Serbia: Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support

Enhancing Shelters

Preparing for Winter

The authorities and the humanitarian community enhanced winterized shelter capacities and intensified winter NFI distribution. Though additional health risks were posed by the winter weather, authorities and health partners, including RMF, managed to reduce or eliminate body lice and scabies infections in all asylum and reception centers. Challenges remained in some transit centers and for the refugees and migrants who were not accommodated in government facilities but staying in the Belgrade city center.

Doctors of the World

Developing Partnership

During December, RMF negotiated a partnership with Doctors of the World (MDM) to share their medical clinic located within Miksalište Centre for Refugees. RMF will work in this clinic daily from 4:00 PM to 8:00 AM, commencing in January 2017. This will ensure that both program beneficiaries and RMF Serbia staff have a safe environment for patient care, as the temperatures plummet to minus 16°C in the coming weeks.

Lice and Scabies

Belgrade Epidemic

RMF continued to support the treatment of body lice and scabies in the city center, primarily through referrals and collaboration with MSF, which has exclusive access to the shower facilities in Miksalište Centre for Refugees. The showers are, however, not enough to successfully treat the affected population. Furthermore, due to the complete absence of sanitary facilities available for refugees “sleeping rough” (homeless) in Belgrade, they are infecting each other with body lice to gain access to the showers. Without expansion of sanitation facilities, the epidemic remains impossible to contain.

Refugee Population Rises

Demographics

With continued irregular arrivals and limited regular departures (10 per day, excluding weekends, to Hungary), the estimated number of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers in Serbia further rose to 7,000 during the month of December 2016.

According to all available data, most were not adult men, but:

• Children – 46%
• Men – 39%
• Women – 15%

Around 85% of them had fled “refugee-producing countries,” including:

• Afghanistan -49%
• Iraq – 19%
• Syria – 10%

1,120 intentions to seek asylum in Serbia were registered, raising the total for the year to 12,961.

Belgrade City Center

Mass Eviction

There are ongoing discussions between civil society and the government of Serbia concerning the mass eviction of refugees and migrants from the Belgrade city center, and the government has requested support from humanitarian actors. In November, RMF offered support to the government of Serbia through the provision of information sharing and counseling of people regarding relocation once the steps to be taken by the government are clear.

RMF participated in a UNHCR-led service provision mapping exercise to ensure that humanitarian actors can contribute quickly to the government of Serbia’s response. The response for the Ministry of Labor was that they only require assistance with transportation and escorting to government facilities. RMF withdrew our offer, as we do not support the forcible removal of people, particularly in the absence of communication and required support structures.

Holistic Medical Care

Caring for the Entire Person

RMF is the only medical service provider whose core work is to provide holistic medical care, which involves:

• Transportation
• Escorting
• Cultural Mediation Services

Once RMF’s outreach team identifies a patient:

• An examination and assessment is made of the individual’s health condition and referral options.
• We then treat the patient in situ to stabilize their condition, before seeking referral papers and transferring the patient to secondary or tertiary care if needed.
• RMF’s outreach team then stays with the patient for the duration of his or her consultation and therapy to provide support with cross-cultural interpretation and translation, comfort, and reassurance.
• We then transport the patient back to his or her chosen location. Such consultations can take up to 8 hours due to patient wait times within the state facilities.