UNHCR: Some 7,000 Migrants Currently in Serbia, Situation Not Out of Control | Beta Briefing

UNHCR: Some 7,000 Migrants Currently in Serbia, Situation Not Out of Control

Source: Beta
Archive / News | 12.11.20 | access_time 11:53

Migrants (Beta/Sasa Djordjevic)

UNHCR Representative in Serbia Francesca Bonelli stated on Nov. 12 that asylum and reception centers in Serbia are currently hosting around 6,000 migrants and refugees, while another 1,000 is estimated to be staying outside the centers.

Bonelli told the RTS public service that “the situation is not out of control,” adding that there is no room for talks of “invasions and large numbers that cannot be handled.”

According to her, the anti-immigrant rhetoric in Serbia is gathering momentum and anti-immigrant movements are a cause for concern. Yet they, she added, “don’t show the true face of the Serbian people, considering that Serbia has shown a more human approach compared to many of its neighbors over the course of the migrant crisis.”

“The Ministry of Interior’s records show that less than 1 percent of criminal acts in Serbia have been committed by migrants. They are fleeing from war and persecution, they are not dangerous people, they need solidarity and protection,” Bonelli said, adding that the majority of them come from Pakistan, Syria, and Bangladesh.

The representative also said that the number of migrants returning to Serbia is on the rise, and that they are coming through the northern borders, that is, from the neighboring countries, which they failed to pass through on their way to Western Europe.     

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