By Dragan Umek
From 15-18 July, 2024, Claudio Minca and I undertook a field visit to Serbia and Bosnia. The main purpose of this trip was introductory field observation in cooperation with a local organisation at key border areas for border crossing to both Croatia and Bosnia, as well meetings with organisations working with people on the move in both Belgrade and Tuzla.
Our trip began with meetings with local organisations in Belgrade, to learn about the current situation of migrants in the capital. We then conducted two days of field observation at key sites near to both the Croatian and Bosnian borders, interest accompanied by local partners. Over the two days, at varied sites near Šid and Loznica, we were able observe transit points in the woods, as well as sites where migrants attempt to leave Serbia by crossing the border at the Sava and Drina rivers. We passed the closed facilities of the three former official camps, and visited several active and abandoned squats, in a wide variety of abandoned buildings—from a train station to a factory. In Loznica, we paid a poignant visit a local cemetery, where refugee-migrants who die while attempting to cross the Drina river are buried.
On our final day we met up with TheGame research fellow Yolanda in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to visit a registered “safe house” that has been operated by a non profit association in the city for several years. At the safe house we learned about the changing need for accommodation in Tuzla, which has never had a formal reception centre, and how independent local organizations responded to this need. We then met with a journalist, who reflected on the changing situation in Tuzla over the years. In the past year, the number of people-on-the-move stopping in Tuzla has greatly declined, as private taxi operators have largely (though not entirely) replaced the use of busses in transportation from border areas to Sarajevo (or elsewhere).