(english below)
Izveštaj 26.12.2014. Subotica/ Stara ciglana
U Subotici ljudima koji borave u ciglani ne preti smao hladan vjetar i niske temperature nego i policijska represija koja se ponavlja duž cijelog njihovog putovanja. Trenutno je napolju oko stotinak ljudi. Žena i dece nije bilo – rečeno nam je da su prethodnu noć nastavili putovanje dalje.
Ponavljaju se svjedočenja o policajcima koji presretaju na putu do trgovine, uzimaju novac i hranu, cigarete i osobne stvari. Policija obilazi staru ciglanu barem jednom dnevno. Direktne posledice takve represije te straha od hapšenja i kontrole su da migranti još više trpe hladnoću jer se plaše da spavaju u polu zaštićenim prostorijama, odakle ne mogu da beže u slučaju da dodje policija. Oni koji pružaju otpor su fizički zlostavljani – svedočili su o korišćenju suzavca, udarcima u predeo prepona i ostale osetljive delove tela.
Uprkos jako velikom broju svedočenja o represivnom ponašanju policije, u javnosti se ta tematika izbegava i vlada medijski mrak. Novinski članci koji izveštavaju o situaciji predstavljaju situaciiju u svijetlu humanitarne krize ali bez kritičkog osvrta na sistemsku problematiku koja je uzrokovalu tu krizu. Važno je biti svestan toga da situacija u “džunglama” kao i u subotičkoj ciglani nije isključivo humanitarna katastrofa izazvana zimskom hladnoćom, već posledica graničnog sistema tvrđave Evrope. Na lokalnom nivou dodatnu pretnju predstavljaju pojedinci koji iskorištavaju uslove takvog sistema i svoje pozicije moći kako bi profitirali.
Večina ljudi se u subotickoj staroj ciglani zadržavaju kraće vrijeme – 2 do 3 dana. Pojedinci ostaju i duže, ponekad i do mjesec dana. Vlada stalni strah i glad, što je posljedica policijskih “intervencija” te neki često danima piju samo vodu. Zbog ilegalizirane pozicije u kojoj se nalaze u nemogučnosti su i da podignu novac za dalje putovanje.
Osim lokalnog sveštenika baptističke crkve i još par anonimnih pojedinaca koji samoinicijativno pomažu migrantima, niko od velikih humanitarnih organizacija se ne odaziva. Zbog alarmantnosti trenutačne situacije upućujemo ponovni poziv za donacije iako humanitarne akcije ne vidimo kao rešenje. Prethodno obljavljeni apel videti ovde: https://noborderserbia.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/call-out-for-donation/
Najviše je potrebno: topla ćebad, spavaće vreće, materijali za izolaciju, zimske jakne, termo čarape, rukavice,kape, šalovi,topla muska obuća, hrana koja se ne kvari
(english)
Alarming situation in Subotica – police repression and its consequenses at the border to EU
We visited the jungle of Subotica on Friday the 26 of december 2014. There are around 100 people staying in and around the old tilery in Subotica, the town on the border tu Hungary. All of them are staying there only temporarly, hoping to be able to travel further as soon as possible. But for several reasons some have to stay longer, for example one month. At the moment it is really cold, with temperatures around 0, cold wind and snowfall announced for the next days. Currently there are no women and children, we were told that they left yesterday.
The situation is seriously worrying! A even bigger problem for the illegalized persons than the weather and the unsufficcient living conditions is the constant repression from the side of the serbian police. Most of the people we talked to experienced incidents where police officers forced them to hand over all their money, their mobile phones and even cigarettes. In many cases the cops are coming in the nights to the jungle for their “robberies“, or waiting to catch individuals on the way to the market. They are threatening them with violence and arrest. We heard testimonies from migrants that experienced teargas attacks, and beating from police officers, that profit from the border sitation in which the travelers are illegalized.
Direct consequences of this repression are that people are avoiding to sleep in the half closed old building and forced to sleep outside, from where it is easier to run away, in cases of police attacks in the nights. Moreover many stay without food and consume only water for several days. Often people are not able to travel further quickly and get stuck, because the police steal their money and phones. Because of the fear of police, migrants remain isolated and often confined to their “hidding place”. While the media has been sporadically reporting about the difficult living conditions of the migrants in “ciglana”, police repression is not talked about and outlined as one of the main problems.
Direct support is limited to the efforts of a local priest and direct solidarity of rare citizens of Subotica.
It is important to stress that the situation in the so called jungles of Subotica is not a humanitarian catastrophe, caused by the cold weather, but that it is a situation that is sistematically created and maintained by the EU border politics, creating the fortress Europe. Additionally this border sistem – that affects also the countries neighbouring the EU, such as Serbia — creates possibilities for exploitation of the migrants by local individuals.
warm blankets or sleeping bags, material for isolation, warm jackets, thermo socks,gloves, scarves, food .
If your are able to donate material or money for this necessities or you have any other idea for action or campaign please do not hesitate to contact noborderserbia[at]riseup.net
no border serbia 