saw 28 reported evictions in the region. However, since June, there has been an increase in violent evictions across the northern Serbian border, which leads to personal property being destroyed and psychologically and physically harming people on the move.
Read MoreThere were only about 20 people this time, all men and one 9 year old boy, Aamir. His uncle told us how they walked 20 km in sandals until 1 am, how he was arrested by Hungarian police and held in jail for two days with no food before being dropped back over the border.
Read MoreCamps designed to accommodate refugees ultimately exercise containment and control over camp populations, who are effectively excluded from society and rendered as bodies that must be governed and regulated.
Read MoreEarlier this month, the UK drafted a bill to make asylum applications from people who enter the country illegally inadmissible. This bill is an apparent attack on the right to asylum, and many associations have taken up this issue. Collective Aid joins these denunciations.
Read MoreI’ve spent the last 2 months or so volunteering with Collective Aid in Sarajevo. Although I'd been keeping up to date with the migrant crisis, before I arrived here I didn't know quite the extent of the issues here in Bosnia
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