Visit to the camp in Subotica

The APC team regularly visits camps and asylum centers throughout Serbia. Almost no camp can boast of adequate conditions for accepting refugees, which they absolutely deserve. Although the majority of migrants and refugees stay in our country for a very short time, their existence here is not facilitated at all, on the contrary. Firstly, they face a lack of relevant information.

This time our team visited the camp in Subotica. The people living in and around the camp are coming mostly from Afghanistan and Syria. They fight and persevere despite many problems. Many refugees are forced to sleep outside, around the camp, since the camp management does not issue them cards, and therefore they do not have access to beds, nor do they have the possibility to get a meal. As a result of the lack of means for hygiene or insufficient accommodation capacity, people suffer from skin infections.

Also, one of the big problems that many people have experienced is the frequent relocation from camp to camp. Most often from the north to the south of the country, according to the testimonies of the refugees. As they told our team, some experienced multiple relocations. Unfortunately, police violence is very frequent, in the form of physical punishment or confiscation of personal belongings.

The APC organization with its legal team talks to people, gives them legal advice and relevant information. Documenting the stories of migrants and refugees, contacting competent institutions, seeking reactions and demanding improvement of their work in specific cases, our team provides constant support to these tortured people. APC also documents their problems on social networks, spreading awareness of the enormous challenges that refugees constantly struggle with. Also, our humanitarian aid is never missing in a specific case, and it is of vital importance, especially for people who stay and sleep outside.