Migrants in Belgrade
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Migrants in Belgrade
About 1,500 men, mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, were living in January 2017 in disused warehouses next to Belgrade’s Central Station. In spite of the low temperatures of the city, reaching until -16ºC, this group of migrants stayed to live in these barracks for fear of being deported if they went to official camps of the Serbian Government.
As a result of the closure of some European borders, March 2016, thousands of migrants are blocked in countries of the “Balkan Route” waiting to continue their journey.
Most people who lived in the warehouses in the capital of Serbia have made their journey by land crossing over Iran, Turkey and Bulgaria. Several migrants report having suffered physical attacks and robberies of their personal belongings by the authorities of the countries they have passed through.
This trip can be expensive because they have to pay smugglers to cross the different borders. For example, the journey from Pakistan to Austria could cost around 15,000 dollars.
2017
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A man, wrapped in a blanket to protect himself from freezing temperatures, waits for water to be heated in a barrel for showering near Belgrade’s Central Station. -
Two migrants eating after picking up the daily food ration distributed by a group of volunteers. For many, this is the only food they eat a day because they don’t have the money to buy more food in the Belgrade’s stores. -
Amrullah, from Afghanistan, waits his turn in the queue where hundreds of migrants flock daily to take a food ration. -
Group of Afghan and Pakistani migrants gathered around a bonfire in front of some buildings being built by Eagle Hills, an investment and real estate development company based in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). -
A man warms his hands on a campfire inside one of the warehouses near Belgrade’s Central Station. -
Inside one of the barracks where the migrants sleep and spend much of the day waiting for the moment to cross to Hungary to continue their journey through Europe. In two of the warehouses the concentration of smoke released by the bonfires was very high, causing many people to have a constant cough. -
20 years-old Shail, from Afghanistan, is heated by a bonfire inside one of the barracks. Six months ago, he left his country after being persecuted by the Taliban. Before entering Serbia, where he has been waiting for three months to open the border with Hungary, he was arrested for a month in Bulgaria. -
Several people sleep wrapped in blankets in one of the barracks. -
A migrant prays early in the morning near one of the buildings being built by Eagle Hills. -
A young man is lathered next to a jar where migrants heat water for showering. The showers are done regularly trying to prevent lice and scabies. -
15 years-old Ismail, from Afghanistan, taking a shower in a small room inside one of the warehouses near the Belgrade’s Central Station. -
A young man next to a bonfire inside one of the barracks near Belgrade’s Central Station. -
An Afghan boy posing for a photograph made with a mobile phone by another migrant. -
A young man leaning on the window of an abandoned train car near Belgrade’s Central Station. -
Migrant walking to one of the warehouses where hundreds of people are waiting in Belgrade to continue their journey through Europe.