Refugees in Serbia Choose Warehouse over Camp to Avoid Deportation

Описание: Despite the freezing winter nights, homeless refugees in the Serbian capital of Belgrade refuse to take shelter in a camp in fear of getting deported.

Some 200 refugees and migrants from countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan arrived in Belgrade from Bulgaria and Macedonia in recent days after the weather condition became bearable.

These refugees have settled in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Belgrade. They either sit around a fireplace or wrap themselves up in warm blankets to fight the cold.

The smoke filled run-down warehouse, however, is not the ideal place for the refugees to spend their days, and many have fallen sick.
While some suffer from minor cold and cough, there are others who are suffering from respiratory problems due to poor ventilation inside the warehouse.

According to an Afghan refugee, there are men who stay awake the whole night just to sit near the fire, and only sleep as the day breaks.

Despite all the struggle, going to a camp is not an option for these refugees, as they are afraid of getting deported.

"I'm afraid, maybe [they] send me for Macedonia. People [are] not going to camp," said a refugee from Pakistan.

Deportation would mean going back to the "graveyard", added the Afghan refugee.

Humanitarian workers from the Red Cross even made attempts to persuade the refugees in moving to collective shelters where living conditions are better.

"We are asking them and trying to persuade them to go to collective accommodation, and then to decide what is their next step," said a member of the Serbian Red Cross.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 7,500 refugees are currently stranded in Serbia, after neighboring Bulgaria implemented stricter regulations on border crossing.
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