08.07.2016 | moving-europe
Latest update on the situation at the Serbo-Hungarian Border. The report covers the situation in the official camps in front of the Transit Zones as well as the consequences of the new “push back law” passed on July 5, 2016.
Although the state-controlled Balkan corridor is closed since March, hundreds of people still travel across the Balkans towards central Europe. People cross from Greece through Macedonia or from Turkey through Bulgaria to Serbia, where around 300 people arrive every day. After a few days in Belgrade, most people continue to Subotica, a small city close to the Hungarian border. Despite the fence along the Serbo-Hungarian border, there are several possibilities to cross from Serbia into Hungary. There are three camps in the area. One is a state run “one-stop-centre” in the outskirts of Subotica. The other two are self-organised camps right at the transit-zones. Around 15 people per day are allowed to cross legally into Hungary from each camp at the transit-zone.
Increasing Numbers of Pushbacks from Hungary to Serbia
Many people try to cross into Hungary on their own during the night to avoid the long waiting period and uncertainty in the transit zone. The unauthorised ways are highly frequented and many people manage to transit Hungary and continue their journey. However, the Hungarian police and fascist civil defence units control the Hungarian border tightly. They systematically push refugees back from Hungary to Serbia. In the last weeks, these pushbacks increased, leading to a larger number of people stuck in Serbia. There are many people reporting violence from the Hungarian authorities during the pushbacks. For more information, see previous report on violence during pushbacks from Hungary.