Call out for an EMERGENCY solidarity action at the Serbian-Hungarian border
Wanneer: 16/09/2015 - 11:42
Since yesterday, when Hungary attempted to close its borders, by bringing army and heavy police force at the newly built fence, and the new law criminalising migrants has stepped into force, up to 5000 migrants have been stuck at the border. The point at which most people have been stuck is the border crossing Horgoš 2 (exact location: https://www.google.rs/maps/place/46%C2%B010%2733.3%22N+19%C2%B058%2744.3%22E/@46.175929,19.978972,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0) -- 46°10'33.3"N 19°58'44.3"E (but the locations might change, or multiply).
The situation is very difficult: there is not enough food, water, clothes, medicine or shelters. People are sleeping on the bare ground, there is no place to use the toilet or maintain basic hygene. There are many people, including women and small children, and new people keep on arriving all the time. On the Hungarian side, there is the army and police, with the usual gear of police-dogs, pepper-spray etc.
The situation is very tense, but despite the difficult conditions, the atmosphere is one of resistance and protest. Some migrants have been on a dry hunger strike, refusing all food and water until the border is opened.
This is a call out to all activists, for an emergency intervention at the border – we need people to show solidarity with those stuck at the
Horgoš 2 border crossing. Bring along any food, water, basic medicine, warm clothes or tents, but above all, physical presence of self-organised affinity groups is needed! A sounds system and as many megaphones as possible are really needed, for communication in a big group of people.**
In addition, any trusted information about the developments elsewhere (such as what is happening on the Serbian-Croatian and Croatian-Slovenian borders) is also important, as coordinated solidarity efforts on various points of the route could be crucial. If you do not have the possibility to come to Horgoš, it would be great if you could get reliable information about what is happening on the Serbia-Croatia-Slovenia route, so we can share this with the people on
the Horgoš 2 border crossing.
In solidarity,
no border Serbia collectif
noborderserbia [at]riseup.net
short video about the current situation and the fight at the border:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfrpwAEMe0c&app=desktop
Border between Serbia & Croatia is full of landmine fields, very important people stick to roads, Croatia border is open (Human Rights Watch) https://misportal.hcr.hr/HCRweb/faces/simple/Map.jspx
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Refugee_Phrasebook
Some updates from the Balkans
The situation is changing rapidly, it's very chaotic and hard to follow what is going on.
After the brutal police attack at Horgos almost all people left to Croatia.
Approx. only 100 people stayed there waiting for a chance to cross.
There are 21 persons in prison in Hungary they were arrested at Horgoš when they broke through the gate.
We dont know exactly the accusations but probably they'll try to criminalize them in the worst way.
If anybody can do something, they need international support!
Since croatia also closed it's borders with serbia yesterday, people are entering to croatia in all sides through fields.
Right now there are 5000 people in Tovarnik.
Most of the people (coming from macedonia and belgrade) are going to Šid now, we heard that many people are around Bezdan too (west -north serbia).
So these are the the new hotspots on the srb-croatian border.
We will go there tomorrow, so we can give you more updates.
During the last night many people entered Hungary from Croatia.
Migrants who entered Hungary were transferred to Szentgotthard open camp on the border with Austria, and some of them are already in Austria.
It seems like the authorities try just to registered the people, and not really taking their fingerprints.
There was a strong resistance to break the border on Bregana (on the
highway border crossing place from Croatia to Slovenia ) and Harmica (the train track goes there) and probably on other places too.
The police was using teargas and dogs to stop people.
Today they started to let families and vulnerable groups inside Slovenia. it goes very slowly.
For many people it's the third border they should break in, so they are exhausted, tired, many people are sick and injured, there is no water, it's very hot but the nights are cold, no medical aid, nothing.
International solidarity is needed ASAP!
Please share these infos, our capacity is very weak. We have some activists on the terrain but they have no internet no laptops even charging phones
in the middle of nowhere is difficult...
solidarity
the no border collective
Report from Croatia, 17./18./19. Sep.
17.9. people are let trough on croatian-serbien border.
-police tried to set people behind fences at the border to wait for the
buses, people waited for very long times (14 h and more), bus
transporting went very slow, people disobeyed the police, broke the
fences and started moving
With Buses and trains people got transferred to open camps and
accommodations in: Vukovarsko – srijemska County (east), Osječko –
baranjska County (east), City of Zagreb, Sisačko – moslavačka County
(close to Zagreb)
From out those camps and accomodations and directly from the border
people are an the move to the borders with hungary (in the east) and
slovenia (in the north)
Croatian government says they can not afford the structure to keep
people and they will let them transit through croatia towards
west/north.
Since evening 18th, today (19th) people in the east are transferred
through hungary to austria.
Media says croatia and hungary made a pact for that channel. (not
verified for how long and how that pact looks like)
.
Zagreb:
17.9 First people arrived in Zagreb around noon in the accommodation.
First the doors where closed, people inside rebelled and police opened
the doors. People moved to bus and train stations to go to slovenian
border. All people arriving later with buses and cars moved immediately
towards the bus/train stations or moved with taxis and cars. Supporting
people were there, spreading maps, giving basic infos/timetables of
transports.
18.9 Some thousand people where brought back in the night and morning
17/18.9 from slovenian border to zagreb.
People who where brought back started again moving during the day to the
border. Friday (18th) night there were people on several border
crossings waiting to enter Slovenia (Bregana/Obrezje and
Harmica/Dubove). There was a lot of Slovenian Police who didnt let them
enter.
19.9 Camp in Zagreb, Porin is empty. Camp in Zagreb, Velesajam is not so
full either. Buses bring people from there to the border. They are
expecting new people. Trains from Tovarnik are coming towards Zagreb.
Slovenia, Cro-Slo Border:
18.9 Around 100 people are in detention in Postojna, Slovenia. They are
very scared of what will happen to them. Lot of people are moving around
the border areas. People started to go towards and along the river
(Sutla river) which marks the border of cro/slov there, up north
There are only a little croatian police and they are very calm.
Slovenian side is more of a problem for the people.
19.9 Buses started to pick up people at the borders and bring them to
Slovenia. They bring them to different cities, mostly to Maribor and
Celje. People are brought to open camps. A lot of people move already in
Slovenia towards border with Austria. For now the border to austria is
open, train from Celje and Vienna goes and small groups manage to enter
Austria
For update from Slovenia look (slovenian and english language) facebook
of 'Protirasistična fronta brez meja' and https://twitter.com/BrezMeja
Bordercrossing Harmica/Dubove
18.09.
Migrants and supporters gathered friday at the border crossing at
Harmica demanding free movement into the schengen era, into Slovenia.
Croatian border opened between 19.00/20.00. Slovenian police blocked
people and won't let them enter. People protested with banners, singing,
holding speeches and shouting slogans. Police used tear-gas around
22.00. After this again calm. People are staying on the bridge between
the border points. Slovenian police changed shifts and put up fences.
Food, Water and Tents are there.
19.09.
In the morning of the 19th people report that buses came and slowly
start taking people. First they took families. After they took only
women and children and separated the men from their families, but they
are saying they will pick up everyone.
Until now saturday (19.9. - 17:40) only 3 buses came.
People are still protesting.
Border crossing Bregana/Obrezje
In the morning 19.9. buses came to Bregana and started slowly to take
women and children. It seems that the buses are not leaving any more. On
18.9 and during the night there was no infrastructure in Bregan: no
water/food or any supplies, people waited long, police also didn't
cooperate in emergency cases and rather ignored the life threatening
conditions. As far as we heard a baby died there in the night from 18th
to 19th. This is another death caused by borders and while police is
watching.
Since the morning the situation in Bregana got better: Volunteers put up
tents, there is water and food. It's crowded but situation is ok.
Since around 17.00 no more buses leave from Bregana. First buses only
took children and women.
Situation in East of Croatia, Cro-Ser Border:
We heare there are around 4.000 people on the serbian side of the border
(not verified number).
It seems that all the smaller border crossings on Serbian- Croatian
border are closed ( Ilok, Ilok2, Principovac, Principovac 2, Batina,
Erdut). Bajakovo (boarder crossing by Tovarnik) seems to be the only
open one.
At 3:50 pm (19.9) the croatian police states: From 17.9 on until 19.9
1.a.m. approximately 21 000 migrants entered Croatia. The largest
arrival of migrants to Croatia is still through Tovarnik, where, at the
moment, are around 2500 migrants.
Some People in the camps in the eastern regions of croatia (Tovarnik,
Vukovar, Beli Manasti and so on) got transferred through hungary towards
austria by train. We dont know how many people, but we heared that
they are brought to different places in austria and that a lot of people
are in Sankt Gotthard. The official statement of the police is saying
that the transport to hungary is organized. We don't know how this
really looks like and how many people they take and if they only take
“vulnerable” people (as reported by the media).
There are constantly more people coming, also towards the camps in the
east. There are still a lot of people in the camps. Information from
there is that infrastructure is not working good. There is not enough of
anything (food, water, sleeping places). Supplies are coming but
distribution is stuck. Local community doesnt know how to handle the
situation, they are missing on more people.
Situation in South of Croatia:
People come through Bosnia to Dubrovnik. We dont know more about this
for now. We will try to get further information.
The Situation is changing constantly. Stay informed. We try our best to
update reports.
Apart from monitoring, reporting and sharing information, presence at
the border is needed to organize solidarity and to avoid or intervene in
police violence.
Also if people have possibilities to go to the east of croatia, help is
needed, monitoring is important.
PRESS RELEASE "OPEN THE BORDERS FOR MIGRANTS "EDIRNE, TURKEY
"We don't want food, we don't want water, wedon't want humanitarian help, we want to cross the border by the land. We willcross or die here."
Since 5 days in Edirne, Turkey, around 3000 thousands migrants (mostly syrians but also afghanis, irakis and others) gathered, following a call started on a Facebook page ("Crossing no more"), to ask for the turkish-greek border to be opened for them. They refuse to risk their lives in Aegean sea anymore to reach a european country where they'll finally be safe, get basic human rights and have a chance to make a life for themselves.
People started to move to Edirne last weekend (around the 10th of September) but very quickly the main bus station of Istanbul (Bayrampaşa) where they were allbuying tickets and getting on the buses got blocked for them. The police detains them in the bus station itself, preventing them to buy tickets to Edirne. The government declared that now the migrants have to stay in the citywhere they had been registered on turkish territory. Which means that it's now officially illegal for them to move inside the country, especially to Edirne.
Currently, hundreds of people are blocked in Bayrampaşa otogar in Istanbul. About 1500 people who could make it to Edirne were blocked as well in Edirne bus station while other 1500 people were in Edirne itself, splited in two groups indifferent places of the city, waiting for the others to join them and start to walk to the border according to their initial plan.
Yesterday afternoon (Friday 18th September), the group of Edirne bus station decided to walk against the police to join the biggest part of people waiting for them in Edirne. After three hours walk, documented by activists and orientated by the police who blocked the shorter road to reach the city, they could meet the other group who walk towards them as well. The meeting occured yesterday night around 9pm on the highway number O-3/E-80 passing on the north of Edirne (https://goo.gl/maps/4rggbPKyiWA2). Quickly about 300 policemen, soldiers and special intervention forces blocked the two groups gathered on the highway and brought busses in order to drive everybody to a stadium where they could all be detained (https://goo.gl/maps/vS3MhCTPUEt).
The majority of migrants had been pushed in the busses and sent to the stadium in the city center of Edirne. About 200 migrants refused to get in the busses after several negotiation attempts. They demanded to be allowed to cross the border to Greece and nothing else. Right now (Saturday 19th September, 9pm) they are still at the same place on the highway, protesting peacefully and demanding to be allowed to complete their journey until the greek border. Meanwhile, about 600 migrants are still waiting in a park of Edirne center (https://goo.gl/maps/S1fB3DKuNdM2).
So far, more than 1000 migrants are detained in the stadium of Edirne, when about 500 others are still on the highway, about 600 else in the park of Edirne are surrounded by police who doesn't let move and around 3000 others again in thebus station of Bayrampaşa in Istanbul.
The activists who met the migrants of the highway recorded their peaceful action and heard their demand to be supported as much as possible to achieve their goal to cross the turkish-greek land border. They urgently ask the support and attention of local and international medias and activists.
Update: Later Saturday, the 19th of September the police evicted the last group on the highway and brought them to the park near the biggest mosque in Edirne.
#crossingNoMore Solidarity
Refugee Help Map, https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zddfRUtGScOc.kQBgTQcoV5FM