Europe is building a new wall at the external border

Publiziert am 22. Oktober 2013 von mf

In the beginning of October 2013, the executive director of FRONTEX called the Bulgarian-Turkish border the „the most important land border in the EU„. In another interview, he admitted that – from time to time – the agency is involved in the Refoulement on migrants. The Interior Minister of Bulgaria said, that the agency will send 29 employees to deal with the situation at the border. He added that almost 100% of the people crossing the border are detained. The Bulgarian parliament just voted for a 30 km wall with 3 m high barriers on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The Bulgarian Army began with the construction on the 24th of October 2013. UNHCR Bulgaria commented, that this may lead people to undertake more dangerous crossings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBtV-tkUG2c

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NGO calls for resignation of the Council of Ministers

Publiziert am 12. Oktober 2013 von mf

In Sofia, in the three shelters Ovcha Kupel, Voenna Rampa and Vrazhdebna, there are more than 2000 refugees now. Some places are in a very bad condition, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) said, one could find fleas, lice and worms. There is already a health risk of hepatitis and dysentery. The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reports, that there are already diseases spreading, like for instance tuberculosis. The mayor of Sofia said, there are deplorable conditions in the camps – as a lack of heating, vacancies, food and space – 30 people have to share one room. The interior minister claimed, that he won’t accept any more refugees in the city.

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The in/visible borders of Fortress Europe

Publiziert am 8. Oktober 2013 von mf

While the European Commission (EC) is discussing if financial aid is to be relocated to Bulgaria in order to cover the growing expenses connected to the refugees fleeing into the country, the numbers of people that are crossing the border (usually the Turkish-Bulgarian border) is increasing enormously with each day. In the beginning of October 2013, the head of the State Agency for Refugees (SAR) was dismissed from his job. Among other things, he was accused for the overloading of the refugee camps and the incapability of the institution to cope with the increased number of asylum-seekers.

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Overcrowding in refugee camps

Publiziert am 22. September 2013 von mf

At the moment, camps in Bulgaria are overcrowded, people are sleeping in corridors or even in the streets, because there is no place for them. According to the Bulgarian Red Cross, 1500 refugees are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, and a further 500 are in vulnerable condition. More than 2000 refugees were detained, only in the month of September 2013.

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Breaking News: Tension after the death of a refugee in Ovcha Kupel

Publiziert am 20. September 2013 von mf

A 58-year-old Syrian woman who had become ill in the „Reception Center“ in Sofia/Ovcha Kupel had to wait more than 30 minutes for the ambulance. Her son managed it to got to hospital with her by a private car. The woman died in Sofia’s Pirogov emergency hospital. The incident triggered tension, refugees called on the police by themselves to investigate the case. Few times later, Police teams arrived at the „Reception Center“. A spokesperson from the UNCHR said, that the centers, operated by the government, are „overcrowded and the conditions are unsafe and dire“. The State Agency for Refugees (SAR) made a press release about the incident.

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Hunger Strikes in Bulgaria’s Detention Centers

Publiziert am 18. September 2013 von mf

Refugees, who stayed this year in the ‚closed camp‘ Lyubimetz said, that they have been beaten by camp officials. The situation in the camp is like a prison, stated a member of the UNHCR – the same goes for the Detention Center in Busmantsi. 2013, several hunger strikes were declared in these centers in June, August and September.

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Refugees treated like criminals

Publiziert am 14. August 2013 von mf

Refugees who are arriving in Bulgaria regularly spend their first days or even weeks and months in detainment camps. The video gives a little overview.

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Inside a Bulgarian Detention Center

Publiziert am 13. August 2013 von mf

Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from the Bulgarian detention center in Busmantsi in the suburbs of Sofia.

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Hungerstrike in Lyubimets

Publiziert am 29. August 2012 von mf

The detention centers of Lyubimets and Busmantsi are quite often overcrowded due to the gradual increase of the number of asylum applications. The total capacity of the centers is 700 places. Outside the EU-financed detention center of Lyubimets (about 4.5 Million Euro) one could read on the concrete wall that ‘the special home for accommodation of foreigners in Lyubimets’ was financed by the European Union.

In August 2012, 25 Syrian refugees who had been held for months in the detention center in Lyubimets, went on a hunger strike to demand expeditious resolution of their cases. Among the hunger strikers were even children. Their demands were not to pay money for translators and the transport to the open Transitcenter in Pastrogor.

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