Winter Puts Growing Pressure On Bosnia's Condemned Migrant Camp
Hundreds of migrants stranded in a camp in the Bosnian forest are at risk as the Balkan winter approaches, aid workers say.
1
Migrants on a road near the Vucjak refugee camp in Bihac, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on October 30.
2
A migrant huddles next to a fire as cold weather begins to bite in the makeshift camp, a few kilometers from the border with Croatia.
3
A Bosnian policeman in the Vucjak camp talks with migrants. Bosnia has seen a buildup of Middle Eastern and Asian migrant numbers since nearby EU members Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia sealed their borders to undocumented migrants.
4
A phone charging station in the Vucjak camp. According to Bosnian officials, at least 6,000 migrants are currently stranded in the Bihac region.
5
Men warm themselves by a fire inside the Vucjak camp.
6
As of 2018, around 35 percent of the migrants in the camp were Pakistanis, 20 percent were Afghans, and 20 percent claimed to be from Syria, though an official cast doubt on that figure. Syrians and Afghans are widely seen as most deserving of refugee status due to the ongoing war in their home countries.
7
Migrants walking near the Croatian border. Most of the men are trying to leave Bosnia-Herzegovina and enter Croatia, an EU member. From there, many hope to head further north to wealthy Western European countries such as Germany and Sweden.
8
But crossing the border illegally has become increasingly difficult. This Afghan migrant says he was beaten by Bosnian police.
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing.
9
A sheep is slaughtered in the Vucjak camp.
This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal
A sheep is slaughtered in the Vucjak camp.
A sheep is slaughtered in the Vucjak camp.
10
But a UN official has demanded more be done to house the stranded migrants in Bosnia as winter approaches, calling the Vucjak camp “absolutely inappropriate and inadequate for accommodating human beings.” This migrant is seen in a smoke-filled tent, apparently from a fire lit to warm up the flimsy shelter.
11
According to Peter Van der Auweraert of the International Organization for Migration, 80-85 percent of the camp’s population are economic migrants "rather than people in need of international protections."
12
Adding to a rising sense of crisis, the Bihac city administration recently announced it will no longer pay for garbage collection and water supplies for the camp.
![On October 21, Bihac’s mayor told reporters: “Ever since the Vucjak [migrant camp] was established, the city of Bihac has provided all kinds of services, including water delivery, through its public companies. We delivered 20,000 liters of water daily.”](https://gdb.rferl.org/3fa02e80-7ef7-4736-af5a-ffdf93da07cd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
13
On October 21, Bihac’s mayor told reporters: “Ever since the Vucjak [migrant camp] was established, the city of Bihac has provided all kinds of services, including water delivery, through its public companies. We delivered 20,000 liters of water daily.”
14
A migrant cleans his bedding among tents at the Vucjak camp. Since 2018, the EU has paid Bosnia 34 million euros ($37.4 million) to help manage the country’s migrant situation.
