Updates from the borders, 22. Oct 2015, 23:00

EUROPE, PLEASE ACT! - An Open Letter to the Governments of Europe from Volunteers - http://www.europeact.eu

50+ groups of volunteers across the Europe connected to common call to action. Please read it, share it and urge your government to act now! #europeact

Thank all of you who already urged your government to act. Desperate pictures are flowing from the region and your voice is needed to be heard!


ORGANISATION CHANGES: starting tommorow, the team providing updates will be expanded by Dalimil Petrilak and Martin Pridal. Friday and Saturday will be served by Martin Pridal - so feel free to contact him on Facebook with any news - https://www.facebook.com/martin.pridal.5

Croatia / Serbia

BERKASOVO/BAPSKA (Serbian side) - Situation volatile, big groups of refugees (hundreds) come for a few hours and then leave for Croatia. Nights are worse than days. Many of NGOs left the place, at the evening there were about 400 refugees. House has been rented in nearby village by Czech team to provide shelter and shower for volunteers to take a rest during their work. Bigger hangar-tents from Serbian police were built. Warm clothes, shoes and raincoats still needed there, as well as volunteer help. Czech team asks to be strengthened, medical help will be a plus. Contact number +381 649 366 029.

BAPSKA (Croatian side) - A lot of refugees coming, not enough buses, people have to walk to Opatovac (wheelchairs would help). German and other volunteers in place, but not enough. Also doctors needed. Not easy to deliver food or drinks, as police is quite nervous and forbidding some volunteers to help. Red Cross not much helpful. Contact number - Bastian: +41 79 227 05 95

OPATOVAC - Camp reported almost full this evening. Situation changing very often. Further boarding trains at Tovarnik continues, and also many buses from Opatovac went to Slovenian borders. Volunteer help needed in Opatovac, and supplies, especially shoes (size 39-45), socks and children & men jackets.

PRESEVO - situation is much worse this evening, many people waiting in the line (somewhere between 2 000-3 000 and more coming), registration very slow, heavy rain, cold. Volunteers are VERY needed - many of them left today, also warm clothes, blankets and shoes for children required. Raincoats important. Several organizations providing medical help and special room for children care. 11 000 refugees were registered in the past 2 days. Contact number +381 642 653 479.

BEOGRAD - Volunteers helping at Miksaliste (Mostarska 5, Beograd) set up also their VolunteerSpot account and are asking anyone who is in Belgrade to sign up for various tasks needed to be done there. Visit http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/4179297180119 to see what is needed there and to sign up for timeslots.

Slovenia / Croatia

Situation generally quite chaotic in Croatia as well as in Slovenia, some bus drivers do not know their destination, they are just following the police cars.

BREZICE - At this moment couple hundred migrants at Brezice, some of them waiting in cold for 2 days. Many of them don't get any food, as the priority are families. Please bring blankets and/or sleeping bags, anything to keep them warm! Slowly the police drives them by buses to Sentilj and Jesenice to the Austrian border. Volunteers can enter behind police station as long as they register at police station first and communicate with police. Contact number is +41791929040.

RIGONCE / HARMICA - This appears to be the main route at this moment. Refugees had to walk from borders to Brežice camp, which is about 8 km of walk. Up to 4 000 refugees came today in rain and cold weather. Harmica/Rigonce borders crossing closed for regular traffic.

SPIELFELD/SENTILJ - Situation chaotic today, ca. 3 000 refugees came. The Slovenia/Austria border crossing at Spielfeld is now becoming the main entry to Austria. Red Cross and Army organise the welcome camp, heated tents are available. Volunteers are very needed and are swiftly integrated by the Red Cross Einsatzleitung. More volunteers will be needed especially in a couple of days when the current volunteers will need to be replaced. Right now a few more medical doctors would be very much welcome to offer a more continuous service. In Obenaus we invite volunteers to come for a rest, it's just five minutes away from the border station Spielfeld. They also offer a few places for volunteers to stay over. Contact: +436801327177 or +436803060900 or :: Border Crossing Spielfeld.

For Slovenia-related updates throughout the day, follow Protirasistična fronta bez meja on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Protirasistična-fronta-brez-meja-962830080456004/

Other news

- Thousands of refugees are reported to be on their way from Greece, so the flow will continue for some time for sure.

- Do you have enough time and sources to travel to Lesvos, Greece, where situation is more desperate? Read this volunteering guide to Lesvos: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KBPNoW1fNvDdmmzCyc3yMBBGJ5V21s-EP0yxQY4K990/edit
More about the situation at Lesvos in :: clandestinenglish.wordpress.com and :: infomobile.w2eu.net.

- Supplies which are needed almost at all places: warm and/or waterproof clothing (jackets, pullovers), blankets, shoes, hats, gloves, socks, dry and canned food, fruit; food for babies and milk. Generally, anything what could make them at least little bit warm and help them of hunger.

- Also SIM cards for those who has to wait would be great so they can contact their relatives.

- Be prepared, that individual volunteers could have problems accessing refugees to provide help. Please always try to communicate UNHRC, Red Cross and/or police on the site before providing help, however, they may not be welcoming your there, so be polite and patient and don't get refused. This is the common approach of Red Cross at many places, and eventually it was always possible to find a common way. Problems are reported in communication with Slovenian police, help is easier on Croatian side of the border.

- Supplies and money donations are also being collected in the Social Centre Rog (Trubarjeva 72, Ljubljana) and in Maribor (at the parking lot in front of the railway station, where they set up a container. Tomorrow, on Tuesday, they start collecting from 12:30 on.)

- Large amounts of supplies could be picked up also in Zagreb, please call Lejla +385 91 456 77 05 if you are able to bring any supplies from Zagreb to any of the borders.

- UNHRC released a report, which states that number of refugees crossing to Greece this year just hit the half million mark: http://www.unhcr.org/56263d536.html

UN high commisioner for human rights urges Czech Republic to stop detention of migrants and refugees http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true&;LangID=E

- and don't forget to act :: europeact.eu.

Source :: pastebin.com/ZgMQ4HLV, 22. Oct 2015, here arranged by no-racism.net.