Asylum-seekers are continuing to arrive on the shores of Greek islands such as Lesbos and Samos, with the crisis only getting worse. The Greek government predicts 100,000 more people to arrive from Turkey in 2020.
"The crisis is happening now, and it is serious," Manos Logothetis, government commissioner for migration, told the German Funk media group on Wednesday.
In the past six months, 45,000 refugees arrived in Greece, leading the government commissioner to say the situation was "clearly more critical" for Greece than the 2015 migrant crisis, at the high point of people fleeing the civil war in Syria.
Currently, there are more than 41,000 people waiting at the infamous camps on the islands such as Moria on Lesbos or Vathy on Samos, according to the Greek government — this is the highest number since the EU-Turkey refugee pact came into force in 2016.
Greece moves refugees off Lesbos
04:06
This browser does not support the video element.
Refugee camps at breaking point
During 2015, migrants passed through Greece on their way to other EU countries, but now they are largely held at the island reception centers that are increasingly beyond capacity. In April 2019, there were still 14,000 migrants living on the island and humanitarian agencies report the situation is drastic.
In order to ease the crisis, Logothesis also announced that the Greek government wants to deport 10,000 asylum-seekers to Turkey, but to do so the country will need 270 asylum case reviewers.
In addition, the Greek government plans to build new arrival centers on each of the five islands where most migrants arrive after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. The decision to deport migrants comes after Greece elected the New Democracy party — it adopted a more hardline approach to migrant arrivals, focusing on deportation and faster decisions over asylum applications.
What is Germany doing to help?
Despite the growing crisis, Germany sent fewer officials during 2019 to help the Greek authorities on the islands, according to the Funk-media group, using information provided by EU Asylum office Easo.
In 2019 Germany sent a total of 80 asylum experts from BAMF, the German office for migration and asylum, compared with 124 in 2018 and 130 in 2017.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Fearing winter at the Vucjak refugee camp
Conditions in the Vucjak refugee camp in the northwest of the country are dire. The makeshift camp, which was put up in the summer, is dirty, unhygienic, and everything is in short supply as winter approaches.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
When all you feel is the cold
The end of October brought a foretaste of the cold season to Vucjak refugee camp. Temperatures in Bosnia have already dropped to well below 10 degrees Celsius. Most migrants are not equipped for the cold; they're reliant on donated clothes and blankets. Some don’t even have a sturdy pair of shoes.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Smoke poisoning, or freezing to death
To warm themselves just a little, the Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis who are stuck here collect firewood to heat their accommodation. They are forced to choose between constantly freezing in a tent of thin tarpaulin, or risking respiratory problems.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Living on a rubbish tip
Vucjak was created in June out of sheer necessity. There are only around 7,000 - 8,000 migrants in Bosnia-Herzegovina right now, but the majority are stuck in the northwest of the country near the small town of Bihac. All the camps were full to overflowing, so Bihac erected the improvised camp on a former landfill site. It doesn’t meet the standards required by international organizations.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Highly dangerous
Aid organizations are urging the Bosnian authorities to close Vucjak and provide the migrants with better accommodation. "If people spend the winter there, there will be deaths — within a few days or weeks," warns Peter Van der Auweraert, Western Balkans Coordinator of the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
The EU: So near, and yet, so far
Vucjak is only about 8 kilometers from the border with Croatia. Many refugees try to cross into the EU illegally through the unfenced border areas. Many don’t succeed; they end up coming back to the camp, like these three men from Syria. They’re better off sticking to the road — this area is full of uncleared landmines left over from the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Cold shower
Cold water from a canister is all there is in Vucjak. The hygiene situation is disastrous. Diseases, like scabies, are spreading. What medical care there is, is rudimentary. People are only taken to hospital if they have a really serious disease or injury.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Connection with the outside world
Both water and electricity are in short supply. Anyone who still has a cellphone, though, is lucky. Many refugees say their phones were destroyed or stolen by Croatian policemen at the border. Croatia denies the accusation. A cellphone is a migrant’s most important possession — with it, they are able to stay in contact with their families and friends, and organize their escape route.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
A little piece of home
These men are trying to make the best of the little they receive in Vucjak. They're baking flatbreads, the kind they eat at home. The Red Cross supplies food, but it's often only enough for two meager meals a day. In the summer, the head of the Red Cross, Selam Midzic, accused the central government in Sarajevo of abandoning the region and leaving it to deal with the migrants on its own.
Image: Reuters/M. Djurica
Sticking together — and longing to get away
A fire alone is not enough to keep body and soul warm. These people want to get out of Vucjak as soon as possible. "I saw buildings for animals in Slovenia and Croatia that were better than this camp," says a man from Afghanistan. "This isn’t a camp. This is no place for humans."
