The Western Balkan route has become one of the main pathways embarked by migrants on their long way to reach Europe. In 2015 nearly a million people follow this route, transforming the Balkans into a central hub for crossing illegally to the European Union. Sadly, the Balkan route is also known for the countless rejections, the systematic use of violence on migrants and refugees and harsh living conditions in refugees’ centres.
How the Balkan route started
In the last decade, the civil war in Syria and the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and Afghanistan played a crucial role in turning Turkey into a hotspot for migrants and a nation with the highest number of asylum seekers and refugees in the world, according to the most recent UNHCR estimates. Since 2015, the migrants start to use corridors from North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro, passing through Bosnia and Croatia to reach the EU.
In supporting this phenomenon, Serbia has played a central role due to its visa policy, with a specific bilateral agreement with countries that do not recognise Kosovo. Therefore, a number of migrants coming from Syria, India, Burundi, Afghanistan, Tunisia and Cuba reach Serbia from where they try to enter neighbouring EU states.
Following the surge in the number of border crossings, Balkan countries have increasingly secured their borders, through walls and high barbed wire fences. While barriers are not forbidden by EU regulation, they still need to be in compliance with relevant international and EU laws, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, such as the right to seek international protection. As a result, the Balkan route turned into a different one, which now includes countries such as Bosnia and Croatia. Once arrived in Bosnia, people are forced to undertake a long journey and cross the three borders: Bosnia-Croatia, Croatia-Slovenia and Slovenia-Italy. The aim is to reach the nearest member countries of the EU Schengen area with an open border regime (Croatia has become a member on January 2023), from where they can reach other EU countries.
Hence, refugees and migrants are forced to go through hostile and challenging territory facing many challenges including unexploded mines. In addition, they must face dense forests, dangerous waterways and harsh weather conditions. The journey can take weeks, even months, during which they are required to hold an intense pace alternating long walking to rest. To avoid being seen by the authorities they walk at night without being able to use any torches or lights, as the police in the darkness of the woods would spot them immediately. For this reason, the Balkan route is almost prohibitive to families with children, making this route used mainly by young people.
Eventually, those who manage to arrive in Croatia are widely and violently pushed back by the police, routinely denying them the opportunity to seek international protection.
The danger and uncertainty to arrive in this – sadly so often lethal, dangerous combination of geographical and physical obstacles and the perpetration of violence is called by migrants “The Game” because it is as hard as winning the lottery. From 2015 more than 35% of deceased migrants have no name or nationality with the death rate steadily increasing.
The main countries of origin are Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. In 2022 the attempts to cross the border increased by 64%, compared to 2021, specifically 330.000 people who tried to cross illegally, considering being the highest since 2016. The 47% of the arrivals mainly concern people from Syria, Tunisia and Afghanistan, while the number of Syrians roughly doubled to 94.000.
European Union’s position
To stop and track the massive flows of people, the Members of the European Council and Turkey signed in March 2016 an agreement which stipulates sending back to Turkey those not eligible for international protection, with the support of substantial funding to Turkey. This agreement has generated several controversies among humanitarian organisations, and civil society as well as in many European countries themselves. Most of them brought up the international human rights principle of non-refoulment, which claims that anyone should not be transferred to a place with a real risk of torture or other serious human rights violations.
Escalation of the humanitarian condition of the camps and reiterated perpetration of violence
The situation on the Western Balkan route is subject to additional pressure due to the several repeated attempts to cross the border by migrants. The Croatian police implement systemic and frequently violent pushbacks. Many international organisations and local NGOs have consistently reported inadequate hygienic conditions, in addition to a lack of basic needs such as insufficient food, proper warm clothes, hot water and difficulties to access primary medical care. The rigid weather conditions of these locations put a strain on people living in the centres, specifically without proper support and assistance. Thus, these circumstances threaten vulnerable people at risk of exploitation and human trafficking even more.
Despite humanitarian organisations having widely reported, with overwhelming evidence, the systematic and frequent use of violence as a measure of pushback and also as a practice of psychological abuse against migrants and refugees, local authorities repeatedly denied and rejected the allegations. According to some of the evidence collected by volunteers, the police are guilty of beating and intimidating migrants and refugees, detaining or destroying their personal belongings, using pepper spray and taking their clothes and forcing them to walk barefoot in harsh weather conditions.
Final remarks
The situation in the refugee camps is deteriorating. Humanitarian organisations demand sustainable and appropriate conditions. On the other side, national authorities on borders continue to deny any wrongdoing, ensuring compliance within the bounds of national and European law and with current EU policy. Unfortunately, the recent earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will dramatically impact the magnitude and evolution of the route.
The numerous risks, violence, and uncertainty do not stop migrants and refugees from trying The Game even dozens of times because reaching Europe is their only hope for life.
MOAS promotes and reiterates the urgent need to adopt the only possible option to these tragic consequences of migration, a more comprehensive and human-centric framework of #SafeAndLegalRoute so that people can finally flee war, poverty, violence and persecution without risking their lives in crossing Europe. Learn more about MOAS global advocacy campaign and sign our petition today: https://www.moas.eu/safe-and-legal-routes/.
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