Serbia

Serbia: Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support

Serbia Progress Report- August 1- August 31, 2016

November 01, 2016

N’Deane Helajzen

Summary of Activities

By August 31st, 2016, the number of new refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Serbia rose to nearly 4,700. 80% were accommodated in governmental facilities, including 1,432 in the five Asylum Centres and 2,368 in Refugee Aid Points/Reception Centres.

195 persons expressed their intent to seek asylum in Serbia, bringing the total for August to 1,935 and for the whole year to 8,071. January – July 2016, the Asylum Office of the border guards issued 50 first instance decisions, which granted subsidiary protection to 16 applicants and refugee status to ten, while rejecting 24 (compared to 16 decisions January – July 2015: 14 refugee status and two rejections.

RMF’s Unique Approach

A high number of refugees in the Belgrade city center are considered extremely vulnerable individuals, many with pressing medical needs that go beyond performing basic triage in the field. 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 and/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. We provide monitoring and follow-up services for our patients and receive referrals from UNHCR/DRC doctors, Palilula Health Centre doctors working within Camp Krnjača, Doctors of the World, Save the Children, Praxis organization, ADRA Serbia, and the Asylum Information Centre.

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Results &

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Mobile Medical Outreach Team

Providing Holistic Care

As RMF is the only medical service provider whose core work is to provide holistic medical care, the nature and statistical reporting of our work differs from that of other organizations. A high number of refugees in the Belgrade city center are considered extremely vulnerable individuals, many with pressing medical needs that go beyond performing basic triage in the field.

Supportive Care

Going the Extra Mile

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 and/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.

Partnerships

Friends Helping Friends Helping Friends

We provide monitoring and follow-up services for our patients and receive referrals from UNHCR/DRC doctors, Palilula Health Centre doctors working within Camp Krnjača, Doctors of the World, Save the Children, Praxis organization, ADRA Serbia, and the Asylum Information Centre.

UNHCR and partners collected testimonies from over 20 who reported having been pushed back into Serbia without being allowed access to procedures or protection in Hungary. RMF treated a number of these patients.

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Background

& Objectives

Background

RMF has been responding to the refugee crisis in Serbia since January 2016, by providing comprehensive protection and medical services, including emergency triage, to persons of concern. Our teams work in and around the Belgrade city center and at Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre, the second largest refugee camp in Serbia. We operate 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM five days a week at our mobile medical clinic located in Obrenovac, with a second medical team providing referrals for secondary and tertiary care institutions. From 2017 to 2018, we also provided services near the border with Croatia, operating the medical clinic at Adaševci Transit Centre from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM, seven days a week.

Additional programs include a mobile dental clinic at Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre—the first of its kind in Serbia—providing dental care for migrants, who previously only had access to emergency interventions. RMF Balkans also distributes hygiene kits at six camps throughout Serbia to help improve personal hygiene and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. To improve the residents’ quality of life, RMF renovated Obrenovac Transit and Reception Centre in 2018 and continues to maintain and use the renovated facilities to conduct cultural and empowerment activities.