Migrations are like water, they always find a way

The Western Balkans route which migrants mostly use to reach the countries of the European Union (EU), with its part that stretches across North Macedonia and Serbia near Presevo, passes through inaccessible very harsh terrain in certain parts.

At the top of one of the hills surrounding Presevo, covered only with fallen grass that is mostly blown by the wind, there is a seemingly ordinary vehicle marked as Border Police. The area around it, free of trees, and with only a few low bushes, one would think, could be observed and controlled so easily as if it were on the palm of your hand, even with the naked eye. But nothing is more wrong  than that.

It is exactly that border zone which is one of the crucial points of the migrant crisis, which due to civil wars and regime changes in Asian and African countries has forced more than a million people on a long, uncertain and above all dangerous road that leads through Serbia. That is why the vehicle on the hill, despite its usual appearance, is completely unusual. It is equipped with a powerful thermal vision camera and monitor, the size and resolution which even the most passionate gamers can only dream of.

With a slight movement of the controller, the border policeman zooms in the seemingly lifeless cove ten kilometers away, deeply penetrating the territory of North Macedonia with a powerful electronic eye. A light centering follows and the focused wasteland is suddenly filled with a group of whitish dots, some of which move slightly. Not far from them, a larger and little differently colored stain remains motionless.

“The importance of thermal vision cameras is not only that they can preventively detect people who would irregularly want to cross the border, long before they reach the border line, but also that they clearly distinguish between humans and animals,” says the operator. “What you see is just a group of animals, most likely a flock of sheep, and this larger and differently colored spot is a shepherd.“

Sophisticated equipment, such as thermal vision cameras, was donated by the EU for the new challenges that Serbia faced when the migrant crisis began. Apart from donating equipment, EU support was also reflected in the training of the members of the Border Police, the improvement of living and accommodation conditions for both police officers and migrants. Not only has this improved the protection of the national interests of Serbia and the security of its border and citizens, but also the protection of the basic human rights of migrants who have found themselves in our country.

Migrants mostly use Serbia’s borders with Bulgaria and North Macedonia for irregular crossings, so Serbia is assisted in controlling the border with Bulgaria by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), while the EU provides selfless assistance in border management in controlling the border with North Macedonia.

Assistant Chief of the Border Police Administration Radiša Ristović points out that the Balkan route was most active in 2015, when more than a million migrants passed through it. The route used by people from different countries in Asia and Africa starts in Turkey and stretches through Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia, or another route through Bulgaria and Serbia.

Ristović points out that the Border Police Directorate pays special attention to the training of police officers regarding the treatment of irregular migrants, victims of human trafficking and other vulnerable categories, especially unaccompanied children. All migrants, and especially vulnerable categories, such as unaccompanied minors, are ensured with health care, education and social protection, which are provided with EU funds.

If they find a migrant without documents, Border Police officers first identify the person and establish their age, but also the possible need for medical or other care, and inform the competent services. If the migrant seeks asylum in accordance with the law, a certificate is issued and from that moment on, that person is enabled to submit an asylum application and initiate the procedure for obtaining asylum.

If an irregular migrant does not have an identity document on the basis of which it is possible to establish identity, in addition to taking fingerprints and taking photographs, a check through the available databases follows.

It can be heard that quite often migrants have false documents, which wouldn’t be that unusual if the largest number of such personal documents didn’t have January 1 recorded as the date of birth. It is not clear whether migrants love the New Year so much hoping to have a new beginning in new countries, far from the horror and chaos they left. The reason may be a different time calculation in Afghanistan.

Ristović points out that there were no complaints about the attitude of the Border Police towards irregular migrants and that Serbia was assessed as one of the most humane countries during and after the migrant crisis. How complex is the task of the Border Police in preventing irregular migration is perhaps best shown by the fact that the state border of Serbia is a total of 2,362 kilometers long and that there are 77 border crossings.  Ristović notes that parts of Serbia’s borders are partially blocked, but that it is not possible to completely physically prevent the crossing of irregular migrants.

Obstacles are actually several meters high wire fences that curve along the border line. Apart from showing the illogical demarcation in the most predictable way because, for example, they pointlessly meander through the terrain equally deserted on both sides of the wire, these obstacles indicate a very gloomy reality – someone is ready  to cross them for the sake of their peace and freedom, at the cost of being seriously injuried, unless they are shown a different path.

In tracing these different routes, irregular migrants are helped either by smartphones equipped with  not quite accurate maps or by cunning smugglers, guides who offer little chance of successful irregular border crossings for a disproportionate amount of money.

Ristović adds that the EU has been supporting Serbia in the field of border management for years, and that Sector Reform Contract for Integrated Border Management has contributed to the harmonization of domestic laws and other regulations with the EU acquis. In that way, the recommendations from Chapter 24 of the accession negotiations between Serbia and the EU, which deals with the areas of justice, freedom and security, are being fulfilled.  With this agreement, the EU supported Serbia with 28 million euros, of which 22.86 million euros was direct budget support.

Ristović emphasized that EU assistance in personnel and technology is extremely important because the increased number of police officers who came from the EU enables the formation of a larger number of patrols that can control most of the terrain, i.e. that a longer part of the border is under constant surveillance.

Reminding that police work has the same common goal everywhere in the world, Ristović stated that members of the border police, regardless of which European country they come from, understand each other very well, especially in situations of increased migration flows. He pointed out that the job of a border policeman is universal and that, with the initial language barriers that were quickly removed, a very good and efficient cooperation between police officers from Serbia and the EU has been established.  Colleagues from Austria and Hungary are helping Serbian border police officers to control the state border, and help has also come from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Germany and France.

In addition to the aforementioned, with the support of the EU, Serbia has implemented a large number of projects aimed at further improving the national system of the Republic of Serbia in border and migration management, and through which Border Police members learned about EU legislation and practices.

With the unfounded hope that all the existing reasons for mass migration, political, military and economic, or those that are just threatening us, such as climate and environmental, will disappear one day, we can believe that people who started this uncertain and dangerous journey while fleeing their homes will not forget the help we gave them along the way. That assistance may not always have been in line with their expectations, but it was the greatest we could provide, with the crucial support of countries that are leaders in the fight for human rights. Therefore, if there was a lack of what can be obtained with money, we believe that we have not failed in the field of humanity.