In Šid, Serbia, we are currently experiencing the gradual return of migrants after the recent eviction of squats throughout town. Police had forcibly brought people living inside the squats to far away camps close to the Romanian and Bulgarian borders. This resulted in a major set back for them on their way to the EU. However, there also are new faces among those coming to Šid.
During the eviction, many of the guys had their telephones, money and other personal belongings taken away by police. Tents that were sheltering over a hundred people prior to the eviction were destroyed, as well as all the blankets keeping these same people warm at night.
Currently, we are organizing ourselves to restore little by little what was lost. We started again to provide a warm meal per day inside the “squat”, under the gaze of the authorities who have been present every day since the eviction, preventing people from resettling in the building. Some of the newly put up tents have been recklessly burned, and people police is able to catch are once again being brought to camps against their will.
But we will not be discouraged: we go ahead with our heads held high, knowing that what we are doing is of utmost importance.
Comrades, we are still here giving everything for these people, and we still need your help. We need medicines, tents, clothes, and above all, VISIBILITY. What is happening in Šid, as in many other places, must come fully to light.
