The mosque route! Namely, at the borders of BiH, there are between 50,000 and 120,000 migrants , who through Albania, Greece and Montenegro come from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and other countries.
They all move on with a new, " mosque route" (the migrants are supported by the imams from the mosques on the aforementioned route ), as Peter Webbinger , the head of the asylum group in the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, called.
Thousands of migrants pass this route in an attempt to reach the countries of Western Europe, according to data from BiH officials, more than 5,000 illegal immigrants have entered the country. Every day, the border is crossed by new faces, who are wandering around without the documents, money and food, which creates fear among citizens because it is not known who is all among migrants , according to security experts.
While the arrival of migrants is not a major problem for Bosniak politicians, the Republika Srpska says that BiH has unwillingly welcomed migrants and that they pose a serious problem, because of the closed borders of Croatia, Hungary and other EU countries, more and more migrants remain in BiH, 500 requested asylum.
Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, said that Banja Luka did not produce these problems and could not solve them because there is neither money nor capacity for migrants , but should be solved by NATO, which created problems in the Middle East. Dodik thinks that everything is done in a planned manner and that he can change the ethnic structure in BiH.
Dževad Galijasevic , a security expert on this situation, says:
- The mosque route is a danger because it demonstrates unity in the implementation of political and other social measures that individual political parties and institutions in Sarajevo and the Islamic Community of BiH support . And in the war we had such an appearance, that the Bosniak political power did not distinguish between private and state affairs. The Islamic Community is always present in logistics and procurement of weapons, and in warfare, and many imams have been warriors - says Galijasevic and adds:
- Migrant Wave serves to fill the extremist-radical potentials lost in the war in Syria. On the other hand, it serves for additional pressure on the local society. It is a pressure on the whole of BiH, further radicalization of Bosniaks and further pressure on the Republic of Srpska. The migrant route through Bosnia was chosen to show the Islamic community more agility, as well as to prove that the party, the mosque and the state are one, and that as such they will take part in the general elections in BiH in October this year - says Galijasevic.
A new Balkan route through Bosnia has opened up for migrants, from Greece through Albania, Montenegro and the Herzegovina part of Bosnia.
This route, according to a western diplomatic source, matches the one taken by arms and drugs traffickers, revealing that human smuggling networks have been established.
Albania, Montenegro and the Herzegovina part of Bosnia.
This route, according to a western diplomatic source, matches the one taken by arms and drugs traffickers, revealing that human smuggling networks have been established.
Paying Their Way to Europe
One migrant, Ahmed Wessam, who spoke to AFP in Sarajevo, left the northeastern Syrian town of Hassake a month ago after paying people smugglers to get him to Europe.
“A thousand dollars (800 euros) to go from Turkey to Greece, a thousand euros to go from Greece to Albania and so on.” Another example that the people coming to Europe have a choice of where they can go, and aren’t all or even most, fleeing their country because they fear prosecution.
According to Bosnian authorities, since the beginning of the year, 700 migrants have entered the country illegally and almost 800 were intercepted at the border. Most of them being Syrians, Pakistanis, Libyans or Afghans.
Lack of accommodations & resources
The local authorities fear that the end of the cold weather could spell a big spike in numbers.
“We have no capacity to accept thousands of refugees… although they do not want to stay in Bosnia.” Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic said.
The Head of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Balkans, Stephane Moissaing, dismissed concerns of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis.
However, the Bosnian authorities should “handle (the situation) in a humane way, so it does not become a real humanitarian crisis.” Moissaing said.
The country’s current reception capacities are limited to a centre for asylum-seekers near Sarajevo, with space for only 154 people.
The situation “gets complicated” Bosnian Security Minister, Dragan Mektic, admitted recently, stating that there were currently between 45,000 and 50,000 migrants between Greece and Bosnia, many of whom might try their luck by going through Bosnia.
The border with Croatia, an EU member state, is 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) long and Sarajevo only has 2,000 border police officers. There exist fences and increased border security along the Serbian border, because of the migrant crisis of 2015, if they try their luck along the Bosnian border the same measures will be taken there.
According to Nidzara Ahmetasevic, a volunteer working with migrants in Sarajevo, the number of migrants in the country “is at least double” what the official figures show. Because of an inadequate border patrol force and migrants who throw their documents away, the official figures cannot be taken at face value.
“We are in contact with more than 300 people. We have found a solution (in terms of accommodation) for some 50, but we could fill two more houses of that size.” she said.
Further Attempts to Cross
Initially intended to be a hostel in a Sarajevo suburb, the large building where Wessam and his relatives have been staying has individual rooms equipped with toilets, it was made available by a Bosnian who lives abroad. Samira Samadi, 35, another migrant staying there, left the central Iranian town of Ispahan in early 2017 together with her husband.
The couple have already tried to illegally enter Croatia but the snow and forests put them off. Wessam will depart in “a week, maybe 10 days.”
“I do not know how to cross the border but we will try and retry. We have already crossed many times.” he said.
This recent development shows that a vast number of the people coming to Europe are not motivated because of war or unbearable conditions in their own countries, but rather the promise of a ‘high-life’ in Europe. Even the ones genuinely fleeing war are not refugees when they are accepted in one Middle Eastern or Balkan state but then choose to move to a richer European country because of economic incentives.
Sources: AFP , Balkan Insight
Radical Islam Monitor in Southeast Europe